Thanks to Swordmaker for the ping!!
Posted on 05/05/2016 4:22:20 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Today is National Password Day, so here are some tips on how to do better passwords:
7 Password Experts on How to Lock Down Your Online Security (link only due to copyright)
Thanks to Swordmaker for the ping!!
taxcontrol wrote: “I recommend a poem or a phrase that you will remember. Something like “On a warm summers evening, on a train bound for nowhere” (opening lines of the Gambler by Kenny Rogers). Then take the first letter of each word.”
Commonly recommended and completely impractical. The only reason to use this scheme is to avoid writing down the password. And, you’re not supposed to use the password more than once. So, how many account passwords do you need and how many poems will you remember?
This demonstrates the shortcomings of the password systems. They are designed by IT departments and security departments who completely fail to understand that the more complex and difficult the password schemes are, the more likely people will devise ways to simplify and work around it.
They will develop simple passwords that meet the requirement and they will write down and keep them under their keyboard.
Of course, the ‘strong password’ systems make the IT and security departments look good, but they are self-defeating.
*********
Come on guys, use something harder to guess. My favorite is:
abc
...oopps, forget I typed that....
I wrote a random password generator in BASIC. It mixes upper and lower case letters with numbers in a totally random sequence. I can specify how long the password should be and how many passwords that I want generated. It writes them out line by line to a text file. I keep that file (e.g. cryptic.txt) on my computer and when I need my password, I copy a certain line from that block of text that I know is my password. To anyone that would see the file, it looks like a meaningless jumble of characters.
Drug him and hit him with this $5 wrench until he tells us the password.
Well, that leaves out "bosco", but "be sure to drink your ovaltine" might work.
TexasRepublic wrote: “I wrote a random password generator in BASIC.”
Exactly my point. Then your wrote your passwords down in a file. I wonder what your security professionals would have to say about your system? A security system designed around passwords is designed to fail since it does not take into account human frailties. You cannot expect anything different from a system that depends upon people remembering 30 or 40 different and unique user names, 30 or 40 strong/complex passwords, and 30 or 40 cute little phrases to operate.
Use ‘password’. It’s SO obvious, no one will ever guess...
1Password
The problem with that train of thought is that the weakest part of the vast majority of systems is the user’s password.
cool...... I have to have a mirror to decipher the funny ones....
II*-YM-TA3/3M-8Uo/*I
The Mac has it's own keychain to keep passwords for you.
Great link, thanks!
Oh, and you have to change them every three months. No re-using any previous combinations of letters!
Oh, and use an electromagentic seal.
bump for later
LastPass. 9 years with it. — highly recommended.
Use two-factor authentication with a password manager. You can purchase USB keys, use any thumb drive, or use your cell phone app to generate a one-to e password. I use the USB keys — one at work, one at home, and one on my keychain. Together with LastPass. Even if my big pass phrase gets stolen, nobody gets in without the physical token. Excellent peace of mind.
Thank you both for the ping!
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