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| Thread ID: 140603 | 2015-11-10 20:31:00 | Strong passwords | micky (7329) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1411194 | 2015-11-10 20:31:00 | I have just watched 4 Documentary TV programmes from the UK about scammers, and its quite frightening how easy the scammers can hack your accounts etc. I know its rife there in the UK because of the population, but it will come here in NZ if not now!. So what are strong passwords to use as we all get a bit to relaxed about our existing set up until some thing goes wrong. Are master password managers any good or can these be hacked as well. Most of my passwords will be remembered in Firefox except bank details etc. |
micky (7329) | ||
| 1411195 | 2015-11-10 21:57:00 | I have just watched 4 Documentary TV programmes from the UK about scammers, and its quite frightening how easy the scammers can hack your accounts etc. I know its rife there in the UK because of the population, but it will come here in NZ if not now!. So what are strong passwords to use as we all get a bit to relaxed about our existing set up until some thing goes wrong. Are master password managers any good or can these be hacked as well. Most of my passwords will be remembered in Firefox except bank details etc. passwords like: JSfSIMXfWVP10XIVBsqO Or longer if the system will allow it. You have no idea what they are and will never remember them. But store them in a password manager. And if you can try and use 2 factor authentication methods (your bank sends you a text whenever you do something that you have to confirm - means that you must know your password and have something else physically to back that up in cause your password is released into the wild). Storing in firefox etc is useful for those hard to remember passswords....but what if they're hacked? There are internet based password managers (1password, lastpass etc), but you can also get local ones, keepass for example that only exist on your one machine (and if you want they can be hooked to a browser to fill in the password for you - or just cut and paste when you need it). |
psycik (12851) | ||
| 1411196 | 2015-11-10 22:47:00 | Complicated passwords are a pain in the butt and not really all that much safer. The most secure passwords are simply the longest ones and you can have an easy to remember long password by making up a simple 3 word nonsense phrase. "Purple dog bicycle" is much more secure and easier to remember than @R$**o1369 for example. A lot depends on what is allowed for a particular site of course, and you should avoid re-using the same password for multiple sites. I use an android app called pocket to store my passwords. I use a fairly easy 6 character password for that and that's the weak point, if someone stole my phone and cracked that password they'd have them all, but presumably I'd have noticed the phone was missing and changed them all by then (The app is cloud synced via my dropbox account to my tablet so I have a backup) I do use easy simple passwords for things I'm not really worried about though, for example this forum. I'd be annoyed if someone hacked my login but there's no real danger to anything but my reputation there and that doesn't worry me. |
dugimodo (138) | ||
| 1411197 | 2015-11-10 23:18:00 | I do use easy simple passwords for things I'm not really worried about though, for example this forum. I'd be annoyed if someone hacked my login but there's no real danger to anything but my reputation there and that doesn't worry me. That assumes you haven't reused the simple password and username anywhere else. |
psycik (12851) | ||
| 1411198 | 2015-11-11 02:39:00 | So what are strong passwords to use as we all get a bit to relaxed about our existing set up until some thing goes wrong. "pass123" , Use that one. its great, as some ISP help desks use it when people forget their email pass :badpc: or "1234" or abcd are others Ive come across. They are fantastic passwords :punk Seriously though, 1) dont use a master password. Ever . 2) put some numbers in the middle of 2 words & thats probhably good enough & easy to remember eg , something like this wont be easily hacked/guessed fred6922dagg 3) dont set your browser or app to save passwords for important sites, eg banking sites 4) if you really must write down the password, dont write down the site its for. Writing down the pass is bad in theory, but in reality its fairly safe, as someone would have to break in & steal that bit of paper . 5) treat your PC with suspicion, especially if others have access to it 6) treat public wifi access points with suspicion . Having your life hacked isnt very likely , unless you doing something stupid to give scammer/hackers easy access. |
1101 (13337) | ||
| 1411199 | 2015-11-11 10:48:00 | Use 2 factor authentication everywhere possible. I know that was mentioned in a previous reply, but just to add that a number of websites offer this, and not just through one-time code sent via text message to a mobile phone. If you have an Android phone and download the Google Authenticator app, once it's set up it can be used to generate the one time code needed without using internet data or text message costs. Gmail, LastPass, Microsoft, TeamViewer are just a few that come to mind that support this. Edit - old list, but also see here: lifehacker.com |
Chikara (5139) | ||
| 1411200 | 2015-11-11 18:12:00 | Very few scammers actually "hack" anything. They use methods that take advantage of peoples carelessness. Sending things to click on and fill out. Once they can access to the PC, if you store info on it, well....might as well just put a big sign up at the gate. Don't store any passwords, don't use the same one everywhere. Hard passwords can be easy....take a phrase.....The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog: tqbfjotld Mix it up a bit The 2 quick brown foxes....t2qbf etc. Not that hard was it? make it something meaningful to you but hard to guess. I had to use an actual phrase (not the first letters from it) for one thing at Webdrive. So I used a sentence from a book I had read ages ago....not directly from it, referring to something about the main character. Not even a book I liked or still own. So even someone knowing my tastes in books wouldn't think of that. The boss watched me, he couldn't figure out what the sentence meant...well, of course, that's why I picked it. |
pctek (84) | ||
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