I don't want to bore non-techies with this one, but I do want you to think about your passwords for just a few minutes.
The first thing is this: even if your password isn't something obvious like "password" or "obo", then hackers don't have to guess them. There is free, readily available software out there to do brute-force password hacking. So they can fire it up, go out for a cup of coffee, do the groceries, have a good night out and come back to find your password ready and waiting for them.
The second thing is this: the longer your password is, the longer it takes to crack.
The third thing is this: the more types of characters you use, the longer it takes to crack.
Let me give you a for instance: if I choose the password "obo", a brute-force cracker will take an average of 0.02 seconds to crack. So, "immediately". If I choose a slightly longer password, like "obnoxio", that will take two and a quarter hours. Much better, but still not really secure. However, if I simply change the password to include numbers and special characters, e.g. "Obnox1o$", it will take 210 years to crack.
And "Obnox1o$ Cl0wn" could take 154,640,721,434,000 years to crack using brute force.
So, put a bit of effort in, mix it up a little and make it just a little bit longer. Because it's worth it.
More info here.
And that was a public information film for the newly arrived people to this planet???
ReplyDeleteFirst define "this".
ReplyDeletewho?
ReplyDeletethen you forget were you wrote it down
ReplyDeleteIf you need to write down a password like Obnox1o$ Cl0wn then I think some sort of dementia has set in.
ReplyDeleteThere has been password crackers like Brute Force around for years. Still good advice for the un-initiated.
Right, so now we all know your universal password Obo?
ReplyDeleteHow is it in any sense more secure than Password01$ or similar from the 'Hide in plain sight, Purloined Letter School'?
Or should we bear in mind that there exists a least random number(17), and take it from there...?
That's actually quite a cool, informative piece. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteObo
ReplyDeleteI would add that one should have a different password for each site/service that you use on the internet. Having one password for all is just asking for trouble, and using a good password manager can help you maintain control of your passwords.
You ought to have given the missus a stronger password - I cracked her rather too easily..
ReplyDeleteBloody hell BTS, trust Obo to have a password protected chastity belt on his Mrs.! I have a less complicated method to keep men (and women, if there are any offended lesbians out there) from having a go at mine...a recent photo, never had to use it though.
ReplyDeleteOK, this totally fucking rankles me. Every bastard site on the net these days makes me use a password. The cunts obviously think they are making me safer but their not. Because of the volume of passwords required I could never remember one for each. So I have one secure password for important stuff, and QWERTY for absolutely everything else. Figure that out once and you can hack almost everything I do, apart from important stuff like bank online and share trading online.
ReplyDeleteI hear what you say Anon. I have only three passwords that I use all the time and they vary from strength to strength depending on how much I value the site I want to access. My blog, as well as online banking etc have the strongest made up of a long string of letters and numerals that I can easily commit to mind. After I've written them down and can remember them off by heart I destroy the hard copy. The other two I use for sites I couldn't give a shite whither someone hacks them or not.
ReplyDeleteObo's only took a few minutes..
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm obviously not referring to his password..
Much more insecure is the method I use at work on various folks in outlying offices...
ReplyDelete"Hi, it's the IT department here. We're updating the mail server software and I need to move your account over. Can I have your password please?"
9 times out of 10 ... 'Yeah, sure it's fuckme'.