tlarkin
VIP Member
This is something that most users don't know about and even power users or advanced users or even IT people use ridiculously weak passwords.
A secure password should be at least 8 characters long and include letters, numbers and symbols. Almost all passwords are encrypted while being sent and received to their destination with a few exceptions. I will get into the exceptions later on.
Passwords SHOULD NOT contain any of the following:
Now, let me give you an example. Let's say your password is monday which is not secure, will easily be hacked by what is called a Dictionary Attack. Now a still non secure modification of that would be MoNdaY. A slightly more secure (but still not secure) version would be m0nD@y. Dictionary attacks are basically brute force attacks that try to guess your password or passkey. They can come in any language, including the ever so popular l33t language, which is why m0nD@y is not a secure password.
I can tell you right now, anyone who can write simple looping for programs can write a dictionary attack, it is not hard to do at all.
So how does one create and use a strong password? There are many different methods you can use. You can use a random number string, plus a word, plus a symbol and then mix it up. However, I like to suggest to people to use a phrase and then condense it to a password. For example, the phrase:
I love to eat pizza, for every meal if possible!
Now you can take that and turn it into a password
il2ep4emip!
Still, not quite secure, so now we can add on to that.
I love to eat pizza, for every meal if possible!
Il23p4eMip!
I used a 3 as an E and tossed in a few capitals in there. Now you can add a symbol or a space.
Il23p 4emip!
Spaces count as characters in passwords. Now just add a symbol at the beginning, like a @ or # or % or whatever and your password is pretty secure. Most bot attacks or hackers using such dictionary attacks will fail to crack your password over and over again, and then quit and move along to a greener pasture. Over to where people use their pet's name as a password and can be more easily exploited.
Do be aware that things like WEP, TKIP encryption, and FTP are security risks. If you must use FTP, use SFTP, since FTP sends passwords in plain text.
A secure password should be at least 8 characters long and include letters, numbers and symbols. Almost all passwords are encrypted while being sent and received to their destination with a few exceptions. I will get into the exceptions later on.
Passwords SHOULD NOT contain any of the following:
[*]Real words
[*]Personal information (DOB, last name, etc)
[*]Name of pet, friend, wife, husband, etc
Now, let me give you an example. Let's say your password is monday which is not secure, will easily be hacked by what is called a Dictionary Attack. Now a still non secure modification of that would be MoNdaY. A slightly more secure (but still not secure) version would be m0nD@y. Dictionary attacks are basically brute force attacks that try to guess your password or passkey. They can come in any language, including the ever so popular l33t language, which is why m0nD@y is not a secure password.
I can tell you right now, anyone who can write simple looping for programs can write a dictionary attack, it is not hard to do at all.
So how does one create and use a strong password? There are many different methods you can use. You can use a random number string, plus a word, plus a symbol and then mix it up. However, I like to suggest to people to use a phrase and then condense it to a password. For example, the phrase:
I love to eat pizza, for every meal if possible!
Now you can take that and turn it into a password
il2ep4emip!
Still, not quite secure, so now we can add on to that.
I love to eat pizza, for every meal if possible!
Il23p4eMip!
I used a 3 as an E and tossed in a few capitals in there. Now you can add a symbol or a space.
Il23p 4emip!
Spaces count as characters in passwords. Now just add a symbol at the beginning, like a @ or # or % or whatever and your password is pretty secure. Most bot attacks or hackers using such dictionary attacks will fail to crack your password over and over again, and then quit and move along to a greener pasture. Over to where people use their pet's name as a password and can be more easily exploited.
Do be aware that things like WEP, TKIP encryption, and FTP are security risks. If you must use FTP, use SFTP, since FTP sends passwords in plain text.
:good:
