![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() |
Game Information |
|
![]() |
Securing Your Accounts With Well-Crafted Passwords
In the past I've never really paid much attention to security issues when it comes to user names and passwords. Frankly I figured it was all a lot of overblown hype. This led to an unfortunate incident that involved my website being attacked, apparently by a skillful youth with a propensity for mischief. The main security flaw with my website was probably the simple fact that the username and password were exactly the same. Granted I did realize that this wasn't highly intelligent but I didn't have the power to change it myself, and I didn't think it really mattered enough to bother about it. Having an identical username and password is a massive "no-no" in computer security. Your username and password should not even be related along the same line of thought. A username of "Dragon" and a password of "Fire" is not a secure combination. For maximum security, passwords should not be cohesive words or phrases and should not be too obviously related to something like your birthday or the birthday of someone close to you. Personal information is one of the first things used when people attempt to break passwords. Having a password of "Password" is indeed humorous and ironic but it is not in the least bit secure. A "brute force" password hacking technique involves using certain rules and guidelines to take a guess at possible passwords and generally works through a dictionary of sorts, trying combinations of possible words and common characters. Your best bet at creating a secure password is to pick a random collection of letters, numbers, and symbols, including varying case changes (in a password the letter "a" is not the same as the letter "A", so alternating at random between upper and lower case will increase the difficulty encountered in cracking your password). Selecting a sequence of characters on the keyboard (such as "asdf" or, worse, "1234") definitely does not create a secure, random password. Having symbols in your password is an easy way to greatly increase security. These are the special characters accessed by holding the "Shift" key and pressing one of the numbers at the top of the keyboard. If you want to truly expand your arsenal of special characters, try holding down the "alt" key and pressing a combination of numbers on the num pad (the rectangular collection of numbers on the right hand side of most keyboards) then release "alt". For example, holding "alt" and pressing numbers, 1 then 6 then 8 and releasing "alt" will give the character "ż". Most combinations of 3 numbers will enter a different symbol into your password. This may make it a little harder to enter your password but it makes it a lot harder for anyone else to crack it. To make passwords easier to remember you can use something original, like the name of your favorite character in a book (personal information that other people won't know). Then add some numbers to it, perhaps use the "Leet speak" (check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet for exact definition) method of changing letters to numbers and generally mix things up so that to you it seems coherent and memorable but to an automated pattern recognizer it seems random. For example, "jAm35_5m1Thż" ("James Smith") is actually surprisingly secure. In this case the password's meaning is obvious to a human reader but it will take a lot of work for them to divine the password without prior knowledge (unless you've used your name or a close relative/friend's name which, as we've already discussed, is not a good idea). For additional security you should not use the one user name and password for every account that you have. If you do and someone manages to get hold of your details for one site they pretty much have the run of your digital life. It is not particularly vital to have perfect passwords for less important accounts (e.g. web based email from Hotmail, forums you visit etc.). These sites can quite happily be accessed using the same password. However, bank accounts, work email etc. should be made as secure as possible. Hopefully a few of these tips will assist you in making your online activities more secure. Keep these guidelines in mind, change your password on a semi regular basis, and with any luck you'll be able to avoid the hacking menace that befell me. Daniel Punch
MORE RESOURCES: Ranked: The Best Selling Video Games in History Visual Capitalist Starter or Reliever, Drey Jameson is Here to Win Ball Games Sports Illustrated The Retro Greatness of the New Resident Evil 4 The Atlantic 'Seas of arcade games' inside the Wisconsin Center WISN Milwaukee XFL Football Games on TV Today (Saturday, April 1) Athlon Sports MLB new rules: Opening Day 2023 sees faster games, more stolen bases and Mets-Marlins confusion CBS Sports As Launcher ends at The Washington Post, its mission endures The Washington Post Springwood baseball cancels two games due to weather - Valley ... Valley Times-News Game One, Game Won Razorbacks Arkansas MLB Opening Day games 26 minutes shorter vs. last yearâs average: How the pitch clock performed The Athletic Women's Water Polo Returns Home for Three Conference Games ... Brown University Athletics Rift Between Gaming Giants Shows Toll of China's Economic ... The New York Times MLB's new emphasis on pace of play resulted in lightning-fast ... St. Louis Post-Dispatch Tanner Langley delivers winning RBI in both games of a ... LaGrange Daily News Menâs and Womenâs Final Four games open thread Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician Boise State becoming NCAA tourney regular. Will the city host March Madness games again? Idaho Statesman Nebraska lawmakers criticize 'zero-sum games' in Legislature, lack ... Nebraska Examiner Game 8 Preview: Syracuse â Notre Dame Fighting Irish â Official ... Notre Dame Athletics E3 2023 is cancelled. ESA tells us why GamesIndustry.biz Tokyo Olympics Scandal Fouls Hopes for a Sapporo Winter Games The New York Times Prime Gaming and Riot Games Run it Back Riot Games Final Four Fan Fest: Family, games, fun, food and more KPRC Click2Houston Bears to concentrate more on pass game in OTAs ChicagoBears.com Flyers center Sean Couturier will not return to game action this season: âItâs been a long, long ride.â The Philadelphia Inquirer Google Play Games for PC to roll out to Europe and Japan, add new titles including Garena Free Fire TechCrunch Arizona Wildcats baseball coach Chip Hale suspended 2 games following ejection from Tuesdayâs win Arizona Desert Swarm Way too early Penn State football game-by-game predictions, spring ... Nittany Lions Wire The Generative AI Revolution will Enable Anyone to Create Games Andreessen Horowitz Best free Steam games in 2023 Sports Illustrated Can war games really help us predict who will win a conflict? Financial Times Steam Makes One of the Best Games of All Time $1.99 ComicBook.com Microsoft plans mobile games app store to rival Apple and Google Financial Times Respawn opens third studio to keep Apex Legends going for '10 to ... GamesIndustry.biz Hogwarts Legacy scores fifth No.1 as it surpasses Elden Ring's ... GamesIndustry.biz |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
$20 Buys a Lot of Game These Days Watching the evolution of sports games has been like watching a retarded child grow up to become a handsome and brilliant Master of the Universe. Now I'm not saying ESPN's NBA 2K5 is the pinnacle of sports gaming, but I will tell you why it comes pretty damn close - especially for all of us basketball fanatics. Computer Traumas It has happened! Computer games have started to control my life on and off the screen. No complicated games like Age of Empires, just the simple one of Tetris. Top 10 Dumbest Game Titles You may not agree with the order in which they are in, that's personal preference.But you have to agree that these are some pretty stupid game names. Increasing Rates of Climb in Fighter Aircraft Like the New Joint force Strike Fighter We know from studying aircraft like the F-8 Crusader, in which my dad had the fortunate to fly while in the US Navy stationed in Puerto Rico, that when the wind was tilted upward on the aircraft that it had a lower takeoff speed and much higher initial rates of climb. At which point the wing came back to position and it was a pencil shaped rocket with wings. XBOX 360 vs. PS3: an in Depth Look All gamers are awaiting the release of the Xbox 360 and the PS3. This article takes an in depth look at how the two systems compare. Laying Smart Dust With Smart Munitions We believe that we need to make the Smart Munitions even smarter and incorporate their decent to the target to include the release of smart dust. We believe this is important as more often than not the battlespace includes urban areas where non-combatants and citizens not involved in the conflict reside. The Future of Submarine Games In the last six months, the demise of sims has been pronounced in abundance. Print mags and sim webzines have been telling you sims are being cancelled left and right Jane's A-10: Cancelled. Virtual Wrapping Paper and E-Gifts- Is There Really An Online Santa? The internet has proven to be an amazing delivery conduit for words, information, music, pictures and generally anything that can be turned into little 1s and 0s. As we approach the end of the year the question is asked "Can the Internet deliver my Christmas presents?" Now thanks to a remarkable innovation at www. Mind Boggling Information About The Popular Bingo Game! Have you ever considered mind boggling statistics of a BINGO GAME?The bingo game is the most popular online game in the world! Bing Crosby's nickname as a child was "Bingo" Screeno, a form of the bingo game, was played in movie theaters during the Great Depression The casino game, Keno, is based on the bingo game Most online bingo players also like to play online slot machines A majority of bingo game players have a pet, most notably a cat In 1929, the bingo game reached North America, and became known as "Beano" The bingo game became popular in Australia in the early 20th century. It was known as Housie The bingo game's origin can be traced back to 1530, to an Italian lottery called "Lo Giuoco del Lotto D'Italia". 10 Innovative Game Features Watch yourself struggle, sweat, collapse as you turn your video game console into a personal trainer.Here are ten ways the latest development by Eye-Toy technology is doing away with the couch-potato stigma that's commonly attached to gaming, and developing the hottest new innovation moving the video game industry right now. Review - Sony PSP I'm fairly certain there are folks at Nintendo feeling some serious self-loathing right about now. You see, back in the mid-90's Nintendo contracted Sony to develop a CD-ROM drive for the Super Nintendo. A Parents Guide to Online Gaming, Part 1 The internet touches every aspect of your children's lives. Where you might look up an unknown word in a dictionary, your kids are more likely to use dictionary. Playing Games Like Its 80s Do you miss the good old 80's Amiga and Commodore games? You are not the only one. In fact, creating remakes for popular eighties games is all the rage. Rome Total War: Battle Strategy Guide A. FormationsIt's pretty much common sense to come up with a good formation foryour army but the basic idea in most situations is to have your infantry in front, ranged units behind, cavalry protecting the flanks and your general right behind the infantry. Codename Revolution - Nintendos Next Generation Gaming System Over the past year or so plenty of hype, mystery and controversy has been raised over the new Nintendo Console. Systems like the Xbox have taken the lead in gaming with offering capabilities such as online multiplayer. The Story Behind OpenSimcity I've always liked to play SimCity since I was little. I used to play the version for Super Nintendo for hours then and then. The Game Tester It's not easy to be a hardcore gamer. It's hard. Free Pocket PC Casino Game Casino Gambling Wherever You LikeAre you absolutely crazy about pocket pc gaming? One of the very best things about pocket pc casino games is that nearly all of them are free games. There is a free pocket pc casino game everywhere you look on the Internet. Improving Spelling with Games You got it! You can do just about any type of learning for a child or an individual learning a second language through the use of various computer games. You are sure to find something that will fit with their needs. Sony PSP The period of the greatest portable console has finally arrived. Brace yourself for astonishing, gaming quality on a gaming device which is poised to change the way you think about portable devices. ![]() |
home | site map |
© 2006 |