What’s Your Password?

key

You wouldn’t just hand over the keys to your home or car to a stranger, yet some people are more than happy to hand over the keys to their online world.

How easy is it to steal someone’s password? Is it really stealing if they just give it to you? But who would hand over their password?

Apparently there are lots of people who are happy to be hacked and will gladly broadcast their passwords around the world. Check out this video from Jimmy Kimmel Live and see how easy it is to grab a few passwords.

I could ask you to give me your passwords in the comment section of this post but I’m sure you won’t fall for that, but do you have ways to keep your passwords secure?

I’ve been using LastPass for a while. It’s a password manager which makes web browsing more secure. It not only helps me build strong passwords but it keeps track of them all.



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25 Passwords that Hackers Love

WorstPasswords-2013

Internet security firm SplashData has been at it again. They’ve been taking a look at the worst passwords used online last year and there have been a few changes since their 2012 list.

The big news is that for the first time since they started compiling the list, ‘password’ hasn’t come in at number one. It slipped into second place with ‘123456’ rising to the top position.

If you see your password among the top ten in the picture above, you’re data is in serious danger. In fact, you should take the time to check out SplashData’s full list for 2013. If anything there is familiar, it’s time to change your passwords or get ready to get hacked.

SplashData’s list of frequently used passwords shows that many people continue to put themselves at risk by using weak, easily guessable passwords. Some other passwords in the Top Ten include “qwerty,” “abc123,” “111111,” and “iloveyou.”

“Another interesting aspect of this year’s list is that more short numerical passwords showed up even though websites are starting to enforce stronger password policies,” Slain said. For example, new to this year’s list are simple and easily guessable passwords like “1234” at #16, “12345” at #20, and “000000” at #25.

The good news is that SplashData has advice that could help you build stronger passwords.

Use passwords of eight characters or more with mixed types of characters. But even passwords with common substitutions like “dr4mat1c” can be vulnerable to attackers’ increasingly sophisticated technology, and random combinations like “j%7K&yPx$” can be difficult to remember. One way to create more secure passwords that are easy to recall is to use passphrases — short words with spaces or other characters separating them. It’s best to use random words rather than common phrases. For example, “cakes years birthday” or “smiles_light_skip?”

Avoid using the same username/password combination for multiple websites. Especially risky is using the same password for entertainment sites that you do for online email, social networking, or financial service sites. Use different passwords for each new website or service you sign up for.

If you’re looking for a better solution you might like to try a password manager application.

SplashData has SplashID Safe which, as they say, offers solutions for people and organizations who care about keeping passwords and other information both secure and accessible.

I’ve been using LastPass for a while. It’s another password manager which makes web browsing more secure.



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25 Passwords to Make Hackers Smile

‘Jesus’ is unlikely to protect your computer. Neither is ‘mustang’ or ‘ninja’. They’re just three of the new passwords to make the top 25 most commonly used passwords this year.

As well as a few new passwords added to the list, most of the old favourites are still there including ‘password’, ‘123456’, ‘qwerty’, iloveyou’ and ‘abc123’. The one I find interesting is ‘trustno1’ which came in at number 12. Obviously they trust hackers if they’re prepared to use such an easy password.If you’re using any of those passwords, get ready to get hacked. You’re making it way to easy for others to compromise your data.

Security software developer Splashdata has released its annual list of the worst — and most common — passwords used on the web in 2012. Worryingly, very little has changed from 2011, where “password”, “123456” and “12345678” are still in the top spots — although Trustwave placed “Password1” in the top three slots last year, whereas it’s a new addition in Splashdata’s version.

In addition, several new arrivals in the top 25 awful passwords are “jesus”, “welcome”, “mustang”, and sadly “ninja”. – ZDNet

You can see the full list of 25 at ZDNet.

If you’re looking for a better solution you might like to try LastPass. It’s a password manager which makes web browsing more secure. I started using it recently and it’s a very handy tool.



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Clouding the Issues

Our lives are being lived in the clouds. We’re storing more and more of our data online with services like Dropbox and Apple’s iCloud.

Now Google has jumped on board with their long awaited Google Drive which offers 5GB of free online storage.

Google Drive is everywhere you are—on the web, in your home, at the office and on the go. So wherever you are, your stuff is just…there. Ready to go, ready to share. Get started with 5 GB free.

Some people have been sounding warnings about the security of storing private documents online but the convenience of being able to access our data from any computer or device is hard to resist.

On Wednesday during my Morning Café radio program on 98.5 Sonshine FM I chatted with our technology expert, David Cook. We discussed the whole issue of storing files online and looked at some of the pros and cons.



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Is Your Password Secure?

How secure is your online life? Are your passwords easy to hack? Are you using a password that could be easily guessed or discovered?

Even having a great password is no guarantee of security if you leave copies of your passwords near your computer. If someone was in your home or office would they find it fairly easy to discover your passwords? Do you use the old hiding spots of under the keyboard or under your desk?

SplashData, a well-known provider of password management applications. has revealed its 25 worst passwords for 2011 with their article, When “Most Popular” Isn’t A Good Thing: Worst Passwords of the Year – And How to Fix Them.

The top five are all fairly simple passswords which would prove no match for even the most basic online hackers.

password
123456
12345678
qwerty
abc123

The rest of the passwords on the list are fairly simple with people expecting passwords like ‘iloveyou’ and ‘trustno1’ to offer them some security. It’s worth checking out the original list to see if any of your passwords are featured. If they are, change them right away. (We should all be changing our passwords regularly any way.)

On Wednesday during my Morning Café radio program on 98.5 Sonshine FM I chatted with our technology expert, David Cook. We discussed passwords and looked at the best ways to create good passwords or passphrases. If you want to stay safe online you can listen to our chat by clicking the play button on the audio player below.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/TEC251111_1356.mp3]

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