Passwords.. how good is yours?

JustJo · 06-27-2011, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medusa

And folks? NEVER, ever use "abc123", "password" or "fuckyou".

This will surely get you hacked.

So when my ex tried to pretend he was me on messenger to dig information from my friends....and I changed my password to "screwyouahole"....that was bad?

Andrew, Jr. · 06-27-2011, 04:34 PM

Thanks Linus! Also, do not use your pets names, or your favorite food, beverage, or perfume/cologne, and so on. Rosie and I have lost our laptop due to a trojan virus. And this virus just kept reproducing causing us a lot of money, time, and tears. If you are ever up in age, and the computer is your lifeline, you will understand how I felt.

dixie · 06-27-2011, 04:58 PM

I use my son's nickname from when he was a toddler (which is only known to family) and a mixture of his middle school id and my college id. Don't know how sucky that is or how hard it would be to crack though. It's 13 characters.

Andrew, Jr. · 06-27-2011, 04:59 PM

I also wanted to add on here to this topic that some will publish your address list, and if you send a private email to one person, everyone who is in your address list will receive it. This is only just an ounce of what happened to Rosie and myself. I think the people were trying to humiliate us or shame us in some way. At least we know who we can trust and who is honest with us. Changing passwords and all of that was just not enough for our cheap Dell laptop from Wal-Mart. I think we spent maybe $500 for everything. So with that said, we decided that it would be best to use the library or another one. The sad part is that I didn't get the virus from looking at porn. Go figure.

Chancie · 06-27-2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tapu

Question: I once advised some friends (well, colleagues) that you could use your childhood phone number, along with a letter or two. Area code included depending on how many characters you need. They liked that because it was easy to remember what the number was, as well as what they'd decided to use as a password.

I understand the limited longevity, but in general, is there anything to say about that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaneyDoll

Oh, now I could easily do this. I would rather enter numbers---so much easier.

(eagerly awaiting replies from the tech people)

I suspect that a number that has a special format, like a telephone number or a zip code, is a bad choice.

I play a number guessing game with my students, and as soon as they figure out what 'kind' of number it is, it's all over for the person with the secret number.

I think my students are wonderful, of course, but they can't guess-and-check as fast as a computer can.

tapu · 06-27-2011, 10:04 PM

I was operating on the assumption that the childhood phone number would long ago have been taken out of operation. Maybe that comes from roaming far from home....

I see your point, though: here in New England, that number would be pretty traceable for all the people in their 40s who still "drive out to their parents'" every weekend.

06-27-2011, 10:04 PM	#6
tapu Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Understated butch. Preferred Pronoun?: I Relationship Status: Party of One Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Maine Posts: 1,654 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,324 Thanked 3,115 Times in 1,103 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	I was operating on the assumption that the childhood phone number would long ago have been taken out of operation. Maybe that comes from roaming far from home.... I see your point, though: here in New England, that number would be pretty traceable for all the people in their 40s who still "drive out to their parents'" every weekend. __________________ Really? That's not funny to you?

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

06-27-2011, 04:34 PM	#2
Andrew, Jr. Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Me Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Over the Rainbow in a House Posts: 5,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 16,004 Thanked 5,249 Times in 2,216 Posts Rep Power: 0	Thanks Linus! Also, do not use your pets names, or your favorite food, beverage, or perfume/cologne, and so on. Rosie and I have lost our laptop due to a trojan virus. And this virus just kept reproducing causing us a lot of money, time, and tears. If you are ever up in age, and the computer is your lifeline, you will understand how I felt.

06-27-2011, 04:58 PM	#3
dixie Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: I usually just poke it with a stick. Preferred Pronoun?: Bitch Relationship Status: Intertwined deeply Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: We're all a little mad here. Posts: 6,627 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 10,972 Thanked 21,383 Times in 4,808 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	I use my son's nickname from when he was a toddler (which is only known to family) and a mixture of his middle school id and my college id. Don't know how sucky that is or how hard it would be to crack though. It's 13 characters.

06-27-2011, 04:59 PM	#4
Andrew, Jr. Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Me Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Over the Rainbow in a House Posts: 5,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 16,004 Thanked 5,249 Times in 2,216 Posts Rep Power: 0	I also wanted to add on here to this topic that some will publish your address list, and if you send a private email to one person, everyone who is in your address list will receive it. This is only just an ounce of what happened to Rosie and myself. I think the people were trying to humiliate us or shame us in some way. At least we know who we can trust and who is honest with us. Changing passwords and all of that was just not enough for our cheap Dell laptop from Wal-Mart. I think we spent maybe $500 for everything. So with that said, we decided that it would be best to use the library or another one. The sad part is that I didn't get the virus from looking at porn. Go figure.