{"id":940,"date":"2011-03-24T07:30:16","date_gmt":"2011-03-24T11:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=940"},"modified":"2011-03-24T07:38:38","modified_gmt":"2011-03-24T11:38:38","slug":"strong-passwords-the-key-to-your-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/strong-passwords-the-key-to-your-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong passwords: The key to your security"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Do you use passwords like 12345 or djones525 or katybelle1234? In the age \t\tof “the cloud” it’s more important than ever that you use strong and secure \t\tpasswords. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Server security has gotten better and better, encryption has gotten stronger and stronger, but all that means nothing if your password is something like “password” or tom1234 or penny6129. If someone can guess your password they can access your online accounts; all the server security in the world will not save you if you continue to use simple passwords. And if you use the same password for everything – you’re just asking for big, big trouble. Simple passwords are an invitation to disaster. Using one simple password for everything will be a disaster – it’s not a question of “if”, it’s a question of “when”.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Why? Because if someone guesses your password \t\tand you use that same password for everything – then the person who has \t\tyour password has access to everything you do. In “the cloud” that means \t\tthey have access to your money, your credit cards, and your personal, private \t\tdata, your email, all your messages, and maybe even your computer.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Whether any of us like it or not, we are moving \t\tout of the desktop era and into the “cloud” era.\u00a0 EB and TC think the \t\tname “the cloud” is just another goofy coolspeak word, but it is what it \t\tis. The Cloud is The Web and no matter what we think or you think the rush \t\tis on to make “the cloud” as important today as the desktop was yesterday. \t\tSome of us will be dragged kicking and screaming into “the cloud” but we’re \t\tnot going to change the fact that “the cloud” is going to become increasingly \t\timportant in our daily computing lives.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We read an article on the Web recently that \t\tdemonstrates why it’s so important to use strong passwords. Again, we want \t\tto mention the importance of using a program like LastPass (free) to generate strong \t\tpasswords and to store them. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at the image below (originally \t\tappeared \t\there<\/a> ) and you’ll see how fast a computer can crack simple passwords instantly.<\/p>\n

<\/span> \"Cloudeight<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>“…a fast dual processor computer can \t\tgenerate 100,000,000 password combinations per second one has to be aware \t\tof the simple fact that your password can be cracked. Luckily there are \t\tdifferent controls in place that prevent passwords from being tried again \t\tand again. For instance there are several web portals that only allow 3 \t\tpassword tries, if you fail on the third try your account is either locked \t\tuntil verified or locked for a number of hours.<\/p>\n

Yes, an eight character numeric password will be cracked instantly by almost \t\tany computer. A password using alphanumeric characters and symbols will \t\ttake approximately 83.5 days to crack. Conclusion use a longer password \t\twhen possible and make sure to use the a combination of numbers, upper\/lower \t\tcase letters, and finally symbols…” (see \t\tsource article<\/a> )<\/em><\/p>\n

Trust us, in this new age you can’t rely on \t\tpasswords like jack1234 or jill518 to keep your personal information safe. \t\tGet a password generator that will generate as many very strong passwords \t\tas you need. A tool like LastPass<\/a> can not only generate extremely strong passwords, but can store \t\tthem and “remember” them for you when you need them. LastPass<\/a> will even fill in the forms for you on site where you need \t\tto login.<\/p>\n

If you don’t like LastPass (free), use an online password generator to generate strong passwords — use something to generate strong passwords and break your habit of using simple passwords that \t\tanyone could guess – or that a computer with password cracking software installed could crack instantly.<\/p>\n

Here are some online password generators (these are just a few):<\/p>\n

http:\/\/strongpasswordgenerator.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.grc.com\/passwords.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.multicians.org\/thvv\/gpw.html<\/a><\/p>\n

If you’re opposed to using LastPass to generate and store your passwords, and you don’t want to use an online generator (you’re really contrary, aren’t you!) then use this method to generate passwords.<\/p>\n

TRDIAYWASICNTBTTOLTBATHMATD<\/p>\n

(Two Roads Diverged In A Yellow Wood And Sorry I Could Not Travel Both Took The One Less Traveled By And That Has Made All The Difference ) Get it?<\/p>\n

IRTNTOBAALMWMTG<\/p>\n

(I Read The News Today Oh Boy About A Lucky Man Who Made The Grade)<\/p>\n

Or make up a pronouceable word that is not in the dictionary and add numbers to it:<\/p>\n

floonable8950<\/p>\n

sarnotoodie7182<\/p>\n

AND NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER EVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR EVERY ACCOUNT. NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER EVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR ALL YOUR ACCOUNTS. NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR ALL YOUR ACCOUNTS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to learn more about password cracking and how criminals and miscreants with the right software can crack your simple passwords instantly, read this article about Rainbow Tables<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The age \t\tof “the cloud” is here and it’s time you started getting ready for it whether \t\tyou like it or not.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you use passwords like 12345 or djones525 or katybelle1234? In the age of “the cloud” it’s more important than ever that you use strong and secure passwords. Server security has gotten better and better, encryption has gotten stronger and stronger, but all that means nothing if your password is something like “password” or tom1234 or penny6129. If\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[85,710,711,713,155,712,14,324,714],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=940"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":942,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940\/revisions\/942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}