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How to come up with a strong password

As online threats grow in number more and more each day, it's important to stay as safe and secure as possible: networks should be monitored, security solutions put into effect and force, the data encrypted and protected. But the election of a password for your software programs or coded data is not as simple as using your maiden name of his grandmother's objections, for example. It is important to come up with a strong, not easily recognizable password that will give you peace and security you need.

"The password is the creation of a permanent dance between security and convenience, where good passwords that bridge to gap are hard to come up from. On the one hand, strong passwords changed on a regular basis, to reduce the likelihood of success for a wide range of attacks . On the other hand, if you make something too complicated, you run the risk of forgetting that slightly more ironic proof of their security, " said Ben Nahorney from Symantec.

According to him, there are several methods you can work so as to achieve with a strong password that will be able to remember for more than 10 minutes.

Deputy characters with letters
For password to be strong, it should contain letters and numbers. There are some letters that are somewhat similar numbers, so that whenever possible, it is a good idea to replace one with another. For example, just the word "password" becomes "p @ 55w0rd". Also, it is a good idea to capitalize on some of the letters, rendering the previous example, in "P @ 55w0Rd".

Salt password
Cryptography experts are certainly familiar with this idea, which leads to the accidental addition of pseudo-characters of your password. For example you could add your car number, weight or any other number to your password and increase its strength. It is best to avoid adding your birth date because it is "easily identifiable personal information. Take for example, presented above, and let's say that someone who weighs 98 kg, that wants to use salt for the password. In this situation we will end up with something like "P98 @ 55w0Rd" or "P @ 55w098Rd".

Inspiration from the things you like
Just look at a movie or listening to songs and you certainly will come up with something, you can use. Here are some classic examples: "feel lucky, punk" by Clint Randelov film turns into "D0Uf33l | uckyPunk?" or door "is" whole Lotta Love "became the song" WH0 | 3L0 + + aLuv ". Add a little salt, and have a pretty good password. You can find inspiration in something that you circumvented by newspaper, book or film, with something that a friend once told you and you laugh.

First letter sentences
People used to do something similar when looking at someone's registration number. If the registration is something like "IKBTY", which will translate into "I know better than you". When he comes with a password, go around it otherwise things. So, taking a long phrase as "another world, another time, in the face of a miracle" can come up with "AW, C, I +40 W".

Foreign languages
To give your password that little extra power, you could include words from other languages. You can include Italian word "sinistra" (the left is in English), but first made a little substitution of salting and even to come up with something like "51Ni5 + RA

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1Password 2.6.5 is now Available

Effective web solutions are updated 1Password, the password manager is for Mac version 2.6.5. Although the latest version is currently in beta, which means that it may not be very stable, version 2.6.4 (stable) is also available for existing users and to download a free upgrade.

The newest 1Password we reported in version 2.6.2 is that packed a whopping 100 changes and offer consumers the opportunity to receive a 20% discount from TextExpander, and Mac OS X public utility of the boys in SmileOnMyMac.

1Password 2.6.5 adds an Automatic in Safari, a strong Password Generator window and ability to generate non-web passwords, among other improvements. Effective Web Solutions has introduced support for Safari Developer Preview 4, and improving the credit card, filling in skype.com and esellerate.com, to mention only two changes brought by the latest version. Last but certainly not least, there is a problem in absorbing password generator was also fixed.

1Password remember all your online passwords that you can put a web page or form at any time, using the same password. The application integrates directly into most browsers, and sports built-in anti-phishing and keylogger protection.

Using 1Password, Mac users can easily manage hundreds of passwords with one master key. Developers are also put into service useful to iPhones, and only through limited Internet version, which lets you take your information with you everywhere. In the new version of the iPhone app is on its way, however.

Currently, 1Password is compatible with the following browsers and their respective versions: Safari 2.0 +, Firefox 1.5 +, Camino 1.6.1, OmniWeb 5.5 +, DEVONagent 2.0 +, or NetNewsWire 2.1 +. The software calls for Mac OS X v10.4 or later.

Consumers should be noted that the master password will be used to protect their keychain data with military-strong encryption. This is very important to choose a strong password and to engage in memory.

Download 1Password 2.6.5 stable version

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Gmail, Yahoo Messenger, Bank Account - All Sharing the Same Password

Is there anything more dangerous than using the same password for multiple services, say, Gmail, Yahoo Messenger, bank account and e-mail, and get hacked? Well, I do not think that is because it only takes a second before you will not lose your e-mail address and you money. And what's worse, is that most people have the same password for a number of services, after a study conducted by Accenture, their share of nearly 50 points.

According to Associated Press Accenture, has made the study with the help of 800 respondents, access to the web more than twice a week and carry out all activities other than checking e-mail.

"There is a lot of confusion there - a lot of people do not think that there is a problem. Tam was still warm head in the sand-on the situation:" My identity has not been stolen. I do not know anyone who had their identities stolen. So this should not be happening, "Robert Dyson of Accenture comments on the AP.

The main reason for using the same password for multiple services is that most people are afraid that they might forget the secret combinations, as it seems that they are just trying to make their lives easier. But, as I said, all the hacker needs only a second break into one of the account, and then to gain access to all services. According to the study, 70 per cent of respondents living in the UK admitted that they did not write their passwords, which, again, explains the fact that they are using the same password for all your accounts.

A few days ago, security researchers were able to show that Microsoft Live Hotmail in CAPTCHA may be broken in about 6 seconds. As you know, an on-line account can be used for a wide range of products, in addition to Hotmail, in the event that a hacker breaks in the mailbox, he also gets access to other services.

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Take steps to safeguard sensitive data

Is your organization responsible for complying with one or more of the many privacy-related pieces of legislation that the U.S. government has enacted over the past decade? It’s a good bet that it is.

Whether it’s the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which addresses healthcare information, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), which addresses financial information, or even the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which addresses education information, chances are good that one of these affects your organization in some way.

Compliance is nothing to fool around with, and it’s imperative that your organization understand its responsibilities for safeguarding protected data. Protected data is any information that someone could use to identify an individual. Information protected by legislation can include:

• Salary and fringe benefits (except for federal employees)
• Terms of employment (including performance and disciplinary records)
• Academic and educational history
• Criminal investigation and arrest history
• Employment history (including general or security clearance information)
• Biographical history
• Social Security information
• Identification codes
• Personnel profile (including home address and phone number)
• Medical history

Your organization’s network obviously contains and/or processes protected sensitive information. Unauthorized disclosure of such sensitive information could adversely impact your organization with both civil and criminal liabilities. To protect yourself and your company, it’s vital that you implement some extra precautions.

Administrator responsibilities

If you’re responsible for the security of your company’s network, then you’re also responsible for overseeing the day-to-day collection, storage, and use of personal data subject to such legislation. You must apply adequate data security safeguards to protect data from the following:

• Inappropriate disclosure
• Improper use
• Access by unauthorized or unapproved users
• Data tampering

Individuals who fail to follow specific requirements can face fines up to $5,000 per violation, as well as misdemeanor charges. That’s one more reason your organization needs to take appropriate security measures to protect sensitive information. But don’t forget that security measures, no matter how solid, are only as good as the educated employee who wants to do the right thing.

Employee responsibilities

An organization’s users are potentially the weakest link in your security efforts. You’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating: Educate your users.

To better protect sensitive data, train all users to do the following:

• Label all media (e.g., disks and documents) containing sensitive information.
• Securely store sensitive information.
• Immediately notify supervisors of any security breach.
• Don’t send unencrypted sensitive information via e-mail.
• Log off or use a screen saver with a password when leaving workstations unattended.
• Erase all data from hard disks before sending PCs off-site for maintenance.
• Store data on network drives instead of workstations.
• Be on the lookout for hardware keystroke loggers.

Final thoughts

Privacy-related legislation grew out of a concern over the potential misuse of the vast amounts and types of personal information collected and maintained on corporate networks, which store, manipulate, and transmit the data for a variety of reasons. Don’t become a statistic in the news by mishandling protected information — protect that information with adequate safeguards, and train your users to do the same.

Mike Mullins has served as an assistant network administrator and a network security administrator for the U.S. Secret Service and the Defense Information Systems Agency. He is currently the director of operations for the Southern Theater Network Operations and Security Center.

No Comment | Posted in » compliance, data theft, Password, security