Urgent... Please Read

[ChrisJC]

I find it ironic when a website demands a password with all sorts of special characters and numbers and upper case letters etc. The rules reduce the total number of available passwords, and mean that I have to write them all down (thus reducing their security!!)

But I suspect the instigator of the rules hasn't thought too hard about the consequences...

Chris.

 

[2xw]

I find it ironic when a website demands a password with all sorts of special characters and numbers and upper case letters etc. The rules reduce the total number of available passwords, and mean that I have to write them all down (thus reducing their security!!)

But I suspect the instigator of the rules hasn't thought too hard about the consequences...

Chris.

There are still something like 3 x 10^15 (3 quadrillion) unique combinations so I think forcing folks to have a more secure password at the expense of each person on the planet only being able have 375,000 unique passwords each is a worthwhile tradeoff

 

[andrewmcleod]

The idea that you shouldn't write down passwords is, in this day and age, entirely wrong. Also, the actual strength of the password really isn't that important - in most cases it's not worth the effort of guessing passwords even if there's been a breach of password hashes (providing they've been properly salted).

Think of them as keys to your house. Some only open the letterbox (UKCaving). Some open the front door (banks, email). The important thing is that they are *different keys*.

Don't use the same password twice! Since humans can't do that, use a password manager or write them down.

 

[Paul Marvin]

What I find funny is all the different combinations of letters sybles upper case lower case that one uses for a password then the computer to say its " medium " strength, then a bank card has just four digits  at the atm machine :-\

 

[SamT]

mean that I have to write them all down (thus reducing their security!!)

I personally, actually think writing them down is not necessarily that insecure these days.. It would take someone to actually break in, find your little black book, know what to do with it, and have the wherewithal to go away and cook up some scheme to defraud you.

Chances are anyone physically breaking in to your home is just after grabbing a few valuables to go and sell quickly and they only have the wherewithal to cook up some meth.

I'd say there is probably a great chance of a Korean student hacker, or the Russian mafia targeting something like Lastpass and gaining access to all the passwords stored online, or stored in your browser, (something in never do, i.e. store password for next time on websites etc).

 

[Fulk]

Every time I log onto on-line banking, the system asks me if I want it to ?remember? my name and 12-digit log-in number; this has always struck me as counter-productive . . . or I am being over-cautious?

 

[aricooperdavis]

I'd say there is probably a great chance of a Korean student hacker, or the Russian mafia targeting something like Lastpass and gaining access to all the passwords stored online, or stored in your browser, (something in never do, i.e. store password for next time on websites etc).

Even if they did the decryption happens on your machine, so the only useful info they could get would be your encrypted passwords, which (if you use a strong master password) might take millennia to decrypt.

 

[Speleofish]

Presumably all this depends on the Chinese NOT managing to invent quantum computers (or anyone else...)?

 

[pwhole]

A friend of mine who lived in West London a long time ago used to leave a huge glass jar full of change in the hallway of his flat - about ?50 worth. His logic being that the sight of pure hard cash would be enough to distract and occupy any burglar, but the damn thing was so heavy that they couldn't take anything else, and probably wouldn't get far before they dropped it. Apparently it had been tested by friends previously and it had worked - could there be a digital equivalent of this perhaps?

 

[Paul Marvin]

A friend of mine who lived in West London a long time ago used to leave a huge glass jar full of change in the hallway of his flat - about ?50 worth. His logic being that the sight of pure hard cash would be enough to distract and occupy any burglar, but the damn thing was so heavy that they couldn't take anything else, and probably wouldn't get far before they dropped it. Apparently it had been tested by friends previously and it had worked - could there be a digital equivalent of this perhaps?

Funny you should say that I went to glaze a hose this week that had been burgled and they had also left a great big sweet jar of change that was in easy view .

 

[lumenchild]

Hi Guys

Anybody that knows Mick Peters AKA Pingu please be aware his email has been hacked and people are posing as him asking for a favour to buy some Google play points for  his nephews birthday PLEASE DO NOT forward anything to them 

Paul

I had issues a few years ago with my e-mail account being hacked, caused me a world of problems 

 

[Paul Marvin]

Presumably all this depends on the Chinese NOT managing to invent quantum computers (or anyone else...)?

Probably already have  :-\