Hacker's & Cracker's Delight

Since the birth of the Internet in 1969, some users still insist on using 'bad' passwords. It is becoming common for  websites to require passwords that contain a combination of letters, numbers and a minimum of 8 characters. Sadly, all websites have not followed suite and still allow inadequate passwords.

So, are your passwords in the,

Hacker's & Cracker's Delight Top Ten List Of Very Bad Passwords?

In order by popularity.

1. 12345
2. 123456
3. password
4. abc123
5. qwerty
6. 12345678
7. 123456789
8. monkey
9. princess
10. 654321

And, the runners-up deserving an honorable mention are: 1, 1234567, 111111, 123, 123123, 1234, angel, asdfg, ashley, babygirl, bailey, baseball, consumer, daniel, dragon, football, god, ilove, iloveyou, jessica, job, letmein, lifehacker, link, lovely, master, michael, nicole, ninja, passwd, passw0rd, qazwsx, sex, shadow, sunshine, superman, test, the, trustno1, welcome, work.

Unfortunately, these passwords are still used today. Don't be a hacker's victim!
Use the following recipe to create a memorable password that is definitely better and more secure than those above.

• Pick a 4, 5 or 6 word sentence or phrase that you can remember; something like, "Golf is a difficult sport."
• Take the first letter of each word. (G,i,a,d,s) and capitalize every other letter (G, i, A, d, S).
• Next, count the letters in each word Golf=4, is=2, a=1, difficult=9, sport=5      (4, 2, 1, 9, 5).
• Now, alternate the letters and numbers giving you a 10 character password. (G 4 i 2 A 1 d 9 S 5)

If you remember your base sentence you can easily reconstruct your master password. After a few logins it will become familiar and easy to use. But, to protect all your logins equally, you should create separate passwords for each site.

Let's make a password for a Facebook account.

• Just take the first 3 numbers from above (4, 2, 1) and use them to create a website code.
• Use the 4th, 2nd and 1st letters of Facebook, (e, a, and f) and place them at the front or back of your master password and separated by a '$' or '&.'

Here's your 14 character Facebook password that you never have to write down: eaf&G4i2A1d9S5

No, I'm not crazy and yes, I do this, but my passwords are longer and more complex. You can make yours shorter to speed things up but whatever you use for your passwords, try to make them as secure as the locks on your home and as reliable as the brakes on your car.

Getting hacked in today's cyber world is more than an inconvenience. Always use strong passwords at home and at your workplace. Never let anyone 'borrow' your password. If you absolutely must share it, remember to absolutely change it!
My last word of advice; pick a different sentence than the one I used!

A Pain In The Neck

Have you heard about 'Blackberry neck?' An aesthetician in Manhattan developed a two hundred dollar, forty-five minute treatment to help eradicate neck wrinkles caused by excessive time spent looking down at a Blackberry or other hand-held device. While there is not any conclusive evidence that this will cause any more wrinkles than shaking your head while saying 'yes or no,' there is new information indicating it may lead to stress and pain in neck muscles. In November 2011, a study published by the Harvard School of Public Health about the use of tablet devices concluded that placing the device at higher viewing angles is healthier for head and neck posture. Their study looked at tablet usage at various angles while positioned down in the users lap or up higher on a table. The study did not include walking with a device with your chin buried in your chest while 'eyeballing' up every ten seconds to see where you are going. It was probably too dangerous to test in that study.
Seriously, give yourself a break every 15 minutes or so whether it is using a desktop, laptop (bad name), tablet or phone. Move around. Look around and be aware.

Some of the baby-boomers will remember this one.

Da, da, da, dada
Da, da, da, dada
Hold your head up, hold your head up
Hold your head up, hold your head high.

Clip of Hold Your Head Up by Argent-1972 by krazeecom