Secure Yourself!

Today, on the Eclectic Calendar, it is Secure Yourself Day, as proposed by yours truly.  Secure Yourself Day is designated as the day to change your online passwords.  Most people use their pet’s name or spouse or significant other’s name to form their passwords that protect their bank accounts, credit card logins and other sites that really should be more secure.  Your beloved pet Rottweiler may be a deterrent to people trying to enter your house, but it’s really not helping to protect your checking account.  If you’re guilty, raise your hand and hang your head.

Password security is critical to your own security.  Access to a billing site can be used to steal your identity and make your life a living hell.  Here’s the rule of thumb I use, if I can memorize my bank password, it’s too weak.  A password should be made up as many characters allowed by the site and made up of random characters.  So, how do you do random characters?  Well, there are plenty of “random” password sites (random is really pseudo-random, since computers use an algorithm) that can create a secure password for your needs.  One of my favorites is Perfect Passwords at GRC.com.  GRC is Gibson Research Corporation and is owned and run by Steve Gibson of the Security Now! podcast on TWiT.  You will see three boxes outlined in red, these are randomly generated passwords that will change when the screen is refreshed.  The top box should only be used for WEP encryption since it is the least secure of password.  It is only made up of only 16 total characters.  Many sites will allow all ASCII characters which 95 total characters, but since some devices and sites may have problems with the <SPACE> it was removed from the algorithm.  If the site only asks for alpha-numeric characters, use the third box down.  I know you probably don’t want a 63 character password, so take a piece of it and use it.  Use 12 or more characters at least as it will make it tougher for brute force attacks to crack them.

Now that you have a secure password for your private data, where do you keep it?  What about in a text file in My Documents?  NO!  I go through the work of writing them down and keeping them in a file card box.  I also use KeePass Password Safe to store them.  I use a password and a flash drive access file (you need to plug in the USB drive in order to see passwords).  You can also store them in a text file on that thumb drive, but you must keep it very safe.

I hope these tips help make you more secure.  Do not use real words or proper names.  Do use randomized passwords.  Keep your passwords safe.  It’s also a good idea to change them regularly.  Have a nice day and enjoy changing your passwords.  I will be back next week to talk about securing your router.

Science Minds Countdown, #6

Last week, I kind of detoured a bit on the countdown because of the theme.  This week, I get back on track picking up where #8 left off.  This week we look at the contemporary of Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler, the man who took all of that knowledge and formed the foundation of modern science.

Sir Isaac Newton
Mathematician, Physicist, Optical Science

Sir Isaac Newton is the father of modern science and was born in the same year that Galileo died.  Newton’s knowledge in optics resulted in him building the first reflecting telescope.  He proved that white light is made up of a spectrum of various colors.  He sent the spectrum through a lens and a second prism and it recomposed to white light.  He also proved that any one of the colors, when reflected or refracted, did not change its properties.  This proved that the light itself was colored and objects did not generate their own color.  He defined the laws of motion and universal gravitation which was used to demonstrate how the planets revolve around the sun.  His work is widely revered and still used as the basis of planetary science today.

So there you have it, Sir Isaac Newton, father of modern science, optician, mathematician, warden of the Royal Mint, member of parliament.  Newton was a jack of all trades and a master of them, too.  So, we’ve reached the halfway point of the countdown, I hope you’re still enjoying it.