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Old 13-09-2008, 20:54   #1
-Jon- -Jon- is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Scotland
Posts: 18

Exclamation Computer security Win/Mac OS :: Passwords, common threats, spywear

forre: This thread is a complimentary to the announcement Forum account security

This should help people with the passwords they choose.
I will keep it simple and since this is (general) it can be used anywhere passwords are used.

First I will explain how passwords work.

As you know you all have an account on this forum the name of your account is your username but you also have a 'user_id' this is the number that represents you.
If you view my profile look at the adress-bar you will see viewprofile&u=2381 <-- that number is my user id.
When you login to the forum you enter two bits of information you username and password.
The username is used to find the 'user_id' and then your password is checked to see if it is the same as the one that is accociated with the 'user_id'

If its the same it lets you in. If not you get a few attempts before it stops you from logging in for a while.

So now you know how passwords work. I didnt talk about how passwords are stored, if anyone want to know about that request it and I will talk about that a little more.

So why is it important you use a good password? Obviously so nobody can access your account, pretend to be you and more importantly delete stuff.

So their are a few rules to follow when you pick you password.

- Do not use words that are in the dictionary.
- Do not use names. (pets, places, people).
- Minimum length should be 8 characters.
- Do not use only letters and numbers Use symbols also like : !£$%&*

This will stop people from guessing your password AND stop computers from guessing your password.
Computers dont really guess they just try everything...! That is why you want a minimum of 8 characters because after that the time it takes a computer to guess your password becomes too long to attempt.

The longer the better.

Now their is the problem of trying to remember this long password.
So here are a few tips.

1 - It dosnt need to be one word you can use a passphrase
2 - You can repeat words to make longer words
4 - use numbers instead of some letters.

Examples:

1 - this_is-a_passphrase-2007
2 - tatu&tatu&tatu$22
3 - my_n4m3_1s_j0n

Finally you can check any current passwords you use to see how good they are.
It rates your password based on similar rules I posted above.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/you...d/checker.mspx
Courtesy of Microsoft
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Read This -> www.tatu.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1163

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Last edited by -Jon-; 14-09-2008 at 01:32. Reason: spelling, grammar!
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