![]() When opened in a terminal window, it offers a battery of possible passwords from which to select. If this method is too elaborate for you, then you can look for help in creating a password: Almost all distributions include the small pwgen program in their repositories, which you can install with the package manager. Your password for Facebook could then read something like AJw$F 195pbhsathsiSA, with AJw$T 195pbhsathsiSA for your Twitter account. To avoid having to do this, include the first character of the name of the service somewhere in the password (e.g., after the symbol). Theoretically, you should now make up a separate sentence for each login service you use. On the other hand, authentication routines deal with ASCII symbols between 33 (the exclamation mark) and 47 (the slash) relatively well. Internet services also sometimes swallow an ampersand (&). Some login services have problems with symbols, and spaces are especially troublesome because some programs see them as word delimiters. This is more than even good password-cracking programs can handle. ![]() In this case, it is enough simply to choose a symbol and insert it at a certain place – like a dollar sign as the fourth character, because the spa cost so much: AJw$195pbhsathsiSA. On the other hand, you only need to remember the sentence to remind yourself of the password. Furthermore, it is cryptic enough that it is not easy to guess. This password contains 17 characters, which is presently long enough. One example could be: “Aunt Jane weighed 195 pounds before her stay at the health spa in Sedona, Arizona.” Now take the first letter of the individual words, as well as the numbers: AJw195pbhsathsiSA. The sentences should have at least 10 words and at least one number of some kind. This could be a quote out of a book, a rhyme, or some curious fact. To begin, choose a sentence that is as long as possible but still easy to remember. Fortunately, such good passwords can be created and remembered easily with the aid of mnemonic devices. Writing it down is not a solution because anyone with access to your desk – during your lunch break, for example – could find your notes and get into all your personal data. However, the necessary criteria summarized in the “Secure Passwords” box would result in such entities as THw$viKiBM95K that are very hard to remember. A very good password will therefore be the exact opposite of the 25 examples listed here. Besides, colleagues at the workplace know your name, and personal information, like the names of your children, might also be easy for attackers to obtain. ![]() This approach is thus called a dictionary attack.Įven exotic names pose no challenge to attackers. Within a few seconds, specialized programs can try out all the words from all the dictionaries of the world. ![]() On the other hand, it is also not a good idea to take longer words out of a dictionary – or even use an unusual name. The chances of gaining access in this way are good, and no specialized cracking programs or a powerful computers are needed.Ĭonsequently, these 25 passwords should never be used. ![]() Because these 25 passwords are used extremely often, an invader only has to try them out one after the other. Just like the other items in the list, these passwords are fairly easy to remember – unfortunately, though, they are anything but secure, for several reasons: They are all too short, contain only lowercase letters or numbers, and use terms that can be found in any English dictionary. ![]()
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