Password Security Tip

[geoberni]

Little tip for a secure yet variable password for websites, use a combination that is easy to concoct yet difficult to guess.

So have a core element such as 2 Car Reg Numbers e.g. ABC123+XYZ123A that you can use for everything, but then suffix and/or prefix it with something relevant to the individual site you're on. Incorporating some case change is you want.

So for this site it might be mmoc+ABC123+XYZ123A-MmOc

The only problem with this system is when the site you're using can't cope with complex passwords

[BrianHawley]

Or use a password application.

I use 1Password (https://1password.com/)

All my passwords are the maximum allowed by the different sites and utterly random.

[kennatt]

havent looked into 1 password ,not that interested but surely if you get hacked and they get the one password then they have got access to every site you have,unless I've missed something from the video

[BrianHawley]

havent looked into 1 password ,not that interested but surely if you get hacked and they get the one password then they have got access to every site you have,unless I've missed something from the video

Well the trick is to have a really good master password. Or a pass phrase is better. You only need to memorise the one, so it can be pretty complex.

[palacebear]

All my passwords are based on former addresses (never the current one) and comprise the last 3 characters of the postcode, reversed, followed by the street name, first word only, then door number, reversed.

[les]

Hope no one finds out your previous addresses !

[kennatt]

yes but IF the scammers do find your extremely complex password,they will have access to every site you have,think I'll stick to my methods,.

[palacebear]

Should have said... also different user names depending on the type of website (social media / on-line shopping / household stuff etc). Each category linked to a different email address.

Regularly confuses me, especially early in the day before my morning bucket-full of coffee has worked its magic! Should keep a would-be hacker entertained for a while.

[les]

Unlikely no doubt, that these revelations would be detrimental in this case but it's amazing how keen people are to share their private stuff, I've heard people in the street giving out bank details! Even on here, there have been chassis details and the like disclosed. I remember, some time back granted, we had a bout of someone's medical history, followed by posts almost trying to outdo the other on ailments! No wonder these scammers are making millions. Keep your life guarded.

[palacebear]

A week or so ago I decided to sponsor a dog through a well-known re-homing charity. Filled in the forms for direct debit etc. Few days later had an email confirming everything was set up. The email only quoted last 4 digits of bank account number and last 3 digits of phone number as is usual. Few days after that whilst out shopping (very public place) a phone call from them asking me to quote the bank details again. I refused saying that I was standing in the middle of Debenhams and that they already had the information anyway. The woman at the other end of the phone got a bit shirty so I cut her off. Phoned back when I got home. Confirmed they had called me and was told the call was 'standard practice' even though they already had correct details confirmed by me!

[les]

Firstly, nice one re your sponsoring. Secondly you did the right thing in Debenhams. No such thing as being too careful. You've got to be on your guard 24/7.

[geoberni]

On a related security issue many of us face these days, here's a suggestion for those hard to remember PIN numbers.

If you've got several cards in your wallet/purse/pocket or wherever, and you probably favour 1 or 2 of them most of the time, how do you remember those infrequently used ones (assuming you haven't done something silly like use the same PIN on all of them) ?

I carry a credit size laminated card containing a matrix and my PINs are hidden on it. All I have to do is remember which card is which line, column etc and the secret is then that it's the 4 digits after the Key.

Here's an example I made up this morning; not my real one!

matrix.JPG (38.79 KiB) Viewed 3129 times

So the 'Key' is the 1st time a specific number appears on a line.
So using the example I've made up above, if 8 is the Key, then the PIN on the 1st Line is 7910, the 2nd Line is 6611, the 3rd line is a dummy for extra security and the 4th line is 2660.
You can make up any rules you like, because it's your own security system. Have vertical numbers or diagonal ones if you wish, even a square block. You could even have 4 numbers on a line, but then the PIN is actually Plus 1 to those 4 numbers; the options are fairly high and unique to yourself.

You can even use it to record other combinations, such as padlocks, or that key case that's on the elderly relatives front door for emergency access.

[firedrake1942]

This reminds me of the trailer on R4 of Alexi Sayl'e' new show. He is being shown round somewhere or other and the escorting chap says that the code to a door pin pad is the Treaty of Utrecht . Sayle caustically comments that it should be changed as the Treaty of Utrecht is the first thing that a Burglar will think of !

NB 1713 if you re wondering - It ceded Gibraltar to the UK, (perpetually peeing off the Spaniards !)

[BrianHawley]

yes but IF the scammers do find your extremely complex password,they will have access to every site you have,think I'll stick to my methods,.

If they can guess a 32 character totally random sequence in less than a million years, then good luck to them.