GeekSugar

Another Friendly Reminder to Choose a Safe Password

Kristen Hawley — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:30:29 PST

After an attack compromised the information of anyone who's ever registered to comment on any of the popular Gawker Media sites, Twitter experienced an attack of its own, spamming users with bogus acai berry links. Users whose passwords on any Gawker site were identical to their Twitter passwords probably experienced some form of Twitter hacking. Of course, one of the first ways to deal with a compromised account is to change your password, but let's take a minute to discuss (again) the point of choosing an unusual or hard-to-guess password.

A list of Gawker's 25 most popular passwords surfaced yesterday, and even I'm surprised at some of the passwords on the list. For example, the most popular password is "123456" with over 2,500 instances; the second most popular password: "password." Other predictable passwords: "abc123," "whatever," and "iloveyou." The merits of a safe password are obvious, so let the unfortunate password attacks serve as a helpful reminder: change your passwords often, try not to use one password for every site, and choose a hard-to-guess password.

Tech Peeve Du Jour: Needless Crazy Password Rules

GeekSugar — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:00:09 PDT

I, like many others, take online security very seriously. Now that our entire lives have been arguably completely digitized, there is a lot of sensitive and personal information floating around secure websites. Banking info, credit card data, rent and mortgage payments - for all of the sites containing this sort of information, a complicated password isn't just required, it's necessary to keep you safe. I have no problem with restrictive password requirements for these sites. I do have beef with password requirements on sites that don't necessarily contain sensitive personal information.

Are you with me? Keep reading.

How Often Do You Change Your Passwords?

GeekSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:44:13 PDT

Earlier this week, we found out that 10,000 email passwords were leaked and posted online. The number then slowly crept close to 20,000 - until Hotmail disclosed a whopping 100,000 accounts could have been affected.

After hearing the news, I immediately changed the passwords on all of my email accounts. Thankfully most of you have super-secure passwords (and if you don't, here's how to create a secure one), but sadly even a secure password is vulnerable when leaked.

After rushing to change my password, I realized I hadn't changed it in nearly a year. I'm also guilty of using the same passwords for multiple sites and applications. And, I'll admit I'm guilty of using an overused password now and then. I set a reminder on my calendar to change my passwords every three months, and hopefully I'll stick to it. What about you?

Do You Ever Have Difficulty Making Out a Site Security Code?

GeekSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:05:55 PDT

You know those little encrypted passwords and codes you're sometimes required to enter before paying for something or accessing a certain feature of a website?

Gone are the days when they were actually legible, because now I can hardly read them! I realize that they are used to block spammers, hackers, and bots, but they are getting so sophisticated that I can barely make out the numbers and letters.

I mean this one isn't that bad, but it did take me a few seconds to make out what the letters were - just frustrating and slows me down when I'm trying to make a split-second purchase!

Are you noticing that they are getting increasingly more difficult as well?

Daily Tech: Check Your Twitter Account

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:02:02 PDT

How to check if your Twitter password was one of thousands hacked - Geekosystem
What a nonneutral Internet looks like - FWD
Video game plot twists that would've blown your mind - Cracked
Google gets closer to making the self-driving car a reality - Newser
Thor corgi! Thor corgi! - Dvice
NASA identifies light from an alien world - Tecca

How to Create a Hacker-Proof Password in 5 Easy Steps

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:51:22 PDT

You've heard it a hundred times before: you need to create a hacker-proof password to keep from falling victim to cybercrime. But not only are you supposed to choose a hard-to-guess password, it's best to have a different one for each website you've registered with. This fact was reinforced after the recent hacking of Gawker, which allowed hackers to gain access to Gawker user accounts, as well as any other online account that used the same password. Even more worrysome: this weekends massive email data breach.

Talk about confusing! So how do you go about creating a hacker-proof password that's easy to remember? Find out after the break.

The Office, "Turf War": Best Lines of the Night

Lizzie Fuhr — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:55:21 PDT

In this week's episode of The Office, Robert California is hung over and trying to put together the events of the evening - namely, that he closed the Syracuse branch of Dunder-Mifflin while blacked out. And of course, Andy is still being awkward and hanging out around the office, hoping that it's all just been a bad dream. I was happy to see Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur!) from True Blood make an appearance as the Syracuse branch manager who is upset that Scranton is stealing his clients.

We learn that Nellie has been having a hard time and actually has a heart; when Pam warms up to her, she's elated. Andy scores a big deal under the alias Big Red Paper Company to get his job back, but when Robert doesn't bite, he heads over to our old friend David Wallace, who seems interested. While I was happy to see Andy get his groove back, to be honest, the high point of the episode is the cold open, where Jim sets up a thigh curl contest between Gabe and Dwight. There are a few funny lines that held things together, so to see my favorites, just keep reading.

Passwords: the Promise Rings of a Digital Generation

Kelly Schwarze — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:11:18 PST

Once you've gotten to a comfortable point in a romantic relationship, how do you recognize mutual trust and respect for one another? With our private lives stored within emails, Facebook photos, and Netflix queue preferences, many young couples now see the final pillar in solidifying trust in a relationship is sharing the password into a partner's virtual world.

The New York Times recently profiled what they see as a growing trend of teenagers showing their security in a relationship by sharing the passwords for email, Facebook, instant messenger accounts, even their phone with a girlfriend, boyfriend, or close friend. It's easy to get lost in the euphoria of a new love, believing they should be privy to your every digital thought. The hindsight of a relationship gone sour suggests that sharing a password can lead to a slippery slope where the no-longer-significant other has access to potentially embarrassing information on the former love.

If you've had either a positive or negative experience with sharing passwords in the past, chime in with your thoughts in the comments.

Woman Finds Facebook Photos on Porn Site: How to Keep Your Pics Private

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:32:39 PDT

Talk about a nightmare! A 20-year-old Minnesota woman found her Facebook account had been hacked. Not only was she denied access, but also she found her Facebook photos had been stolen and posted to a porn site. Getting hacked is just like being robbed - you feel totally violated - but she wasn't the only one being taken advantage of online. Turns out, the same hacker had gained access to at least 100 other Facebook accounts, posting names and places of residence alongside photos on sexually explicit sites.

Not only is this kind of incident bad for your online reputation, but for your reputation as a whole. Imagine if a potential employer decided to Google your name, only to find photos of you on a not-so-savory website promoting pornography! The good news is there are steps you can take to lower your risk of being hacked on Facebook, Twitter, and other online destinations. Get the tips when you read more.

The 1 Step You Need to Take to Prevent Getting the Mac Flashback Trojan

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:42:16 PDT

Come to find out, Macs aren't virus-proof. There's a new trojan virus spreading through Mac computers at an alarming rate - over 600,000 could be infected now, 57 percent of those being in the US. The virus disguises itself as an Adobe Flash Player installer, and after you've installed what you think is an update to Flash, the malware then seeks out passwords and log-in information stored on your computer.

There are a few ways to find out if your computer is infected, but there is also one simple way to prevent the effects of the virus - download the latest security update from Apple! This will close any loopholes and vulnerabilities in order to keep your computer (and your information) secure.

Source: Flickr user neenio