How To Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away

pearlbrown
  |     |   2,298 posts since 2010

From The New York Times via Yahoo Finance:

Not long after I began writing about cybersecurity, I became a paranoid caricature of my former self. It’s hard to maintain peace of mind when hackers remind me every day, all day, just how easy it is to steal my personal data.

Within weeks, I set up unique, complex passwords for every Web site, enabled two-step authentication for my e-mail accounts, and even covered up my computer’s Web camera with a piece of masking tape — a precaution that invited ridicule from friends and co-workers who suggested it was time to get my head checked.

But recent episodes offered vindication. I removed the webcam tape — after a friend convinced me that it was a little much — only to see its light turn green a few days later, suggesting someone was in my computer and watching. More recently, I received a text message from Google with the two-step verification code for my Gmail account. That’s the string of numbers Google sends after you correctly enter the password to your Gmail account, and it serves as a second password.... The only problem was that I was not trying to get into my Gmail account. I was nowhere near a computer. Apparently, somebody else was.

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paoli2
  |     |   2,641 posts since 2011
Pearl:  With all the millions of people who have computers what are the chances that a hacker would try to hack into someone's credit card or bank account if the person is not known to them?  Even if they hacked into our credit card account and made charges, I don't think we are liable for charges not our own.  As for the bank account, is it that easy for a stranger to withdraw money when I can't even get a check cashed at a branch unless I show my ID?  Is the everyday person really in that much danger of hackers?  I have so many different passwords half the time I can't find them and I get blocked by my own accounts for putting wrong ones in!  It is really pathetic that we have to go to so much trouble just to use the internet.
Shorebreak
  |     |   4,039 posts since 2010
The Importance of Password Security

January 2010 - The Importance of Password SecurityThe Importance of Password Security
51hh
  |     |   1,693 posts since 2010
It is indeed a trade-off.  If one puts too much escurity in one's password; the most one will hurt is oneself (cannot recall it since there are so many and so secretive).  All these password schemes do not fit me well.  I just use a secret base set of numbers and build on it.  Then change it regularly. 

No need to creat another headache for my daily life. 


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