, how you do that? , how you do that? 
In my last entry I suggested the basic rules for having a good password. Now, for those of you that want to go the distance, here is the next level. Have a set of "tricks" that you apply to your chosen password. It's best to come up with your own personal tricks; but here is what I mean:
Pretend that you are thinking about using these passwords: camaro66; nyjets12; cowboys22
TRICK #1:
Replace 1 or more of the lower case letters with capitals.
Example: Camaro66, NYJets12, cowboyS22
Caution: I don’t recommend more than 1 or where it is not obvious and easy to remember.
TRICK #2:
Interchange the syllables
Example: Marocam66, JetsNY12, Boyscow22
TRICK #3:
There is a theory that a number in the middle is more secure.
Example: Maro66cam, Jets12NY, Boys22cow
You can stop with 1 trick or use 3 or use your own trick.
Now, here is something that is TOTALLY DIFFERENT in choosing passwords. It has a lot of advantages which will become evident.
Think of a catch-phrase or line from a movie, or a Bible scripture, or anything else that you choose to remember.
Examples:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
Take the FIRST letter of each word and make that your password.
Using the above: tqbfjotld, itbgcthate, arbaonwsas
As you can see, who could guess this?!
How do I choose a password?
I recommend that you choose a series or a set of common names: Preferably this series should have a number associated with it. Here are some examples:
1) City names in Europe.
london
paris
madrid
berlin
etc.
2) Properties in the game of Monopoly.
broadway
atlantic
baltic
parkplace
marvin
stjames
etc.
3) NFL Football Teams
cowboys
nyjets
broncos
browns
etc.
4) Car Names
camaro
thunderbird
corvette
gremlin
maxima
etc.
Obviously this can go on and on.
Ok, now you need a number to associate with the name. Here is where it gets personal. Depending on the length of the name, choose 1 or 2 or 3 numbers to make sure you have at least 8 characters.
I will amend and explain my suggestions for the above names:
1) City names in Europe.
london1666 (Year of Great Fire of London)
paris1789 (French Revolution)
madrid1936 (Spanish Civil War)
berlin1989 (Berlin Wall came down)
etc.
2) Properties in the game of Monopoly.
broadway400 (Price of property)
atlantic300
baltic60
parkplace350
marvin280
stjames180
etc.
3) NFL Football Teams
cowboys24 (number of Emmit Smith)
nyjets12 (Joe Namath)
broncos7 (John Elway)
browns32 (Jim Brown)
chargers14 (Dan Fouts)
etc.
You can also use the number of your favorite player or the year they won a Super Bowl
4) Car Names
camaro66
thunderbird57
corvette89
gremlin70
maxima81
etc.
Note that years are very easy to associate with a word. You can use two or four digit years.
If there is not an obvious associate number with a word, use a two or four digit personal year like:
1) Year of your birth
2) Year of your graduation class
3) Year of your marriage
Note that you can always use leading zeros to achieve 8 letters.
Ok, so now you have a system to create good passwords for yourself. You can stop here. OR... You can go further employ something I call "tricks". See the next installment.
How many passwords do I need?
Now at this point I start going into personal preferences. You need to adapt a system for your own use; that you feel comfortable with.
Remember that you are trying to balance two things:
1) The simplicity of remembering your password and
2) The difficulty of remembering a word that has numbers, symbols, and no meaning (except for you).
Ideally, you would have a separate password for every account that you have. But with today’s world, that is just too many passwords. So what is to be done? One password even though it is a great one is like losing a master key: your whole world is compromised. I recommend having a three-level tiers of passwords that is based on security. Your first password is the super-secret, special, hard-to-figure out password that you use for accounts that you absolutely want to keep secret: like your on-line banking, your on-line trading, your secret personal files. Your second password is a Level 2 security. For example, your email accounts, your system logon, etc. The third password is reserved for Level 3 security: Here is where you pretty much don't care if the password leaks out and you don’t run much of a risk of harm as a result. Use this one for music accounts, club memberships, access to special sites and so forth.
Next up...How do I choose?
Note: This is the second (101b) of my series on Passwords. Take a look at my first entry "Passwords 101a" on January 9th, 2009.
Choosing Your Password:
The Rules:
- Don’t use something personal and simple, like your name; your spouse’s name; the street you live on, etc.
WHY? It’s too easy to guess. Once someone guesses, you are compromised.
- It Must Have 8 or more characters
WHY? Everyone says that this is true, right? Some say 6. Well, if someone sat at the computer and started systematically entering passwords starting with A, then B, then C, every single letter until Z, that’s 26 tries. Next they go to AA, AB, AC…AZ and finally ZZ. You get the point. So for an 8-letter password they enter ZZZZZZZ. Sooner or later they will find your password. But how many tries in the worst case? I’m not going to do the math; but the answer is a large, large number. The more letters the larger number. The larger the number the more tries, the safer your password. And after 6 or so characters, every added letter increases this number by a whole lot more. So 8 is recommended by the experts.
- It’s better to have a number in the password.
WHY? Well that means more guesses: You start with 1, then 2, then 3, A…Z. The number gets bigger.
- It’s also good to have a symbol like #, $, %. The number gets even bigger.
- It’s good to have mixed capital and lowercase: Aa, AAAAbbbb, etc. You know what happens.
- Don’t use a word that can be looked up in a dictionary
WHY? Of course, nobody is going to sit there and type in numbers, a computer will do that. So they are smart. They have a dictionary and try only words that are in the dictionary. The number gets smaller.
- There are many more rules; but these are good enough for practical purposes.
How do I remember?
- The human brain works best by association. That’s why it is possible to play the TV game of “Password”. If there is a logical reason for your password, then you are more likely to remember it. If there is a "rhyme to your reason" or a "method to your madness", memory is better.
- Tricks: Special circumstances are easy to remember. I call these tricks. You'll see what I mean later. Keep in mind exceptions or personal rules that you follow.
We will move ahead in Passwords 101c. Stay Tuned!
The Big 'G) Yes, there was an excess of just about everything you can think of; and that included user software. Acrobat Acrobat is "fatware"; bloated, expensive, and annoying.
Unfortunately, this is a common problem. But it's like telling the doctor, "I'm not feeling good". That doesn't tell him much. It's such a common symptom that has SO many, many causes.
Have you heard, "The chain is as strong as its weakest link?" Well, you might say, "The computer is as fast as its slowest part." So, if part of your computer is slow, then it doesn't matter what your CPU speed is or how much RAM you've got. If that piece is "in the chain" then your computer is slow.
So, what do you do? Well, as I said many times, you have to start with a healthy computer. That, in itself is a fast computer; relatively speaking.
Today, though, you have to protect your computer: you add Anti Virus and Anti Spyware sofware. Guess what? You slow your computer down. But why?
Imagine that you have a bundle of money. You want to protect it, so you stuff it into your mattress. When you want to spend, you just pull in out and away you go. But how safe is that? Ok, you take your money and place it in a safe-deposit box. It's safe, right? Well, next day, you decide to spend. You drive your car to the bank, park it, go into the bank, wait in line, climb downstairs to the vault, find the drawer, use your key, and finally grab your money. How fast is that?
You get the point: A safe computer is slower. It has to be. Software guards are "escorting" your programs on their way. They are pushing the crowd (computer attacks) away.
"But my healthy and protected compuer is TOO slow", you say. OK, I hear you. More about what you can do later...
Copyright 2009 Navdon Technology - All rights reserved
Are you interested in VoIP? (Internet Phone)
This is a great way to communicate! But it's been so hard to set up lately; especially if you want it cheap, or spend no money at all. Well, now is the time to jump in.
I think we are moving into the next phase of VoIP: the phase where it is going to become useful for everybody, especially the ordinary user. Just a year ago, you would go crazy trying to set it up and make it work. At least I did! There are so many parameters and network problems that you feel like giving up. Well, I have found - finally - a good, free and/or cheap service: callcentric.com.
Do you hate web sites that are hard to navigate and user unfriendly? No worries here. Call Centric makes it easy. They need to win some award for good web design. There is such a thing as "one click connection" or maybe "double-click connection". Of course you need to set it up; but you don't want to worry about firewalls and port numbers and "Asymmetic NATS" and all that garbage. Their software figures it all out! And it works! Besides, if you have problems, their FAQ's are actually helpful. Now that is what it is all about.
Sign up for a free account and number. Download their software phone and you are in business. Then sign up your friends and get them in on the deal. You won't regret it. It has the Navdon "seal of approval"
Check it out: callcentric.com
Copyright 2009 - Navdon Technology and Computer Services
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