Thursday, July 4, 2013

Safety Bet

I've been lazy for the last few years. My passwords are different on every account, most are long, and yes they include at least a cap(ital) letter and a number, and sometimes even a symbol. But that's still lazy for a geek. I need a p/w vault.

I counted up my passwords the other day. Pretty sure there are about 15. None of them are written down around my desk. All live in my head. (I printed a good many of them out once (in case of emergency) then killed the file. Well, I think I did. If I didn't, it doesn't matter because I'm getting ready to change all p/w in my life anyway.)

The Point is, with a new job (in safety/security) I'm all out of brain room for more passwords! I already created a few new ones at work, in my first week, and yea, today I'm researching password vaults and getting "up to speed". In other words, install, figure it out, use it, try to break it. Usually in that order :)

Here is my advice, in the form of an email to my kids, husband, friends, family:
Greetings - It shouldn't be a surprise that with the new job I'm investigating, learning and setting up better protection for my accounts.

Below is some of my research. I like this first article because it pretty much tells you how to use the best tools plus a "hack" to make a thumb drive a physical "key" to keep all your passwords safe. Good idea *and* you can share a p/w file, (holding one or a few passwords) without showing what the p/w actually is.

Two nice overview articles about password vault applications:

Just what it says, but also explains how professional hackers get away with your data : how to make strong p/w

If you haven't already, please download (pay for it!) Avast and keep your system clean and safe :) btw, Lastpass  is also for phones if you pay the $12 per year price. Sweet :)