On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 5:04 AM, Kirk Olsen <kork4_at_cluemail.com> wrote: > > My preference is for using the first letter of each word from a > phrase/song/poem - with some numbers to replace letters or words. > > A method I learned when working for an unmentionable government agency is to pick two consonants that do not normally appear in (most) western vocabularies, add four or five letters of a word that means something to you, and then a number (like current year or your birth year). For instance: BDsword10 or ZCjulia76 The advantage to this method is that it's only necessary to remember the two consonants... the rest you probably already know. It also generally defeats dictionary cracks. Unless it gets really popular; in which case someone can design a crack that takes this method into account. I usually pick the consonants by looking around the area and choosing two at random. Additional protection can be had by adding some punctuation (like a comma before the numbers). One problem with complicated passwords is that they are so difficult to remember that users are forced to write them down somewhere. I've seen them taped to the monitor, written on a scrap of paper that is taped to the inside of a desk drawer (just open it to see the password). Dictionary cracks are remarkably effective against the passwords so many people choose. Usually they are the names of pets, kids, spouses, parents, etc. Using my method you can still use those names... you just have to disguise them in a packet. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Sep 21 2010 - 09:35:53 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:43 PDT