Insecurity

[hirez]

Apropos not much, here's a list of common passwords (ie - anyone with half a brain will try them first) and here's a list of common changes people make to 'normal' words.

Note that a really driven cracker will also try things that are personal to you. The section in 'Wargames' where Matt Broderick tracked down Prof. Falken's backdoor p/w (joshua) isn't fiction.

Those of you with a mind to play could do a lot worse than download John the ripper and see how long it takes to crack some of your own passwords. (I'm certainly going to)

It's also a Really Bad Idea to use the same password on multiple sites. LJ compromise is bad enough, Paypal and/or bank... Personally, I won't touch online banking. It's just not secure in this country or the US. The Swiss, unsurprisingly, have it right: one-time passwords.

Remember, you're as secure as the weakest link in the chain. A complex LJ password is useless if you've got 'remember me on this machine' ticked on a box with a rubbish p/w.

Stay safe, kids.

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