Password Protection = Oxymoron?
Wednesday, 08 September 2010 10:09 | 
The contention that passwords are protection is false. The lengthy, complicated passwords with alphanumeric characters at least several characters long, and changing them every so often, WILL NOT keep your data safe! Okay, yes, passwords can be a good thing and are a requirement to gain access (currently) however there is a threat that makes even the most complicated, frequently changed passwords a moot endevor should one of these programs (okay, hacks/viruses/etctera) get into your computer.
What's known as Keyloggers will monitor your keystrokes and send them to a Hacker. A hacker, or a gone-bad programmer, can write 10 lines of code and see everything you are doing on your PC as if they were right there. (A form of VPN or Virtual Network Computing.) Scary, indee, yes, but that's why we have things like AntiVirus and Firewalls; to help keep this from happening.
While there are projects working on correcting the many downfalls of such password systems, like the one reported on by Randall Stross of the New York Times that uses short password taken from a dictionary, right now all you can do is to make sure a Keylogger never makes its way onto your system.
How? Antivirus. Never using an unknown program. Never plug in or use a strange Flash Drive or CD. Never let anyone esle use your PC. And ALWAYS make sure Antivirus and Firewall are both not only running and doing FULL Scans but are also UPDATED regularly.
As far as dealing with the requirement for complicated, lengthy passwords, I only have a little advice... combine the numbers and letters for something a little easy to remember or figure out. (ie; a Name/Nickname/Place and your Favorite Number). Then capitolize the first letter.
If you are FORCED to CHANGE the password, simply click on Caps-Lock before typing it in. It will be the same password, easy to keep remembering, but you just have to use the Caps Lock feature. This is handy for having to change it for any reason, like someone MAY know it now, or a Virus was just removed from the PC.
MORPHING a password is another way to handle Password Changes. If you used a place like: Kohls123 then change it to Target123 or Kmart. Maybe it's characters on a TV show.
NUMBERS: Use the least possible! Usually a single or double digit number is enough. This way, also, it can be either the Month, Day or Year of a date, OR just a Fave Number to remember, not a combination of thousands.
REMEMBER to always let your PC do a FULL VIRUS SCAN of your computer at least Weekly, which means leaving it on and initiating the Scan with your Antivirus Software. You DO have AV software installed, running and updated, right? If not, I suggest the FREE version at http://free.grisoft.com if your heavy-duty pay one ran out.
If you ever get and remove a Virus unknown, or known to be a keylogger, Change your Passwords!
Until the technology has been refined and is put into place, this is the best I can offer you in order to avoid Keyloggers and dealing with Passwords. Passwords will still be prevelant, but hopefully easier to remember.
Source: Y! Finance