How password security will change in 10 years!

Passwords are going out the Window!

We’ve seen in the past where people have used such words as ninja, jesus, 12345678, and password!  I’ve talked about Lastpass in the past and I really believe they are the best possible combination of the two. With the recent questions of Password Length and Password Strength, I have come to the conclusion that in the coming years.   People will be doing a 3 factor authentication and having the passwords as a back up.   It really would be nice to have two ways to authenticate and not have to put in a password.

3 factor authentication!

I know your Password! Click image to see!Three factor authentication is a simple concept.   Since we have a password we can simply use two other ways to authenticate for example a cell phone and maybe a Yubi Key.  The password will be the backup for one or the other.  If you lost your phone and still would need to authenticate you password would be one you can use in an emergency. Thus it really becomes a 2 factor authentication but since we could use all three to authenticate it would make it that much harder for a hacker to brute force an attack and get your sensitive data.

2 factor authentication!

Although most people don’t think of this but having a limited number of possible access to the important data can make it just that much harder and maybe get the hacker to go somewhere else.   What about social networks?  Do we really need that for social?  I am thinking maybe and it just depends on how you login in the first place.   I would love most of them to to maybe let me authenticate with Google and come back to them but that leaves a large hole.   It just depends on how valuable your social status is and what the possible outcome of someone getting a hold of that social network.  

Elite passwords!

Some would call it “leet” speak,  and I’ve heard people say this is something we should do in reguards to making a password.   I tell you know, we already have a 2,000 most common passwords and I am betting it has some really good leet passwords already.  So what makes a hacker no try those to hack your account.   I would think these would be tried after the primary just because this would also be the easiest way to gain access to an account.

In Ten years!

I am pretty confident in ten years we will see something like this happen and we will no longer be depending on a system that was developed in the late 1990’s.   We have to be ready for change and keep it.  I just hope it happens sooner rather than later and that most companies should jump aboard and help us get this implemented.   I don’t know how hard this will be but it will be nice to not have to worry about a password anymore with my bank or other financial institution. 

Paul Sylvester

Five Essential Packages for Ubuntu/Kubuntu!

Why do I need these packages?

There is no right or wrong answer but when I say it is needed, it is because us as a community should be ready. I know I already talked about people getting a Virus on Linux, and that some people think you can't get a Virus. In all aspects, the Linux community is in a holding when it comes to security and viruses. I will not discuss this enough but for today we will discuss what packages you should have already installed when you first start using Linux. Even the Ubuntu developers have talked about viruses on their main website, so it isn't something that I am not a little worried about when people start to use Linux.

The Packages I have installed!

While there is no right or wrong package for your Linux system, I thought I would at least recommend the ones that I did install not just for security but also for convenience. It will be your decision on which ones you will be install and which ones you think you'll need. This list is for those who are serious about security and want to avoid any chances of being compromised.

• VLC Media Player -- Although this has nothing to do with security it is something that will prevent those nasty attempts, claiming your don't have the right Codex to play this streaming Video. At least, if you have this installed you are one step closer to and knowing that this is a fake because I have found to be very affective having all the codex I will ever need.
• AVG Antivirus -- I have personally installed means I am a little more safer but not out of the woods just yet. Although, I am much safer having installed there is a long way to go before there is a good enough Antivirus program for linux and that I hope that changes in the future.
• Firewall -- Although this is your choice, I picked arno-iptables-firewall, which seems to be what I need right now. It however is something of a personal choice and probably even an OS choice.
• Password Manager -- Yes you heard it right, if you have a good Password manager then you are less likely to give out your password to sites that look like the real thing, which is called phishing attacks. With a good Password manager, you can go to right the right site with a click of the manager. I personally recommend Lastpass, but it is all up to your which one you want to use. I really don't know if there are more linux based password manager but I am sure you can find them.
• VPN -- Although this isn't really a package per say, but one that talked about in the past. How to get a VPN on Ubuntu/Kubuntu. I am sure there are others out on the internet. I just don't want to make it to complicated for beginners, so I did make my own tutorial on getting a free VPN. You really don't want anyone listening in while at a public hotspot do you?

Your one step closer!

As you can see these are what I call essential because of most of these will make you a little more security conscience and that in turn will make you a better Linux user. for the most part your be more ready than a lot of Linux user but that doesn't mean your invulnerable, just more educated the rest. If you have a recommendation, I encourage you to leave a comment and let others know, but for the time being these are just what I have installed on my Kubuntu 11.04 right now and I'm really happy.

See you on the Flip Side

Paul Sylvester

Are your ready for your last post??

A Great post by Derek K. Miller!

I was reminded by a great post by Derek and it was yes sadly his truelly last post.    If you didn't know Derek and kept reading blog you'd have heard nuances of his problems.   You also have grown to know about his family through his blog post and yet you'd only touched the surface of this man by reading his blog posts.   I didn't know him personally but that last blog post made me want to know him.   It was inspiring and well written and made everyone cherish the person he once was.   I come to think each blog should have something like this to let our readers know that there will be no more blog posts from us.   This is one reason I thought about making an educational post about getting ready to die posts?

How to Get ready for Death!

We've all wondered how we'd have our last blog post published and who'd do it.   That part is yours to decide but I am going to talk about the fundelmentals and let you decide just how you'd it.   I personally feel there are three ways to it:

• Family -- This is the most trustworthy choice because the family members will almost always want your wishes carried out.


• A Will -- This is common in the United States and I am sure in other parts of the world but it is one way to let someone know you have a final post and to publish it.


• A Lawyer -- This is another common way to make sure your post is published by giving access to your blog through a lawyer.

As you can see these are my ideas of how to publish that last post.   All though these are just a few, I thought the list might give you an idea to publish in your own way.    I won't say these are the only ways but these are my ways and I don't see any other ways to do it.

How will they log in?

This problem is common for blog owners because they want to protect there blog from being used for wrong doing.   So you'd probably be one of those who has an really good password that no one has access to it.   I currently use Lastpass and would tell people even with the last problem they had, it is still the best password manager you could have.   One way to give people the access to your blog and all that information that they will need after you die is to give your families or lawyer  several one time passwords for your Lastpass password database.   Now I say that because some of us bloggers have affiliate sales and there may be a need to switch the commission to someone's elses name for them to use the money to keep the blog going.   It just depends on what you want the money to be used for.   A way you can think of it is, it will help pay for your funeral expenses and pay the persons back in the long run.    You'll just want to make sure they know that the domain and hosting should be paid first to keep the money coming in but is little from the money you'll be receiving each month.

Give Admins rights to someone you trust!

This is something that people will have to decide if it is right for you.   You can give someone who you trust their own account on your blog.   Although this is something that you have discuss well in advance.  I don't recommend this tactic because of the possibility that someone could brute force that account and no one would be the wiser.   It however is important to come up with your own way to have that last post publish that your readers can know that their won't be any more post by you and that they can morn for your death because you were part of their lives and you could very well be missed.

Paul Sylvester

 

 

Related articles

• Lastpass still the best there is! (paulstechtalk.com)


• The Last Post of Derek Miller - Blogging After Death (johnchow.com)


• I'm dead (offonatangent.blogspot.com)


• Derek K. Miller Says Goodbye With A Final Blog Post (laughingsquid.com)


• Derek K Miller's Last Post (adultonsetatheist.blogspot.com)


• RIP Derek K Miller (insideview.ie)


• The death of a skeptic (blogs.discovermagazine.com)


• Goodbye, Derek (nottobetrustedwithknives.com)

Another Facebook Phishing going on again! (fbaction.net)

(Click image to enlarge it)

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It looks like site fbaction.net (Don't go there) is a phishing site for people today.  It looks like it would send out an Email with the Title being "hello'" and a link to this website.  This is being sent from people friends and should not login to Facebook through this site.  Remember the other [intlink id="3008" type="post"]Phishing sites that happen with Facebook[/intlink].

Someone is wanting your password to either spam others or to use it for other nefarious means.   For the time being anyone sending your a link should be sent through facebook and you will examine them one at a time.   You should not got this site.

Some other things you can do if you have done this is to reset your password.  You could also change it manually but you might not be able to use your current password because the Nefarious person has changed the password.  This will allow you to change the password without the current password.   You should also consider using a good [intlink id="2646" type="post"]Password Manager[/intlink], this will help you identify a fake Facebook site really easily.

If you use a good strong password, one with both Upper and Lowercase with Numbers and symbols, you will have a password that most people will not be able to guess.  This will help protect your account from being compromised.

Also with people sending files, it is also recommended that you install some [intlink id="2205" type="page"]free Anti-virus and Free firewalls[/intlink] to help prevent people from sending malware to your computer.