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Passwords, where to keep them

February 16, 2010 in software | No comments

You have to have passwords on the internet, for email, banking, online purchasing, even those sites that require you to register and sign in just to see more information. Everyone says not to use the same login and password for all those places, but there are very few people who can actually remember all of the different combinations of different logins and random passwords that the security experts suggest you have. The reason to not use the same login and password for banking and facebook, for example, is that if someone could figure out or steal your facebook login name and password, they could try it on all of the major bank sites, just to see if it would work, knowing that many people do use the same logins across many different sites.

The trick is to somehow store those passwords so that you can get to them when you need them. And, you should use differing login names and passwords that are not easy to guess. Which means that one of the answers is to use a computer program to store and even suggest strong and different passwords. Research using 32 million passwords exposed in a recent “break in” revealed that one of the most common passwords is “123456” and that many people use common dictionary words, people and pet names, and adjacent keys on the keyboard.

KeePass and Roboforms (Windows) and 1Password (Macintosh) are software options that let you store your passwords for different sites, and will also suggest strong and random passwords. A useful feature is that they can suggest passwords that are “memorable”, passwords that look like snippets of English, making it easier to remember and type. Each of these programs can also fill in your credentials on websites and even print out your passwords.

Of course, one of the easiest storage methods is still a small note card in your wallet. Most of us know how to “secure” our wallets and if you only write down the passwords, and can remember (with the help of some code maybe) which password is used where, you really are much more safe than when using the same password for all of your logins.

KeePass, http://keepass.info/
Roboforms, http://www.roboform.com/
1Password, http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password

Computer shortcut heaven

October 10, 2009 in software, training | No comments

In trying to come up with my top ten keyboard shortcuts, the ones where people say, “Wait, what did you just do?” I have come up with the following 13. But, in my defense, I could say that cut, copy, and paste may not count, as many people may have already learned those keyboard shortcuts. So, here is a list of my top 10+3

The whole point of using the keyboard for what otherwise would involve the mouse is to cut down on moving your hand from the keyboard while you are typing, to the mouse to find and click on a menu command, and then back to the keyboard to continue typing. These shortcuts are usually a mix of two or more keys pressed at the same time. So, below is my list of what I most frequently use to avoid that keyboard to mouse and back routine. Ctrl c means hold down the “Ctrl” key and press the “c” key.

Windows Mac Action
Ctrl c Cmd c Copy what is highlighted
Ctrl v Cmd v Paste
Ctrl x Cmd x Cut what is highlighted
Alt tab Cmd tab Rotate to next running program
Ctrl s Cmd s Save file and keep it open for further work
Ctrl z Cmd z Undo last command or action
Click the right mouse button Click the right mouse button, or Ctrl click left button Open contextual menu,
Alt F4 or Ctrl q Cmd q Close, quit the current program
Ctrl p Cmd p Open print window
Ctrl n Cmd n Open new document, web page, email message …
Ctrl a Cmd a Select all in document or window
Tab Tab Move to next typing field in web page or database window or table
Ctrl click Cmd click Lets you pick and choose among the list of file names or email messages

How to find other shortcuts

When you are looking at a menu again and again, to do the same thing over and over, look to the right of the command and notice there may be something like Ctrl O (File, Open)

Or, google something like “Word keyboard shortcuts,” replacing Word with the name of the program that you want shortcuts for.

Write down a list of ten that you frequently use, ones that otherwise you are always getting to through the menus, and put them next to your computer. Practice them.

As nothing is consistent across all computer programs, focus on the shortcuts that will help you with your most frequent mouse actions.

“Opening and saving these file types may pose a risk to you.” What else is new from Microsoft ?

January 6, 2008 in software | No comments

Information about certain file types that are blocked after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3

OK, Microsoft is making Vista safer, making IE safer, tightening up a variety of things (usually by disabling features or prompting you to click through a nag) and yet they find it good to make sure that Office 2003 service pack three disables certain file types (they seem to all be from the competition, btw, or things they would like to kill off) with the excuse that “the parsing code that Office 2003 uses to open and save the file types is less secure.”

So, what would be wrong in fixing that code? Oh, I don’t know, maybe then people would still be able to open older word files from the early 1990s.

And, for the geekery people, yes you can change this behavior in the registry.

Did I just loose my desktop?

January 6, 2008 in arrgghh, software | No comments

Intuit Alienates Mac Users With QuickBooks Fiasco

I understand that companies lost data, at an important time of the year. And, I saw Intuit, after their first few days of not turning off the update server on their end, implement pretty good customer support.But, there really wasn’t anything they could do to recover data.

We lost and I still need to use them.

Long live backups.

Dell warns of Vista upgrade challenges – ZDNet UK

July 5, 2007 in software | No comments

Dell warns of Vista upgrade challenges – ZDNet UK

It’s not that you shouldn’t upgrade, just that you had better really plan it and layout the money. I am still looking for a good cost/benefit for smaller businesses that really don’t have much more than even one PDC.

Keeping up with the Jones “The enemy adapts: the state of spam, malware, and phishing scams”

June 27, 2007 in arrgghh, software, training | No comments

Just as we are supposed to keep our consumer society healthy and flourishing it seems that computer bad stuff is making plenty of money, for someone. And, thinking that a Mac will keep you safe is only going to cover part of staying safe on the Internet, it seems that phishing schemes, those things that look like you have to reconfirm some financial information, are really taking off. And, how do they make money? Well, the costs are so low that if only 1 in 10,000 were to fall for it, that would be enough.