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  • The Frustrations of Resetting Your Password Online [Video]

    - by Asian Angel
    We have all been there…finding ourselves needing to reset a password and suffering through the process of creating a password that the online service will accept. You will certainly feel some sympathy watching this young woman reset the password for her favorite web service before she can log in and have fun. Note: Video contains some language that may be considered inappropriate. Have you had similar bad or extremely frustrating experiences while resetting a password? Let us know in the comments! Reset Your Password [via MakeUseOf] HTG Explains: What Is RSS and How Can I Benefit From Using It? HTG Explains: Why You Only Have to Wipe a Disk Once to Erase It HTG Explains: Learn How Websites Are Tracking You Online

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  • Where to find a list of bad passwords?

    - by Steve Morgan
    I need to implement a 'stop list' to prevent users selecting common passwords in a new online service. Can anyone point me to such a list online anywhere? Edited: Note that I'm only trying to eliminate the most common passwords, not an exhaustive dictionary. And, of course, this complements a reasonably strong password policy (length, use of non-alpha characters, etc.) Thanks.

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  • Can Google Employees See My Saved Google Chrome Passwords?

    - by Jason Fitzpatrick
    Storing your passwords in your web browser seems like a great time saver, but are the passwords secure and inaccessible to others (even employees of the browser company) when squirreled away? Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites. The Question SuperUser reader MMA is curious if Google employees have (or could have) access to the passwords he stores in Google Chrome: I understand that we are really tempted to save our passwords in Google Chrome. The likely benefit is two fold, You don’t need to (memorize and) input those long and cryptic passwords. These are available wherever you are once you log in to your Google account. The last point sparked my doubt. Since the password is available anywhere, the storage must in some central location, and this should be at Google. Now, my simple question is, can a Google employee see my passwords? Searching over the Internet revealed several articles/messages. Do you save passwords in Chrome? Maybe you should reconsider: Talks about your passwords being stolen by someone who has access to your computer account. Nothing mentioned about the central storage security and vulnerability. There is even a response from Chrome browser security tech lead about the first issue. Chrome’s insane password security strategy: Mostly along the same line. You can steal password from somebody if you have access to the computer account. How to Steal Passwords Saved in Google Chrome in 5 Simple Steps: Teaches you how to actually perform the act mentioned in the previous two when you have access to somebody else’s account. There are many more (including this one at this site), mostly along the same line, points, counter-points, huge debates. I refrain from mentioning them here, simply carry a search if you want to find them. Coming back to my original query, can a Google employee see my password? Since I can view the password using a simple button, definitely they can be unhashed (decrypted) even if encrypted. This is very different from the passwords saved in Unix-like OS’s where the saved password can never be seen in plain text. They use a one-way encryption algorithm to encrypt your passwords. This encrypted password is then stored in the passwd or shadow file. When you attempt to login, the password you type in is encrypted again and compared with the entry in the file that stores your passwords. If they match, it must be the same password, and you are allowed access. Thus, a superuser can change my password, can block my account, but he can never see my password. So are his concerns well founded or will a little insight dispel his worry? The Answer SuperUser contributor Zeel helps put his mind at ease: Short answer: No* Passwords stored on your local machine can be decrypted by Chrome, as long as your OS user account is logged in. And then you can view those in plain text. At first this seems horrible, but how did you think auto-fill worked? When that password field gets filled in, Chrome must insert the real password into the HTML form element – or else the page wouldn’t work right, and you could not submit the form. And if the connection to the website is not over HTTPS, the plain text is then sent over the internet. In other words, if chrome can’t get the plain text passwords, then they are totally useless. A one way hash is no good, because we need to use them. Now the passwords are in fact encrypted, the only way to get them back to plain text is to have the decryption key. That key is your Google password, or a secondary key you can set up. When you sign into Chrome and sync the Google servers will transmit the encrypted passwords, settings, bookmarks, auto-fill, etc, to your local machine. Here Chrome will decrypt the information and be able to use it. On Google’s end all that info is stored in its encrpyted state, and they do not have the key to decrypt it. Your account password is checked against a hash to log in to Google, and even if you let chrome remember it, that encrypted version is hidden in the same bundle as the other passwords, impossible to access. So an employee could probably grab a dump of the encrypted data, but it wouldn’t do them any good, since they would have no way to use it.* So no, Google employees can not** access your passwords, since they are encrypted on their servers. * However, do not forget that any system that can be accessed by an authorized user can be accessed by an unauthorized user. Some systems are easier to break than other, but none are fail-proof. . . That being said, I think I will trust Google and the millions they spend on security systems, over any other password storage solution. And heck, I’m a wimpy nerd, it would be easier to beat the passwords out of me than break Google’s encryption. ** I am also assuming that there isn’t a person who just happens to work for Google gaining access to your local machine. In that case you are screwed, but employment at Google isn’t actually a factor any more. Moral: Hit Win + L before leaving machine. While we agree with zeel that it’s a pretty safe bet (as long as your computer is not compromised) that your passwords are in fact safe while stored in Chrome, we prefer to encrypt all our logins and passwords in a LastPass vault. Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.     

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  • How does a web browser save passwords?

    - by marcus
    How do current web browsers (or mobile mail clients and any software in general) save user passwords? All answers about storing passwords say we should store only hashes, not the password themselves. But I'm having a hard time searching the web trying to find the best techniques to store passwords when we know we will need them in plain text later on — without storing them in plain text, without using a weak encryption (known key) and without asking the user for a master password. Any ideas?

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  • Fixing /etc/shadow with md5 passwords to sha512 passwords

    - by dr jimbob
    I recently upgraded an ubuntu server with many users to a recent version from a version from 2008. The server used to use md5 password hashes (e.g., the shadow passwords began with $1$) and now is configured to use sha512. I'd prefer to keep using sha512, but would like the old users to be able to partially login once with their old password and then be forced to update their password (even if its the same password) generating a sha512. Right now, the old md5-based passwords in /etc/shadow won't let the user login at all (and just appear to be incorrect passwords). This seems like plenty of people should have had to do this before; yet I can't see how to do it, looking in the common places like /etc/pam.d/common-password nad /etc/login.defs. Also users will be logging in via ssh; and I do not have everyone's contact info (email or otherwise); and some login fairly rarely. Any help? (Googling doesn't seem to give any good solutions).

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  • Gawker Passwords

    - by Nick Harrison
    There has been much news about the hack of the Gawker web sites. There has even been an analysis of the common passwords found. This list is embarrassing in many ways. The most common password was "123456". The second most common password was "password". Much has also been written providing advice on how to create good passwords. This article provides some interesting advice, none of which should be taken. Anyone reading my blog, probably already knows the importance of strong passwords, so I am not going to reiterate the reasons here. My target audience is more the folks defining password complexity requirements. A user cannot come up with a strong password, if we have complexity requirements that don't make sense. With that in mind, here are a few guidelines:  Long Passwords Insist on long passwords. In some cases, you may need to change to allow a long password. I have seen many places that cap passwords at 8 characters. Passwords need to be at least 8 characters minimal. Consider how much stronger the passwords would be if you double the length. Passwords that are 15-20 characters will be that much harder to crack. There is no need to have limit passwords to 8 characters. Don't Require Special Characters Many complexity rules will require that your password include a capital letter, a lower case letter, a number, and one of the "special" characters, the shits above the number keys. The problem with such rules is that the resulting passwords are harder to remember. It also means that you will have a smaller set of characters in the resulting passwords. If you must include one of the 9 digits and one of the 9 "special" characters, then you have dramatically reduced the character set that will make up the final password. Two characters will be one of 10 possible values instead of one of 70. Two additional characters will be one of 26 possible characters instead of a 70 character potential character set. If you limit passwords to 8 characters, you are left with only 7 characters having the full set of 70 potential values. With these character restrictions in place, there are 1.6 x1012 possible passwords. Without these special character restrictions, but allowing numbers and special characters, you get a total of 5.76x1014 possible passwords. Even if you only allowed upper and lower case characters, you will still have 2.18X1014 passwords. You can do the math any number of ways, requiring special characters will always weaken passwords. Now imagine the number of passwords when you require more than 8 characters.  If you are responsible for defining complexity rules, I urge you to take these guidelines into account. What other guidelines do you follow?

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  • System that splits passwords across two servers

    - by Burning the Codeigniter
    I stumbled upon this news article on BBC, RSA splits passwords in two to foil hackers' attacks tl;dr - a (randomized) password is split in half and is stored across two separate servers, to foil hackers that gained access to either server upon a security breach. Now the main question is, how would this kind of system would be made... codespeaking, for PHP which I commonly develop on my web applications, the database password is normally stored in a configuration file, i.e. config.php with the username and password, in that case it is understandable that the passwords can be stolen if the security was compromised. However when splitting and sending the other half to the other server, how would this go on when making a communication to the other server (keeping in mind with PHP) since the other server password would be stored in a configuration file, wouldn't it? In terms of security is to keep the other server password away from the main one, just exactly how would the main server communicate, without exposing any other password, apart from the first server. This certainly makes me think...

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  • How to securely generate memorable passwords?

    - by Tim
    Whenever I need new passwords I use some tools to generate those, preferable memorable passwords, but I've been wondering how secure this might actually be. Using The xkcd random number generator is probably pretty bad, cat /dev/random is probably pretty good, but generating memorable passwords seems a bit more tricky. Whenever a program generates a memorable password, it only uses a subset of the total password space available, and it is not clear to me how big this space is. Of course a long password should help in this case, but if the `memorable' part of the program is too predictable, your passwords are not very good in the end. TL;DR: how secure are memorable password generators, given the fact that `memorable' passwords are a subset of total password space? Some tools I know of: pwgen -- seems ok, but passwords are not too memorable Mac Password Assistant - generates memorable passwords but it is unclear to me how this works.

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  • Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down – Intel Debuts Prototype Palm-Reading Tech to Replace Passwords [Poll]

    - by Asian Angel
    This week Intel debuted prototype palm-reading tech that could serve as a replacement for our current password system. Our question for you today is do you think this is the right direction to go for better security or do you feel this is a mistake? Photo courtesy of Jane Rahman. Needless to say password security breaches have been a hot topic as of late, so perhaps a whole new security model is in order. It would definitely eliminate the need to remember a large volume of passwords along with circumventing the problem of poor password creation/selection. At the same time the new technology would still be in the ‘early stages’ of development and may not work as well as people would like. Long-term refinement would definitely improve its performance, but would it really be worth pursuing versus the actual benefits? From the blog post: Intel researcher Sridhar Iyendar demonstrated the technology at Intel’s Developer Forum this week. Waving a hand in front of a “palm vein” detector on a computer, one of Iyendar’s assistants was logged into Windows 7, was able to view his bank account, and then once he moved away the computer locked Windows and went into sleeping mode. How to Get Pro Features in Windows Home Versions with Third Party Tools HTG Explains: Is ReadyBoost Worth Using? HTG Explains: What The Windows Event Viewer Is and How You Can Use It

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  • The Most Common and Least Used 4-Digit PIN Numbers [Security Analysis Report]

    - by Asian Angel
    How ‘secure’ is your 4-digit PIN number? Is your PIN number a far too common one or is it a bit more unique in comparison to others? The folks over at the Data Genetics blog have put together an interesting analysis report that looks at the most common and least used 4-digit PIN numbers chosen by people. Numerically based (0-9) 4-digit PIN numbers only allow for a total of 10,000 possible combinations, so it stands to reason that some combinations are going to be far more common than others. The question is whether or not your personal PIN number choices are among the commonly used ones or ‘stand out’ as being more unique. Note 1: Data Genetics used data condensed from released, exposed, & discovered password tables and security breaches to generate the analysis report. Note 2: The updates section at the bottom has some interesting tidbits concerning peoples’ use of dates and certain words for PIN number generation. The analysis makes for very interesting reading, so browse on over to get an idea of where you stand with regards to your personal PIN number choices. 8 Deadly Commands You Should Never Run on Linux 14 Special Google Searches That Show Instant Answers How To Create a Customized Windows 7 Installation Disc With Integrated Updates

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  • Can the Firefox password manager store and manage passwords for multiple sub-domains or different UR

    - by Howiecamp
    Can the Firefox password manager store and manage passwords for multiple sub-domains, or for multiple URLs in the same domain? The default behavior of Firefox is that all requests for *.domain.com are treated as the same. I'd like to have Firefox do the following: Store and manage passwords separately for multiple sub-domains, e.g. mail.google.com and picasa.google.com Store and manage passwords separately for different URLs in the same domain, e.g. http://mail.google.com/a/company1.com and http://mail.google.com/a/company2.com

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  • Reset All My Passwords

    - by E-rich
    I know there are some great apps out there for keeping track of passwords (see how-do-you-keep-track-of-all-your-passwords if you aren't familiar). I'm interested in additional features for managing my passwords, particularly to reset all my passwords. I can imagine that this feature would be pretty complicated to implement, considering: websites have different methods for resetting a password client applications most likely don't have a means to change a password except for through a graphical user interface (as opposed to providing a command line command) So, I'm curious if there is a solution out there and I just haven't found it. If not, perhaps I will have to start another side project.

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  • How does Requiring users to Periodically Change their Passwords Improve Security? [closed]

    - by Bob Kaufman
    I've had the same password for some sites for years with no regrets. Meanwhile, at work, I find myself being forced to change passwords every two to three months. My thinking is that if a password gets compromised, requiring that I change it several weeks out isn't going to protect me or the network very much. Moreover, I find that by being required to change passwords frequently, I degenerate into a predictable password pattern (e.g., BearsFan111, BearsFan222, ...) which results in easier to remember and easier to guess passwords. Is there a sound argument for requiring that passwords be changed periodically?

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  • All application passwords lost on Windows 7

    - by Rynardt
    A couple of days ago I changed my Windows 7 login password. My laptop is on my company's domain, so password changes are done over the internal network. Since changing the password I noticed that all my saved Chrome passwords are missing. Also Skype, Windows Live, Internet Explorer and Outlook lost their saved passwords. I guess there could be more applications with lost passwords, but I have not opened them yet. This makes me think that most applications saves their passwords to a general password vault on the Windows system and this vault got somehow corrupted when I changed my domain login password for windows. Do anyone have any idea of how to fix this and prevent it from happening again? EDIT : More Info I do development work at the office, so most of the time I bypass the firewall and connect directly to the internet gateway. Now and then I would connect to the company wifi network to do printing and access files on a NAS. So by default my laptop does not connect to the wifi hotspot. On this occasion to update the password, I had to connect to the wifi. So referring to the comment by OmnipotentEntity below, could this have happened when the system rebooted without a connection to the network as the laptop does not auto connect to the wifi hotspot?

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  • Encrypted passwords for better security on server

    - by Ke
    Hi, I use wordpress and other CMS's and all these have plain text passwords in their config files e.g. in wp-config.php I wonder is this the normal way an administrator would protect security? I realise its possible to move the wp-config outside of the root web directory, but still if the server itself is compromised, its possible to find the wp-config file and the password inside, then the system is comprimised. Is there a way to encrypt all passwords on the system, so that in the web applications config files it uses the encrypted pass and not just plain text? Is there a sensible way of keeping plain-text passwords off the server? PS i use linux vps ubuntu servers Cheers Ke

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  • Where does Internet Explorer store saved passwords?

    - by Ian Boyd
    Where does Internet Explorer store saved passwords? And since this is a programming site, i'm not literally asking for the location where IE stores passwords, but which API ie uses to save passwords. At first i assumed that Microsoft was using the standard api: CredRead CredWrite which is used to save domain and generic program/web-site credentials. CredRead/CredWrite turn around and use CryptProtectData CryptUnprotectData to encrypt data with the current user's account. CredRead/CredWrite then store the data in some magical location, which contents you can see from the control panel: But i don't see IE passwords in there. So ie doesn't store passwords using CredRead/CredWrite. What api does IE use to store passwords, and if it uses CryptProtectData, where does it then store the protected data?

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  • Changing Passwords Over Multiple Servers and Services

    - by tesmar
    Hi all, I am looking to automate the changing of passwords across multiple services and servers. For example: I want to change the root paassword to all of my web servers at once. I am thinking of writing a ruby script, but have you guys run across anything already written? If so, would that also give me the ability to change other system passwords like Database passwords and SVN passwords.

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  • Chrome Saved Passwords security issue

    - by Nalaka526
    If I save a password in Google chrome someone else can easily see the password from Setting -> Advance Settings -> Manage saved passwords -> Show (in required password field) and use it from another computer. Isn't it causing a security issue? I guess it is much secure if it display only the entry and all dots or something for the password (not the actual password). Is there any acceptable idea of showing the password to anyone this easily? Note: Firefox is also showing the actual passwords, I Didn't check in IE.

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  • salted passwords confusion

    - by Vasiliy Stavenko
    I'm setting up email server for the first time and confused with strange thing. I have several user accounts which stored in previous server. Passwords for this accounts are in plain text. But I want to create crypts for them. Mysql (where my users will be stored) have function encrypt(passwd, salt). If no salt given used random value. I discovered that courier uses one certain salt and crypted all passwords with it. So the task done. But I'd like to know if there's a way to define my own salt for my pop3 server?

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  • Any good software to help me memorize passwords?

    - by Septagram
    I'm using KeePass(X) and other tools to keep most of my passwords. However, it turns out, there is still about half a dozen passwords I'm using on regular basis that I would prefer to just remember. So, do you people know of any good programs, preferably open-source, to train yourself using a particular password and thus to memorize it? I know I can remember a 96-bit entropy password rather well if I practice entering it 3 days, 5 minutes for each day, I just want a good software to simplify the process and exclude the possibility of shouldering or otherwise leaking the password.

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  • Import Firefox passwords into KeePassX or KeePass2

    - by rubo77
    I have an XML export of my Firefox Passwords in the form (I replaced real passwords with *): <xml> <entries ext="Password Exporter" extxmlversion="1.1" type="saved" encrypt="false"> <entry host="chrome://weave" user="****" password="****" formSubmitURL="" httpRealm="Mozilla Services Password" userFieldName="" passFieldName=""/> <entry host="chrome://weave" user="****" password="****" formSubmitURL="" httpRealm="Mozilla Services Encryption Passphrase" userFieldName="" passFieldName=""/> <entry host="http://www.example.de" user="rubo77" password="****" formSubmitURL="http://www.example.de" httpRealm="" userFieldName="benutzername" passFieldName="passwort"/> <entry host="http://example2.de" user="qqq" password="pppp" formSubmitURL="http://example2.de" httpRealm="" userFieldName="username" passFieldName="pass"/> ... Can I somehow convert this into a form KeePassX understands?

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  • How do I properly implement Unicode passwords?

    - by Sorin Sbarnea
    Adding support for Unicode passwords it an important feature that should not be ignored by the developpers. Still adding support for Unicode in the passwords it's a tricky job because the same text can be encoded in different ways in Unicode and this is not something you may want to prevent people from logging in due to this. Let's say that you'll store the passwords os UTF-8. Now the question is how you should normalize the Unicode data? You had to be sure that you'll be able to compare it. You need to be sure that when the next Unicode standard will be released it will not invalidate your password verification. Note: still there are some places where Unicode passwords are probably never be used, but this question is not about why or when to use Unicode passwords, is about how to implement them the proper way.

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  • [GEEK SCHOOL] Network Security 1: Securing User Accounts and Passwords in Windows

    - by Matt Klein
    This How-To Geek School class is intended for people who want to learn more about security when using Windows operating systems. You will learn many principles that will help you have a more secure computing experience and will get the chance to use all the important security tools and features that are bundled with Windows. Obviously, we will share everything you need to know about using them effectively. In this first lesson, we will talk about password security; the different ways of logging into Windows and how secure they are. In the proceeding lesson, we will explain where Windows stores all the user names and passwords you enter while working in this operating systems, how safe they are, and how to manage this data. Moving on in the series, we will talk about User Account Control, its role in improving the security of your system, and how to use Windows Defender in order to protect your system from malware. Then, we will talk about the Windows Firewall, how to use it in order to manage the apps that get access to the network and the Internet, and how to create your own filtering rules. After that, we will discuss the SmartScreen Filter – a security feature that gets more and more attention from Microsoft and is now widely used in its Windows 8.x operating systems. Moving on, we will discuss ways to keep your software and apps up-to-date, why this is important and which tools you can use to automate this process as much as possible. Last but not least, we will discuss the Action Center and its role in keeping you informed about what’s going on with your system and share several tips and tricks about how to stay safe when using your computer and the Internet. Let’s get started by discussing everyone’s favorite subject: passwords. The Types of Passwords Found in Windows In Windows 7, you have only local user accounts, which may or may not have a password. For example, you can easily set a blank password for any user account, even if that one is an administrator. The only exception to this rule are business networks where domain policies force all user accounts to use a non-blank password. In Windows 8.x, you have both local accounts and Microsoft accounts. If you would like to learn more about them, don’t hesitate to read the lesson on User Accounts, Groups, Permissions & Their Role in Sharing, in our Windows Networking series. Microsoft accounts are obliged to use a non-blank password due to the fact that a Microsoft account gives you access to Microsoft services. Using a blank password would mean exposing yourself to lots of problems. Local accounts in Windows 8.1 however, can use a blank password. On top of traditional passwords, any user account can create and use a 4-digit PIN or a picture password. These concepts were introduced by Microsoft to speed up the sign in process for the Windows 8.x operating system. However, they do not replace the use of a traditional password and can be used only in conjunction with a traditional user account password. Another type of password that you encounter in Windows operating systems is the Homegroup password. In a typical home network, users can use the Homegroup to easily share resources. A Homegroup can be joined by a Windows device only by using the Homegroup password. If you would like to learn more about the Homegroup and how to use it for network sharing, don’t hesitate to read our Windows Networking series. What to Keep in Mind When Creating Passwords, PINs and Picture Passwords When creating passwords, a PIN, or a picture password for your user account, we would like you keep in mind the following recommendations: Do not use blank passwords, even on the desktop computers in your home. You never know who may gain unwanted access to them. Also, malware can run more easily as administrator because you do not have a password. Trading your security for convenience when logging in is never a good idea. When creating a password, make it at least eight characters long. Make sure that it includes a random mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Ideally, it should not be related in any way to your name, username, or company name. Make sure that your passwords do not include complete words from any dictionary. Dictionaries are the first thing crackers use to hack passwords. Do not use the same password for more than one account. All of your passwords should be unique and you should use a system like LastPass, KeePass, Roboform or something similar to keep track of them. When creating a PIN use four different digits to make things slightly harder to crack. When creating a picture password, pick a photo that has at least 10 “points of interests”. Points of interests are areas that serve as a landmark for your gestures. Use a random mixture of gesture types and sequence and make sure that you do not repeat the same gesture twice. Be aware that smudges on the screen could potentially reveal your gestures to others. The Security of Your Password vs. the PIN and the Picture Password Any kind of password can be cracked with enough effort and the appropriate tools. There is no such thing as a completely secure password. However, passwords created using only a few security principles are much harder to crack than others. If you respect the recommendations shared in the previous section of this lesson, you will end up having reasonably secure passwords. Out of all the log in methods in Windows 8.x, the PIN is the easiest to brute force because PINs are restricted to four digits and there are only 10,000 possible unique combinations available. The picture password is more secure than the PIN because it provides many more opportunities for creating unique combinations of gestures. Microsoft have compared the two login options from a security perspective in this post: Signing in with a picture password. In order to discourage brute force attacks against picture passwords and PINs, Windows defaults to your traditional text password after five failed attempts. The PIN and the picture password function only as alternative login methods to Windows 8.x. Therefore, if someone cracks them, he or she doesn’t have access to your user account password. However, that person can use all the apps installed on your Windows 8.x device, access your files, data, and so on. How to Create a PIN in Windows 8.x If you log in to a Windows 8.x device with a user account that has a non-blank password, then you can create a 4-digit PIN for it, to use it as a complementary login method. In order to create one, you need to go to “PC Settings”. If you don’t know how, then press Windows + C on your keyboard or flick from the right edge of the screen, on a touch-enabled device, then press “Settings”. The Settings charm is now open. Click or tap the link that says “Change PC settings”, on the bottom of the charm. In PC settings, go to Accounts and then to “Sign-in options”. Here you will find all the necessary options for changing your existing password, creating a PIN, or a picture password. To create a PIN, press the “Add” button in the PIN section. The “Create a PIN” wizard is started and you are asked to enter the password of your user account. Type it and press “OK”. Now you are asked to enter a 4-digit pin in the “Enter PIN” and “Confirm PIN” fields. The PIN has been created and you can now use it to log in to Windows. How to Create a Picture Password in Windows 8.x If you log in to a Windows 8.x device with a user account that has a non-blank password, then you can also create a picture password and use it as a complementary login method. In order to create one, you need to go to “PC settings”. In PC Settings, go to Accounts and then to “Sign-in options”. Here you will find all the necessary options for changing your existing password, creating a PIN, or a picture password. To create a picture password, press the “Add” button in the “Picture password” section. The “Create a picture password” wizard is started and you are asked to enter the password of your user account. You are shown a guide on how the picture password works. Take a few seconds to watch it and learn the gestures that can be used for your picture password. You will learn that you can create a combination of circles, straight lines, and taps. When ready, press “Choose picture”. Browse your Windows 8.x device and select the picture you want to use for your password and press “Open”. Now you can drag the picture to position it the way you want. When you like how the picture is positioned, press “Use this picture” on the left. If you are not happy with the picture, press “Choose new picture” and select a new one, as shown during the previous step. After you have confirmed that you want to use this picture, you are asked to set up your gestures for the picture password. Draw three gestures on the picture, any combination you wish. Please remember that you can use only three gestures: circles, straight lines, and taps. Once you have drawn those three gestures, you are asked to confirm. Draw the same gestures one more time. If everything goes well, you are informed that you have created your picture password and that you can use it the next time you sign in to Windows. If you don’t confirm the gestures correctly, you will be asked to try again, until you draw the same gestures twice. To close the picture password wizard, press “Finish”. Where Does Windows Store Your Passwords? Are They Safe? All the passwords that you enter in Windows and save for future use are stored in the Credential Manager. This tool is a vault with the usernames and passwords that you use to log on to your computer, to other computers on the network, to apps from the Windows Store, or to websites using Internet Explorer. By storing these credentials, Windows can automatically log you the next time you access the same app, network share, or website. Everything that is stored in the Credential Manager is encrypted for your protection.

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  • how to maitain the authentication details/passwords in a 50 people company

    - by sabya
    What is the process that you guys follow to maintain authentication details like login ids and passwords? There will be definitely some shared passwords. So, the target is to minimize the impact when someone is leaving the company. By "shared password", I mean, the account, which is shared among multiple people in the company. The issues that the process should address are: - Affected areas. Quickly find the resources to which the leaving user was having access to. Forgetting password. What happens if a user forgets an authentication details? How does he get it? I think he shouldn't ask a team mate. I mean no-verbal communication. Find dependencies of a resource. Suppose I am changing the password for a mail account, which is getting used by some automated scripts to send mails. Here, the scripts are dependent on the mail account, so changing the password of the mail account means we have to change the password in the script too. So, how do find all the dependencies of a resource? I'd prefer a process which addresses these issues. But you can also recommend products which are open source and not hosted. I have gone through PassPack, but they don't solve #4. There is a similar question here. But that does not exactly answer my question.

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