You can see whether your current passwords you do use more than one, right? are rated “strong” by using Microsoft’s online Password Checker. I bet you’ll be unpleasantly surprised by the results.
The three keys to strong passwords are length, randomness, and use of different types of characters. Each additional character multiplies the potential combinations a brute-force attack must try.
Random passwords use upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. When at least three of these four categories are used, an eight-character password should suffice in most instances. According to the FrontLine security site, such a password would take a century or more to crack by a hacker using a single PC. The eight-character standard is also the minimum the Microsoft Password Checker deems “strong.” Of course, the more characters in your password, the safer you’ll be.
If you wish to create your own password, use a sentence or phrase you can recall easily and then tweak it for each account. Read More»
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Contrary to some of the stories circulating in the more excitable sections of the media millions of PCs didn’t suddenly blow up following the much-anticipated reactivation of the Conflicker C virus on April 1st. In fact, at the time of writing nothing much seemed to have happened and the world moved on to more important matters. Nevertheless, this virus, and its ilk do present an ongoing threat, especially for PC owners who do not keep their security software and Windows Updates current. By the way, if you have any concerns about Conflicker C and malware in general and you think your PC may be infected I wouldn’t ask Google. I typed in ‘Conflicker C Removal’ a couple of days ago and the first three hits all led to websites carrying the virus!
If you have been lax with your security updates then your best bet is to download the free Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool, which scans your PC for Conflicker and a raft of other nasties, but in the end the best way to avoid becoming infected is to install a decent anti-virus program and regularly sweep your PC with cleaners like AdAware, A-Squared and Spybot.
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