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Password Management/Generators And Tips

With the recent events surrounding the PHPbb.com website being hacked to the point where the intruder gained access to a number of passwords from registered users, I’ve stepped back to take a serious look at the way I manage passwords for user accounts across the web. I’ll admit that for a long time now, I’ve been playing with fire regarding the way in which I manage passwords and accounts. I really don’t want to get burned so I’ve searched the web for a couple of Password Management applications as well as password generators and this is what I found.

Password Management:

Roboform – I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard Roboform suggested by my friends and colleagues. Roboform is available for Windows and has been reviewed by major publications such as PC Magazine, Download.com and PC World. This software not only stores passwords for user accounts but you can also use it to auto fill forms e.g. forum registration pages. Roboform also contains a synchronization tool called GoodSync where you can sync up your passwords between two different systems. I’ve recently purchased a copy of Roboform and I’ll be writing my own review about it in the near future.

KeePass – While a Roboform license can set you back $29.95, KeePass is a free open source password management application for Windows. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish). KeePass appears to be actively developed since the last update to the occurred on February 13th.

Password Generators:

If you’re one of those types who would rather manually store your passwords in a text file for each website you have an account with, here are a few random Password generators to use since at the very least, you should never use the same password for more than one account. Most of your password generators are web based these days so generating a password is just a click away.

Secure Password Generator – Secure Password Generator created by PCTools.com gives you the options to choose a password length between 4-64 characters, phonetics, whether or not to include letters, numbers, mixed case or special symbols. You can also choose the quantity of passwords to create.

GRC Password Generator – My favorite and probably most well known Password generators on the web is Steve Gibson’s Perfect Passwords. Steve has ensured that the passwords generated are as random as possible and with the strings being 64 characters in length, that is more than enough for most websites. Unlike other password generators, this one doesn’t provide any options for you to manipulate the output but that is not an issue considering Steve has done the hard work for you when creating the passwords.

Bytes Interactive – Bytes Interactive is another Password Generation site that provides more options than most when creating passwords. You can choose to exclude specific characters and set which Typewriter position the passwords will appear. As with the first generator, you can also choose the character size and the number of passwords to generate.

Conclusion:

I’ve highlighted just a small sampling of what’s out there in terms of password generation and password management. But there is more to passwords than simply managing and generating them. Here are a few common sense tips for using passwords.

  • Create a good (strong) password:
  • Protect your Password
  • Change your password regularly
  • Avoid common names, dates, phone numbers or things easily associated with you
  • Avoid common words
  • Don’t use naturally occurring keyboard sequences

I mentioned earlier that you should never use the same password for more than one login. The reasoning behind this huge. First off, the more sites you register an account with that use the same password, the higher the risk you are placing on having at least one of those sites compromised to the point where they obtain your password which could then be used on any other site you used that password on. This is why password management software is a big business now adays since it takes the hard work out of the equation. Just make sure that the data inside whatever software package you choose encrypts the data inside the database as you wouldn’t want someone gaining access to your PC by way of a Trojan horse where they can access that information.

If you have any more tips, tricks, or password management software suggestions, please leave a comment and let us know about them.

Has Blogging Taken a Toll on Your Health?

A few weeks back I had a severe bout of hyperacidity. Prior to that I had developed this habit of consuming about five to six cups of coffee per day. And that wasn’t your usual creamy, sugary coffee, as I often prefer my coffee black. And with two heaping tablespoons of ground beans in every cup I brew, one would think that’s a recipe for disaster eventually.

Add to that my habit of staying up to the wee hours of the morning, emailing, writing, tweaking designs and doing blog fixes. Stress gets to you. And it sometimes takes a toll on your life when you least expect it.

And so after that episode, I have cut back on my coffee consumption. I stopped my caffeine habit for about a week (much to the chagrin of the lady who sells me beans, I think). I eventually started drinking one to two cups a day after that, but these days it’s mostly as a morning jump-starter, and to help with after-dinner digestion.

I’ve also tried to get more sleep. I’m usually most productive in the first two to three hours past midnight, because of the peace and quiet. And so the loss in sleep I try to catch up for by napping in the afternoons (along with the kids). It’s still a big adjustment, and I’m still having a host of other health issues (like kidney stones recurring). But I think giving oneself a break is essential to productivity, especially for those of us who write.

Has blogging–as a hobby or as a business or career–taken a toll on your health? In what way? And what are the things you do to keep healthy and sane?

Perfcast Episode 24 – Interview With Jim Turner

What a great conversation this turned out to be. Episode 24 featured a special one hour interview with Jim Turner who has turned into the right hand man for the Blog World Expo conference. Jim is also the guy behind One By One Media which is a blog consulting firm. In this interview we discussed mainstream medias use of both blogging and podcasting, the difficulties involved with hosting and putting together a conference in todays economy, how One By One media was founded and much more. I’ve already labeled this as a classic show and i can’t wait to have Jim back on in the future to talk more about blogging and podcasting.

LINKS MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:
One By One Media
Blog World Expo

LISTENER FEEDBACK – You can give us your feedback by shooting us an email at, [email protected] or leave a comment on this blog post.

LENGTH OF EPISODE – 1 Hour 4 Minutes

NEXT EPISODE – February 26th, 2009 at 7 P.M. EST

ITUNES – Click here to subscribe to the show via iTunes

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW: PerfcastEpisode24.mp3

LISTEN TO EPISODE 24 OF PERFCAST:

WordPress Security Audits, Anyone?

How secure is your WordPress blog?

This is one question that usually escapes bloggers until that time when you wake up and see that your blog has crashed, gone offline, or–worse–been vandalized. While you can always revert to backups, you’re not sure those are recent. And it’s not always a walk in the park to restore from backup. And need I mention the downtime?

Most experienced bloggers would know how to secure their blogs. It usually involves a more strict file and folder permission set, stronger passwords, updated software and plugin versions, and the like. But not everyone knows everything about securing one’s blog installation. More importantly, not everyone has the time to do so on their own, especially those who run multiple blogs.

I must admit that in one way or another, I’ve fallen into this trap of complacency and many of my blogs are not 100% secure. And so, with the prodding of David Peralty, and with encouragement from several colleagues at the Hive, we’re planning to offer WordPress security audits as part of Performancing Services.

Details will unfold soon. But from what I’ve outlined so far, the service would be two-pronged, much like our copyright management service. First would be the audit–where we scour your site for holes and potential problems, and we will give you a report containing recommended actions. Second, if you choose to have us do the actual legwork, we will then do it for you.

Does this sound like a good idea? I’m pretty sure there are tools out there that can practically do the same thing, but of course there’s no substitute to human judgement (and imagination).

Awesome Deal For An Awesome Cause

Today marks the last day for the awesome book deal that SitePoint is hosting. The book deal is as follows: Buy five books for the price of one. These books are in PDF format and the total price you’ll pay is $29.95. 100% of the proceeds from this sale will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal. That’s the entire $29.95. SitePoints initial goal was to raise $50,000 in three days but with one day left, they have already gone over the $150,000.00 mark which is incredible. Not to beat a dead horse but if anyone still thinks that Twitter is worthless, this ought to remove all doubt because on the first day of announcing the sale, SitePoints tweet became the most retweeted message which enabled SitePoint to reach their initial goal in only 24 hours.

This is a great deal for a great cause so head on over to the SitePoint store to take advantage of this deal before it’s too late.

SEOMoz Top 500 – Where Do You Rank?

SEOMoz.org recently published their list of the 500 most linked-to domains/pages on the web. The top 10 is as follows:

  1. Google.com
  2. Yahoo.com
  3. Blogspot.com
  4. Adobe.com
  5. Wikipedia.org
  6. W3.org
  7. Youtube.com
  8. Myspace.com
  9. WordPress.org
  10. Amazon.com

Just for giggles, Microsoft.com comes in at number 11. Are you lucky enough to own or operate a domain in the top 500? If so, let us know what the domain is in the comments.

Performancing Reboot Redux – February 2009 Update

It took us a couple of months to get things kicked off, but we’re pleased to tell everyone that we’re getting into high gear with the reboot. Perhaps it’s best I referred to Ahmed’s outline in doing the first Performancing reboot a couple of years back, and let me quote:

Part 1: Performancing.com – what’s the point?
Part 2: Content is NOT King.
Part 3: If it Ain’t Broke, Break It.
Part 4: How can Performancing Make Money?
Part 5: 3 Keys to Blog Promotion
Part 6: Wrapping up the Performancing Reboot

And, of course, I cite my more basic (or generic) premise of getting rid of the bad stuff and focusing on the good.

Design

We’ve actually started with part #3, which is breaking it. In a way, it is broken. The current Perf infrastructure has made it difficult to produce content, and to establish lively discussions. And so that’s one reason we decided to go for a change in software.

In terms of visuals, we’ve commissioned Randa Clay to do a major design overhaul, and this is in the final stages. We’re trying to improve the site not only in terms of visual appeal, but also in terms of the user interface. What good is content when it’s not accessible, right? (This brings us to part #2, partly.)

Focus

What’s important to discuss and disclose, though, is part #1: what’s the point? I know Performancing has launched with stellar content, with a stellar cast and crew (if you can call it that), and with an excellent community. Somewhere along the way, things have changed. The energy has changed and the people have changed. But our focus has still remained faithful to our helping bloggers succeed motto.

But then this has made me think. Could it be time for a drastic shift in our focus, as well? It’s sure great to talk about blogging, and getting to help fellow bloggers along the way. But to some extent, blogging about blogging has become more and more difficult over the years, partly because the metablogging scene has become crowded, and partly because blogging has evolved, along with other new media. I think there is room to grow, and Performancing should not only cater to bloggers and blogging.

At least in practice, we’ve been catering to the rest of the social media crowd. We have been involved in non-blogging activities for some time, and this includes our various services, the Perfcast, social media push, dabbling in lifestreaming, and the like. It’s no longer confined to blogging. But the challenge here is being flexible but still knowing our limits, so we don’t spread ourselves too thin in the myriad of topics and niches that social media encompasses.

Community

I guess focusing on content, sharing information and ideas and all that has resulted in community taking a backseat. From what Jeff and I have been discussing, we feel that it’s best to let the Perf community take a more active role, to the point of leading the way, with us editors just acting as guides and moderators.

The community is a rich resource of knowledge and connections. Take for instance the Hive–it was originally envisioned as a closed set of movers and shakers in the blogging scene, and the place to be when you wanted to get into the minds of these thinkers and doers. Performancing.com as a whole should be a bigger community much like the Hive. It’s a bigger ship to steer, but that should make it all the more interesting.

What’s my point?

Performancing is one of our stronger brands at Splashpress Media. In some ways, though, the strength of its brand has been attributed to the people that have been involved. And this can sometimes be a brand’s weak point, particularly if different people take turns at the helm, so to speak. What of continuity? What of focus? What of the contacts?

The purpose of this reboot is to reestablish Performancing as a place–the place–where people go to to talk about social media as an empowering tool, and actually get to practice what is being talked about.

Now on to the details and the actual execution! We will keep you posted.