Off Topic The Goodhand Arms

You jest, but a son's intelligence is determined by their mother's.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/brainy-sons-owe-intelligence-to-their-mothers-1339099.html

 

I'm going to Southampton on Monday.

Not because I've decided to support the second best team in Hampshire that formerly played in red and white stripes (the best, of course, being Farnborough... who now play in yellow)...

I'm going on a cruise! I'm so excited. It's only 6 day, and five night... but hey, a cruise is a cruise. And I freakin' love ships.

 

Have a great time.

 

Thank you!

 

Currently watching 'Tonight' on ITV. About IOT (Internet of things) and Cybercrime.

Now I am a 100% fully fledged Geek, and take care, but one thing that I try to say to everyone is please, please, please change the default password for your Wifi and make it complex. I do. The password 'mynetwork' may be easy to remember, but also easy to hack using a brute force attack. Please change the SSID (the name of the network) away form 'netgear' or 'sky' or 'VMxxxx'. Hackers will know what model your device is if you leave it default. Don't use your address (My neighbour has number19 as the network name!) and make the password at least 10 characters long and not a dictionary name. Use special characters and numbers and characters. e.g. 1L0vem4yaYo5ida! is easy to remember, but really hard to hack!

Once a hacker is on your Wifi, they have access to your PC, your router, and potentially your lights, thermostats, web cams etc.

Your Wifi connection is perhaps the most important part of your internet security. Please remember that.

End of No7's Public Service Announcement

 

I would also add: Don't commit any password to memory. Make a good clear note on something really secret. I'll let one secret slip, because it's practically fail safe. I keep my secrets in the memo section of an old smartphone with no sim and battery in it. If I really, really need the password I have to fit the battery and turn it on. It has it's wi-fi settings switched off. Nothing is going to get to it. Security is one thing, but not being able to access your own damn computers because you forgot your passwords can be even worse.

 

I must say that I really do want to know which of my neighbours has followed your advice and, in my nice middle-class area, has a wireless network named "soapytitwank".

Vin

 

Write passwords in a notebook. It's perfectly safe unless someone breaks in to nick random notebooks in your house,taking your PC as well.

Vin

 

Mine is a BT one and all seems pretty random, both the password and the name, but both as set on the device when bought. Do you think this needs changing?

 

It'll be the bloke who has his face pressed up against your window on the morning.

 

It's long been a dream of the merchant sailing fleets of the world to be able get masses of goods over long distances very cheaply. And for the first time this has been achieved, thanks [ahem] to climate change. A Russian built tanker has crossed from Norway to South Korea in just over 6 days, by going the direct route over the Arctic Ocean, unaided by ice-breaking ships. A journey like that would easily take 4 times as long, by conventional routes:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41037071

And by the way, I'm not saying that this is desirable. Environmentally, it's certainly a very questionable thing. Just saying that it has been done.

 

Presumably if they carried on using that route over and over, then the negative affects on that region would speed up?

 

Writing in a notebook is ok, as long as you use different ones for each. Or........

Get a password manager. Lastpass and Dashlane are the two most popular free ones, it takes like an hour to set up. Syncs with your phone, and all the other good stuff.

Oh, please change your password on the Saints ticket website to something you don't use anywhere else and that isn't your post code.

 

Yes definitely. Hackers have the algorithms that companies use for certain routers. It may appear random, but a hacker could probably break it n a few hours. I know it seems unlikely, but why risk it. Besides, only I will be able to guess '1th1nkKy4ie'sa5515Gre4t'

 

I write mine down, in the margins of a known few pages of a certain book in my bookcase that is unlikely to be picked up by a casual browser. I also remember them because I can but I always do have backup.

 

I use old car numberplates (not my current one!) and a few special characters.

 

I was thinking "kY1i3'sH0t4rS3"

 

Another thing. We all nearly click stuff from Paypal/banks in emails then realise it isn't real. I use a separate email (e.g. [email protected]) for all banks etc. That way, I only get bank emails to that address and anything in mine is spam

 

Lol you joke, but using a standard password cracker - I that would probably take 6-7 months to crack.

 

..And on cue I get an email to my bank email address saying "Important information about your Halifax Account'. Looks legit, but won't click it as my account isn't with them....