Click here to Skip to main content
15,900,524 members

Welcome to the Lounge

   

For discussing anything related to a software developer's life but is not for programming questions. Got a programming question?

The Lounge is rated Safe For Work. If you're about to post something inappropriate for a shared office environment, then don't post it. No ads, no abuse, and no programming questions. Trolling, (political, climate, religious or whatever) will result in your account being removed.

 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
theoldfool16-Jan-20 10:53
professionaltheoldfool16-Jan-20 10:53 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
raddevus17-Jan-20 2:12
mvaraddevus17-Jan-20 2:12 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
honey the codewitch16-Jan-20 10:57
mvahoney the codewitch16-Jan-20 10:57 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
Greg Utas16-Jan-20 12:21
professionalGreg Utas16-Jan-20 12:21 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
Johnny J.16-Jan-20 19:30
professionalJohnny J.16-Jan-20 19:30 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
Daniel Pfeffer16-Jan-20 22:28
professionalDaniel Pfeffer16-Jan-20 22:28 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
raddevus17-Jan-20 2:14
mvaraddevus17-Jan-20 2:14 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
kalberts17-Jan-20 3:03
kalberts17-Jan-20 3:03 
If your password is leaked, there is no difference between "qwerty" and 64 random characters.

If it is not leaked, there are just two classes of attacks: Brute force and not brute force - the latter usually employing some sort of dictionary.

For a brute force attack, 64 characters is most certainly an overkill. Even half of that is an overkill. Even half of that, 16 random characters, is so safe against brute force attacks that noone would ever work their way up to it just to sneak in on your email.

A dictionary attack makes an attempt to first try the most likely bit patterns. Like "qwerty" or the name of your dog. If you choose a bit pattern among the likely ones, you are unsafe. If you deliberately choose an unlikely pattern, like CorrectBatteryStapleHorse[^] - well, not that one, but one made according to the xkcd principles - you can both have a password that can be easily remembered and that is almost as safe as random characters.

The problem with these long, non-memorizable random passwords is that they have to be written down. E.g. in vault or safe ... that often can be opened by the use of a hairpin. If an intruder can open your safe by giving "qwerty" as the key, to get direct access to your three dozen of 64-random-characters keys, then your keys are as save as the "querty" password.

I use different keywords in different contexts, all structured in three parts: The first part is for the site or function, always with a twist. E.g. for a mail account, the first part might be 'female'. The second part is my role in that context, again with a twist, like 'awta' for writer of mails. The third part is one of a small set: one is for all IDs relating to money/economy, one is for discussions, and so on. These are keywords deliberately chosen to contain national characters (like æøå) - nowadays, intruders have become somewhat aware of non-English letters, but still the dictionaries are certainly not as rich in other languges; certainly not when you also include transcriptions.

I will never put lots of passwords into a vault where every one of them can be revealed by opening the vault specifying "qwerty" as a hairpin.
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
raddevus17-Jan-20 3:51
mvaraddevus17-Jan-20 3:51 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
H.Brydon19-Jan-20 17:05
professionalH.Brydon19-Jan-20 17:05 
JokeRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
Super Lloyd16-Jan-20 12:48
Super Lloyd16-Jan-20 12:48 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
raddevus17-Jan-20 2:15
mvaraddevus17-Jan-20 2:15 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
Stefan_Lang16-Jan-20 21:20
Stefan_Lang16-Jan-20 21:20 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
raddevus17-Jan-20 2:24
mvaraddevus17-Jan-20 2:24 
GeneralRe: Makes no sense! Password policies Pin
jsc4216-Jan-20 22:46
professionaljsc4216-Jan-20 22:46 
JokeRemember kids, don't do drugs. Pin
Maximilien16-Jan-20 6:54
Maximilien16-Jan-20 6:54 
GeneralRe: Remember kids, don't do drugs. Pin
OriginalGriff16-Jan-20 8:00
mveOriginalGriff16-Jan-20 8:00 
GeneralSpeaking of reboots/updates... Pin
dandy7216-Jan-20 5:39
dandy7216-Jan-20 5:39 
GeneralRe: Speaking of reboots/updates... Pin
Mark_Wallace16-Jan-20 5:58
Mark_Wallace16-Jan-20 5:58 
GeneralRe: Speaking of reboots/updates... Pin
Kent Sharkey16-Jan-20 6:43
staffKent Sharkey16-Jan-20 6:43 
GeneralRe: Speaking of reboots/updates... Pin
dandy7216-Jan-20 8:10
dandy7216-Jan-20 8:10 
GeneralRe: Speaking of reboots/updates... Pin
dandy7216-Jan-20 8:05
dandy7216-Jan-20 8:05 
GeneralRe: Speaking of reboots/updates... Pin
Mark_Wallace16-Jan-20 15:50
Mark_Wallace16-Jan-20 15:50 
GeneralRe: Speaking of reboots/updates... Pin
dandy7217-Jan-20 4:32
dandy7217-Jan-20 4:32 
GeneralRe: Speaking of reboots/updates... Pin
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter16-Jan-20 10:17
professionalKornfeld Eliyahu Peter16-Jan-20 10:17 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.


Straw Poll

Were you affected by the geomagnetic storms this past weekend?
Communication disruptions, electrified pipes, random unexplained blue-screens in Windows - the list of effects is terrifying.
  Results   489 votes