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Are You Too Predictable? Tips For a Strong, Yet Memorable Password

by Yehuda Cagen 22. July 2010 12:53

 

 

Poor password management may be just as harmful as malicious viruses

 

In 2009 alone, McAfee detected 1.5 million malware samples representing an increase of 1,800 percent over 2006.  But viruses aren’t the only security risk to your business.

The greatest threat may come from within your company.

Tips for creating a strong, yet memorable password

A recent survey by Channel Insider reports that in 43 percent of security assessments, solution providers say they find poor password policies, enforcement and practices. 
  
One simple solution might be to choose a complex password, using a blend of numbers, special characters (Examples: “@,$,&”) and uppercase and lowercase letters

However, with complexity comes an increased, difficulty to remember the password. You never want to use the same passwords for business and personal accounts, write down passwords on a Post-it note or save them openly on your desktop. IsUtility expert Cheryl Smith recommends something easy for the user to remembe:

  • Use numbers for some of the letters (ie "leet" or "1337" )
  • Use symbols to replace letters (ie "!" for "i")
  • For capitalization, something less obvious than the first letter

 

For example, if your password is Gaggia (brand of espresso machine) the password might be "$gaGG1a".

*Alert: Ignore emails that ask for your passwords via email

A credible organization - a bank or any other online software or service - will never ask for your password via email. If you receive any emails that ask you to “update” or “verify” your password, ignore it immediately. It is likely fraudulent.

We hope you have found this information helpful. If you would to learn more about this subject, please feel free to contact us:

·          Questions about this article?

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·          Learn more about our Houston IT Consulting

 

How Quickly Things Change: The Evolution of Information Technology

by Yehuda Cagen 18. June 2010 06:07

 

 

Part 2 of a 3-part interview with Kirill Davydychev, Senior Technical Specialist, Xvand Technology.

IsUtility® Technical Specialist Kirill Davydychev takes a look back at the evolving nature of IT consulting and IT support in Houston during the past decade. 

Q. Is there a downside to the rapid-pace evolution of today’s technology?

Moore’s Law (named after Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore) suggests that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles every two years. Unfortunately, computers are evolving so quickly, ‘hard drives’ (storage devices for digital data) simply can’t keep up with the pace. This may, perhaps, account for why many organizations have transitioned from traditional computer services to cloud and utility computing in the past decade.

Conversely, one of the key ‘upsides’ of the IT evolution is the trends towards simpler “usability”, a phenomena Gartner Research calls the “democratization of technology”. In the past few decades alone, technology has transformed from 100+ lb. machines managed and used only by highly-trained professionals to something that is built into everything we use, including business processes.

Q. Moore’s Law has been around for decades. Why haven't Houston IT consulting firms offered cloud computing in the past?

The advancement of the Internet has been the key factor in the advancement of services such as remote PC access, remote pc support and, eventually, cloud computing.  Ten years ago, remote access was still in its infancy.  Most consumers and businesses relied on 56k modems, and faster lines were cost-prohibitive. Now that cheaper alternatives, such as DSL and cable, are readily available to all budgets, remote desktops run at the same speeds or even faster than locally-run systems.

Q. So all we’ve been waiting for was…the Internet?

Historically, remote access has always been a step behind ‘local access’. In the 1980’s, there was only text. In the late 1980’s, Microsoft and Apple made local computing two dimensional with graphics and images. At this time, text was now accessible remotely.  In the 1990’s, Windows NT4 and Citrix enabled graphical elements available remotely. However, at this time, local access had evolved to enable three-dimensional capabilities (aka “multi-media”, the blend of sound and video). This was predominantly the ‘status quo’ for over ten years since business demand wasn’t present at the time. Recently (2008), industries IT advancements in the oil and gas and healthcare sectors have paved the way for four-dimensional imaging available in real time. Experts predict that eventually there will no longer be a need for locally-owned systems.

 

We hope you have found this information helpful. If you feel that your current process does not meet these standards, or if you would like more information on IT outsourcing please feel free to contact us:

 

 

 

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