Making a simple passwords nearly unbreakable is a cinch.

“One UPPER, One lower, One number, and a Bunch of characters.”

 The way it works:

When a “hacker” is trying to break a password they have to “guess” the WHOLE password at once. There is no way to know how many characters they got right. For this reason they use lists of the most frequent passwords people use followed by a 0 or a 1 etc, then on to dictionary words and then all of them followed by numbers. This process could take anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of hours depending on whether or not they have access to the machine or if they are trying to log in remotely.

Because of these practices administrators implemented rules to make you vary the characters in your passwords. Upper case, Lower case, number and symbol. But, adding these to an already dictionary definable password adds very little time to the process. All you have to do is try all the dictionary words with a cap at the beginning and/or a number at the end. What ends up happening is a cat and mouse game with the hackers. You slightly vary the same password and they slightly vary their methods and the circle continues.

Names, or a words that can be found in a dictionary effectively count as 1 character. So if you use “pencil1″. Then you essentially have a  2 character password. When the intruder tries to break in they’ll use the whole word “pencil” and then a “1″ and be granted access. This is why using symbols, numbers, and initials in various cases works the best. Each character has to be guessed independently and correctly with every other character.

To break this cycle Steve Gibson of Gibson Research Corp. figured out that it is not the varied characters but the length of the password that counts. The same rules for creating a password apply (but simpler) and you add length. 12 characters is the minimum. Hang with me I’m going to personalize the info in the video above.

Follow along with me and build your own.

1. Take the initials of your favorite band/child/church/beer whatever:

JD

2. Make the second character lower (since we are used to Capping first letters)

Jd

3. Add a number to it (like your birthday or birth month or anniversary or your street number, etc)

Jd32

Simple huh, you can remember that.

4. Pick a symbol on your keyboard that you use like to use. (I like the tilde) Add at least 8 of them to the 4 characters we’ve already used and you have a 12 character password that you can easily remember.

Jd32~~~~~~~~

Here are the results from https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm for the password we just created (1.74 Hundred Billion Centuries):

To use the generator in the video and for more info on building secure passwords like this you can check out: https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm

Another tip: Use a completely different password for your email than any other service you use.

WHY? lots of websites use your email address as your username. If you use the same password as your email account then they (or an employee of theirs) will have what they need to log into your email.

God, bless the man who stumbles
God, bless the man who falls
God, bless the man who yields to temptation
God, bless the woman who suffers
God, bless the woman who weeps
God, bless the children trying her patience

Trouble getting over it is what you’re in
For so pour yourself another
It’ll take a steady pair of hands
Holy or unholy ghost well now
I can’t tell but either way you cut it
You should get some distance
If you plan to take a stand

God, bless the house divided
God, bless the weeds in the wheat
God, bless the lamp lit under a bushel

I discovered hell to be the poison in the well
So I tried to warn the others of the curse
Then my body turned on me
I dreamt that for eternity
My family would burn then
I awoke with a wicked thirst.

By my baby’s yellow bed
I kissed her forehead
And rubbed her little tummy
Wondering if she’d soon despise the smell
Of the booze on my breath like her mom
Through a darkened mirror
I have seen my own reflection
And it makes me want to be a better man
After another drink

God, bless the man at the crossroads
God, bless the woman who still can’t sleep
God, bless the history that doesn’t repeat

I was asked my opinions on Heaven and Hell and how I relate to them as a motivating factor for life.  And, since today is my birthday and a day of reflection on such things as the afterlife, I thought it appropriate to post.

Hell, hmm, Hell and Heaven are a big blurry swirl of color, kind of a tie-dyed t-shirt in my mind. A little absence of God wrapped around a little end of “Gladiator” mixed with a white or black void with floating heads ala Futurama, Fire and Brimstone, Sheole, Paradise, Lazurus, Pearly Gates. Hitler, Mother Theresa, 3-piece suit in a Baptist Pulpit, Eternal Choir Practice (my feet hurt), 7 levels of torment and I haven’t even gotten there yet..

What I’m sure of is that both exist. Some form of “with” God and some form of “without” God (sounds like some form of boring). But, taking clues from our present existence of which we see in part… I am hopeful that Heaven will be more than I can fathom. Things like sex and laughter, joy of my kids, inspiration, heart swells, anticipation, end of a good day of work. Sitting at a big table of Italian food with people I love. All the world is as close as family, all the world is as close as a thought and Jesus, the heart of God is permanently wrapped up in my mind and heart.

As far as motivation, I may be- on some level- but my minds eye doesn’t really go out that far. Its like I live for today with the hope of the future not a dread of it. Don’t get me wrong though there are plenty of days when I wish for it now, in fact those are coming more frequently recently but I also have an urgency that there are lots of people in the world that have never felt the mercy or grace of someone who loves them and that somehow that’s my responsibility.

Not much solid theology or doctrine (I don’t know the difference) but that’s how it breaks down in my mind.

While researching fuel economy tips I found the website ecomodder.com The thing that attracted me was the “100+ Hypermiling Tips” document but I stayed engaged because of the awesome forum. I knew there was no way I’d be getting 200 mpg in my beast but I thought it couldn’t hurt to drive a little ‘nicer.’ Well, I did drive nicer and tried a bunch of the tips but was only able to get up to 16.9 mpg. The thing just drank gas. So, I evaluated why I thought I needed a truck and came up empty on all the reasons I thought of. So, I sold the truck and bought an ’01 Honda Civic and got 39 mpg on the way home from picking it up. Since then I’ve averaged about 35 in a mixture of city and highway driving. Two weeks ago I filled up and got over 300 miles on half a tank (granted the top half of the tank is bigger than the bottom but still…) that’s 44 mpg.

The site is not just about driving differently but also about modifying your car so it “sips and slips.” Sips gas and Slips through the air. The only mod I’ve done so far is to dam the lower grill so that air moves around the side of the car instead of creating turbulence under the car.  You can read about the mod here.

My biggest fuel economy tips are:

• Remember, If your engine is running and you aren’t moving you are getting 0 MPG.
• Keep your revs under 2000 RPMs through all the gears except the last.
• Slow and Steady saves Gas, Money, and Soldiers!

Here are the tips from the “100 +” that I’ve found useful:

4) Clean junk from your trunk

The additional weight you carry in your vehicle doesn’t ride for free. It takes energy to move it around. Removing unnecessary stuff from your vehicle saves fuel.

6) Join a fuel economy forum

Join an outstanding forum to learn ways to increase your fuel economy by talking to others who share your enthusiasm and goals.

7) Remove unused roof racks

If your vehicle come with a roof rack and you don’t use it, remove it. Same holds true for bike racks. Doing so will reduce aerodynamic drag, resulting in better fuel economy.

8 ) Check tire inflation regularly

Make sure that your tire pressures are, at minimum, set to manufacturer specifications. The higher the pressure, the less rolling resistance.

Remember that pressure is affected by ambient temperature. As temperature drops, so does your tire pressure, so keep track as the seasons change.

9) Track your fuel consumption

One of the first steps in improving efficiency is tracking fuel consumption.

Get in the habit of saving all your fuel receipts, recording distance travelled and fuel economy (MPG). Keep a small notebook to record trip type and new techniques employed to monitor your progress.

While the slower pace of tank-to-tank feedback isn’t ideal for feedback on driving technique, recording and montoring your “big picture” progress is great motivation.

See the Ecomodder Blog for more information on tracking fuel consumption.

14) The ‘corridor effect’

All else being equal, traveling at a constant speed on a freeway within a flow of traffic (in the same direction) is more efficient than going the same speed in isolation. The reason is aerodynamic: a flow of traffic generates a localized wind current in the direction of travel. You will benefit from this artificial breeze.

16) Time your gas station trips

Plan to refuel your car during off-peak times to avoid lines and excessive idling.

17) Avoid drive-thrus

Avoid drive thru windows. They lead to excessive idling.

29) Minimize idling when stopped

If you’re going to be stopped for more than a few seconds, shift to neutral and shut off your engine. This is one of the main reasons hybrid vehicles get such good fuel economy in urban driving.

39) Windows up

Drive with windows up at higher speeds to minimize aerodynamic drag. Use flow-through ventilation if possible.

40) Reduce speed

Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed, so reduce highway cruising speed as much as practical and safe.

Generally, a vehicle’s most efficient speed is just after its highest gear has engaged.

There are tons more that I haven’t “acheived” yet and even more that most people just dont have enough control over to use like turning off your engine at red lights (its illegal to stop your engine in a road in Oklahoma). But pulling through to park to eliminate backing up and going in a restaurant instead of a drive thru is very doable!

A further benefit to driving slower and focusing on fuel economy is a reduction in my “Road Rage.” I find that I am the slow car and its an advantage to me to wait behind another vehicle because they are blocking the wind for me.

It all works for me – your mileage may vary!

After a less than graceful transition to a new web host I am starting over with a fresh site. The old site was lost to the digital abyss but I’m not really all that sad about it. I visit so rarely that I really forgot what all was there anyway.

This time will be different though (maybe) I will be adding my personal thoughts instead of just technology related issues. Right now the main categories, starting out, will be Jesus, Technology (ranging from product use to troubleshooting), Media (TV, Film and Podcast),  Energy (as in Alternative or Conservation of), and Food. There may be some Fatherhood thrown in to round it out.

My many thanks to my 1 regular reader!

bert