Passwords
This part is different from others, it's a bit shorter and explains what is a safe password and how to store them.
Secure passwords
Secure passwords don't need to be:
- Hard to remember
- With many special charactes
Secure passwords will:
- Have at least 15 characters (depending on the situation)
- Be random
- Easy to remember
It may look impossible meeting all these conditions at the same time, but... is easier that it looks like.
Creating secure passwords
- Prases are easier to remember than words, they are longer and therefore more secure
- Words are easier to remember than isolated characters
- Use words in many languages
- Use proper names
- Add some special characters
There is no 100% secure
Diceware passphrase generation
Roll 5 dices, do it 7 times, check the list. Get your new password !
- Search diceware word list EFF has a good one. Download the file and avoid search.
- Roll 5 dices and note the number of each dice (ex. 1,5,3,4,2 (15342))
- Search the equivalent word that correspond to that number
- Repeat it 6 times for standard password and 7+ for your more important ones
Storing passwords
Tools designed to store your passwords encrypted using a master password.
Single point of failure, if it’s compromised = Game Over :(
On the cloud
Some provider allow you to synchronize on the cloud
- Easier to use across multiple devices
- They WILL know which service you use and when
- They MAY know your password
KeePassX
KeePassX is an application for people with extremly high demands on secure personal data management. - KeePassX
- Free
- Open Source
- Available in many devices
Databases
Passwords are stored on databases Each database is protected by a password, key file, or both
| For | Against |
|---|---|
| Harder to guess than a password | Like a physical key, if you lose it you are fucked |
Mobile devices
Same db can be used across many platforms. Mobile devices are less secure, copy just the passwords you will need when you are outdoors
Password maintenance
- Passwords should be changed on a regular basis.
- Don't reuse the same password, or varaitions of it multiple times