Have you ever had to reset a password? Have you ever forgotten the new password after you reset it? Gabe and Erik share their password struggles and talk about how they're trying to solve them, mostly with the help of 1Password. View the show notes on our episode page.http://technicaldifficulties.us/episodes/072-passwords Add this URL to your podcatcher to subscribe to the full-notes feed: http://technicaldifficulties.us/itunes Have You Ever Been Forced to Reset a Password? Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 0:00 We all know passwords are important. Sure, they’re important. But they’re also boring, and sometimes it takes a security blunder by one of the critical links in our online systems to make us remember to pay attention again. Consider this episode a reminder, too, and do some housekeeping. Explaining Passwords One of the hardest things to do is to explain password security “best practices” to an average “Alice” or “Joe”. I’ve tackled the discussion about changing passwords with my family and they look at me like I suggested they change their first name. Passwords are looked at like house keys. As long as you keep them in your pocket, there’s nothing to worry about. But I try to explain it more like, a valet car service. You give them your key and then you have no idea what they do with it for the other 99% of the time you have a relationship with them. The Applications This is not one of those times when we are going to recommend a whole host of possible apps for you to try. All of us use 1Password, and I bet this is true of most of our listeners too. The AgileBits have created a great app that is well-supported and available on most platforms. More than that though, they seem to have a great mindset towards security, and they take the time to educate the masses on their site. All of this usually ends the app search before it begins. 1Password 1Password gives you the security you need in today’s online world without slowing you down. 1Password makes you more productive while simultaneously increasing your security with strong, unique passwords for all your accounts. Price: $24.99 Developer’s Page App Store There are, however, some other apps to consider, if you aren’t interested in 1Password for any reason. Dashlane Dashlane is the best, free password manager and secure digital wallet for your iPhone, iPad, and other devices. Price: Free/$19.99 per Year Developer’s Page App Store LastPass LastPass is the last password you’ll ever have to remember. Once setup you’ll have your login and password data on your PC and your iPhone/iPad seamlessly synced via a Host Proof Hosting method which does not allow LastPass (or anyone else) access to your sensitive data. Price: Free/$12 per Year Developer’s Page App Store For edge cases The first password app I ever heard of and used was KeePass, which is still likely the best choice for the open-source crowd. It is also a good choice for a universal solution, since it has unofficial ports on virtually every OS. It has also been around internet forever, as in it was there when Lifehacker was still good and before Merlin became sick to death of talking about GTD. As to universal access to yous passwords, there is also the somewhat hidden gem of 1PasswordAnywhere, which allows you to view your data in a browser window. One gotcha that can affect those of us on IT lock-down is that 1PasswordAnywhere unfortunately (wisely) does not support Internet Explorer. Creating Good Passwords Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 3:49 Perhaps the best lesson on password strength can be found in a cartoon. xkcd: Password Strength Of course, xkcd is not your average webcomic, and Randall Munroe is not your averagewebcomic author, so the truth found here should not
Have you ever had to reset a password? Have you ever forgotten the new password after you reset it? Gabe and Erik share their password struggles and talk about how they're trying to solve them, mostly with the help of 1Password. View the show notes on our episode page.http://technicaldifficulties.us/episodes/072-passwords Add this URL to your podcatcher to subscribe to the full-notes feed: http://technicaldifficulties.us/itunes Have You Ever Been Forced to Reset a Password? Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 0:00 We all know passwords are important. Sure, they’re important. But they’re also boring, and sometimes it takes a security blunder by one of the critical links in our online systems to make us remember to pay attention again. Consider this episode a reminder, too, and do some housekeeping. Explaining Passwords One of the hardest things to do is to explain password security “best practices” to an average “Alice” or “Joe”. I’ve tackled the discussion about changing passwords with my family and they look at me like I suggested they change their first name. Passwords are looked at like house keys. As long as you keep them in your pocket, there’s nothing to worry about. But I try to explain it more like, a valet car service. You give them your key and then you have no idea what they do with it for the other 99% of the time you have a relationship with them. The Applications This is not one of those times when we are going to recommend a whole host of possible apps for you to try. All of us use 1Password, and I bet this is true of most of our listeners too. The AgileBits have created a great app that is well-supported and available on most platforms. More than that though, they seem to have a great mindset towards security, and they take the time to educate the masses on their site. All of this usually ends the app search before it begins. 1Password 1Password gives you the security you need in today’s online world without slowing you down. 1Password makes you more productive while simultaneously increasing your security with strong, unique passwords for all your accounts. Price: $24.99 Developer’s Page App Store There are, however, some other apps to consider, if you aren’t interested in 1Password for any reason. Dashlane Dashlane is the best, free password manager and secure digital wallet for your iPhone, iPad, and other devices. Price: Free/$19.99 per Year Developer’s Page App Store LastPass LastPass is the last password you’ll ever have to remember. Once setup you’ll have your login and password data on your PC and your iPhone/iPad seamlessly synced via a Host Proof Hosting method which does not allow LastPass (or anyone else) access to your sensitive data. Price: Free/$12 per Year Developer’s Page App Store For edge cases The first password app I ever heard of and used was KeePass, which is still likely the best choice for the open-source crowd. It is also a good choice for a universal solution, since it has unofficial ports on virtually every OS. It has also been around internet forever, as in it was there when Lifehacker was still good and before Merlin became sick to death of talking about GTD. As to universal access to yous passwords, there is also the somewhat hidden gem of 1PasswordAnywhere, which allows you to view your data in a browser window. One gotcha that can affect those of us on IT lock-down is that 1PasswordAnywhere unfortunately (wisely) does not support Internet Explorer. Creating Good Passwords Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 3:49 Perhaps the best lesson on password strength can be found in a cartoon. xkcd: Password Strength Of course, xkcd is not your average webcomic, and Randall Munroe is not your averagewebcomic author, so the truth found here should not