Inside the brain of a Geek: Creating hundreds of memorable and secure passwords made EASY!

This weekI want to expand on creating secure and memorable passwords. I’m going to show you how to take the one memorable and security password we created with our password formula and use it as a base to create hundreds of memorable passwords. If you need a refresher on password formulas, please read “Are you part of the 41.69%”.  Having a password similar to “0kittYHorse* is great and with the story behind it very easy to remember.  We are going to use the password “0kittYHorse* as a base password.  We will then add to it in a way that correlates to the website to create a unique password for each site.  My examples are using the first two letters from the website name and adding them to the front of the base password. 

First two letter examples:

Gmail =GM0kittYHorse*

Yahoo = YA0kittYHorse*

Visa = VI0kittYHorse*

Facebook = FA0kittYHorse*

Now in six months when it is time to change your password.  Change the base password only.  Here, is an example.  We have had two cats Jack is a Tabby and Shadow was a Korat.  Jack was born in 1998.  My base password is now 9tabbYKorat*.  Using my new base password, I will change all my passwords.

First two letter examples:

Gmail =GM9tabbYKorat*

Yahoo = YA9tabbYKorat*

Visa = VI9tabbYKorat*

Facebook = FA9tabbYKorat*

Never share your base password and change it every six to twelve months. Before you ask, no those are not my real base passwords, they are just examples.

Inside the brain of a Geek: Are you part of the 41.69%?

While I hope your password is -  uz8I/.-X%QVopdM~wB0n#;"BH (Example 1)

The reality is that 41.69% of all passwords look like this – kittyhorse (Example 2)

Think of your password as a needle in a haystack. The complexity and length of your password determine the size of your haystack.  Example 1 would be like trying to finding a needle lost somewhere on Jupiter. Example 2 would be like trying to finding a needle you dropped on a white floor.

The mission is not to convert everyone to using randomly generated passwords but to make memorable passwords like “kittyhorse” more secure. Below is a three-step formula for converting “kittyhorse” from a 1.47-seconds hack to 1.74 centuries. Once you create a password formula use it over and over to create memorable and secure passwords.

Password example:  kittyhorse (hack time 1.47-seconds)*

Password example:  0kittyhorse* (hack time 3.76 years)*

Password example:  0kittYHorse* (hack time 1.74 centuries)*

So instead of trying to remember 0kittYHorse*.  I tell myself this story.  I’m a middle child and growing up I had a kitty but really wanted a horse.  I have a dog now and he was born in 2008.

*Calculated using the GRC's Interactive Brute Force Password “Search Space” Calculator.  https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm

Inside the brain of a Geek: Visual cheat sheet for keyboard shortcuts

Love the idea of keyboard shortcuts but can’t seem to memorize all the key combinations? Office 2007 and 2010 now have more shortcut options with a cool visual cheat sheet. Use the Alt key in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook to display KeyTips badges. KeyTips badges are a visual cheat sheet for keyboard shortcuts. See the example below.

Press Alt in Word 2010 to display the KeyTip badges.

Press H on the keyboard to move to the Home tab. Now use the KeyTip badges to execute a command. 1 will turn on bold. FF will change the font. 

For more on using KeyTips in Word see the video below.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/keyboard-shortcuts-in-the-2007-office-system-RZ010156267.aspx?section=8

Inside the brain of a Geek: Oh Snap!

Are you constantly resizing application windows to utilize your whole desktop? Windows 7 has a feature that makes this process a snap. This week I will show you how to use Snap’s side-by-side feature.  I use this feature daily and am actually using it now to writing and research this tip. 

Follow the detailed instructions or use the link below to watch a short 1 minute video. 

To arrange windows side by side

1. Drag the title bar of a window to the left or right side of the screen until an outline of the expanded window appears.
2. Release the mouse to expand the window.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with another window to arrange the windows side by side.

To return the window to its original size, drag the title bar away from the top of the desktop and then release.

Keyboard shortcut:  To snap an active window to the side of the desktop using the keyboard, press Windows logo key +Left Arrow or Windows logo key +Right Arrow.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Arrange-windows-side-by-side-on-the-desktop-using-Snap

Instructions and video courtesy of Microsoft.

Inside the brain of a Geek: How to rename multiple files

I deal with a lot of files on a daily basis.   It is critical that I can quickly know what the file is and the contents.   Learning how to quickly rename multiple files has saved me lots of time and headaches.  Below are instructions for renaming multiple files in Windows 7 and Windows XP. 

Windows 7

Highlight the files you want to rename.   Right click the highlighted files and select Rename.  Rename the first fill in and then hit Enter.  All the files will be renamed and a number in parenthesis will be added to the end of the name.

Windows XP

Highlight the files you want to rename, and then hit the F2 key. Rename the first file, and then hit Enter. All your files will be renamed and a number in parenthesis will be added to the end of the name. You can hitCtrl+Z to undo the rename.

Before

After