I'm curious..

What is also useful is when you are prompted to answer security questions as an alternative to having to reset the password if you've forgotten it..

The password man said he thought a random mixture of letters and numbers would be easiest to use, now he says that a short phrase will be most difficult to crack e.g. 3 blind mice

Trouble is some websites won't allow a real word as part of a password.

I like the ones which tell you that you have entered a wrong password so when you have to enter a new one you decide to use the one they told you was wrong, it says you can't reuse a password ?

Cortana 'listening' - and Google too. And you know it because all of a sudden ads pop up to do with the very thing you were just talking about. Creepy!

grannyticktock you'd be surprised at what seemingly innocuous details cyber criminals find 'interesting'!

have you tried a password manager? a few that spring to mind are lastpass, dashlane, keepass. the idea is that they generate crazy passwords for you, and then keep them saved in the 'safe'. so whenever you want to use them, you just need to remember the 1 password for your safe,then you can access and log in to all your sites.

of course, this would be a gold mine for a cyber criminal. but if you're using a very strong complex password, that you don't reuse anywhere else then it can increase your overall online security.

or if you want to stick to doing it manually you could have a formula. for example, some crazy sentence that would be unlikely to come up in a dictionary but creates an image in your head like : All Great Horses Love Candy Floss. Take the first 3 letters of each, so : AllGreHorLovCanFlo. Replace letters with numbers like 4llGr3H0rL0vC4nFl0. and add some symbols like '!?' . then you've got a very strong password that is (hopefully) somewhat memorable, doesn't exist in dictionary, very complex so very hard (computationally) for a crook to crack.


does that help?

hi devongirl, the reason for sites not allowing real words is it's very easy for a password that appears in any dictionary to be cracked. Hacker's are not guessing passwords one at a type, they use computer programs that take a list of millions of words, or common passwords that have been found in one of the major data breaches (linkedin.com, Sony, Adobe, Dropbox, to list a few) and recycle them. Of course, testing millions of passwords against a Web login (assuming it has been secured properly) will probably lock out after 5 attempts, which is useful. But if they get to the systems behind the websites then chances of finding all the real passwords are much higher. then because people typically reuse passwords across different sites, they would automatically have access to all those other sites too.

Does anyone here use 2-factor authentication? it's when a site will txt you a pin to your phone when logging in, which is really effective. big sites like Facebook, Google, banks tend to use them but sometimes they're not enabled unless you're aware of them and switch it on yourself!

btw just let me know if I'm not explaining clearly

Passwords are my bugbear
I think 'i'll use the same password everywhere'
Then, I'm told, this password must contain a capital letter. The next one must include a number, etc etc. The password ends up so far from what it started as that I forget it.

imperfect27, I know what you mean! I've got amazon echo and sometimes switch it off just in case.

that's just reminded me actually that windows 10 in its normal setup is not very privacy friendly. it tracks what you're doing and sends info to Microsoft. at least that was the case when it first came out. I'm not sure if still the case. I still use Windows 7 because of that!

let me know if you want more info on disabling that.

(assuming youre on Windows 10 because you mentioned Cortana, but maybe you're talking about your phone!)

If anyone is worried about Windows 10 tracking, it's easy to switch off.

Go to the Start Menu, then tap Settings.

Privacy is in the third row of the Settings window.

Once you are in the Privacy menu, tap on General, then under Send Microsoft info about how I write to help use improve typing and writing in the future – toggle the setting to Off.

Then, under the Speech, Inking and Typing menu, which is located four rows beneath General – click Stop getting to know me.

There you go, cyberguy - you can upgrade your operating system now

Don't panic that Microsoft is spying on you. There are hundreds of millions of people using Windows 10 and Bill Gates is probably not interested in your online shopping.

www.windowscentral.com/how-turn-cortana-and-stop-personal-data-gathering-windows-10

Here's a link with screen shots, so you know you're in the right place and doing the right thing.

Just put this on another thread, but trump is interested in what you are doing online. He has asked for information on all those who have gone on an anti-trump website.

Avaaz want to stop him.

secure.avaaz.org/en/trump_hands_off_our_internet_loc_fr/?slideshow

That link doesn't give any details about the website. It was the DisruptJ20 website, which coordinated protests at Trump's inauguration.

The petition says that.

Thanks for offers of help and advice re tracking and privacy. I turned Cortana off as soon as I knew how to - just disgruntled that it arrived as an uninvited guest in the first place.

(I had better not let myself get started on Trump...)

Thanks, cyberguy, I have never used a password manager - to do so now would mean creating a load of new passwords and it all sounds a bit of a fiddle. I actually have a little notebook, kept in a place no one would stumble across it, with the most important passwords written in it, as backup.

I am being a bit more careful now ; I realised that my Amazon password was too similar to one I use on other sites, so I have replaced it with a unique and stronger one.

The really important ones like banks tend to use a raft of number codes, information, questions etc rather than just a single password, which is reassuring.

My DH just bought an Amazon Echo Dot. I'm wondering whether to keep it or give it to my DD as a gift at Christmas. I am intrigued, and wonder how much I would use it. We don't have smart technology in our house, so wouldn't use it to turn things on and off. I think I would like it in the kitchen. I have a radio for music, but reception is awful in this house, and we don't have digital radio in this area. Alexa might be able to find me recipes quicker than Google on the hudl. Cyberguy, do you think I would find the echo dot useful?

Does that include Gransnetters djen ?

Any granny suspected of derogatory remarks would be arrested at the airport.
I didn't want to go to America anyway.

I imagine so, Jalima. Some Gransnetters have been vicious about trump, myself included.
I don't want to go, either, but my son and his family do next year.
Perhaps trump will no longer be POTUS then.

And what about those of us who have said we want to stop him coming here on a state visit. Quite easy to track, I would think.

That's me stuffed then . Didn't want to go to America anyway. If he carries on, then in a year or so, according to his rules, no-one will get in ...

He could build a wall all around the perimeter.

When I said I didn't want to go I wasn't including Alaska in that, so perhaps I should say no more.

The problem then is that lots of people would not be able to escape.
Did you see The Last Leg when they asked people to tweet to build a wall between the US and Canada?
It ended up being quite a high wall.