Tuesday, October 22, 2019

You'd Be Surprised

You might be surprised by the number of technical support calls that are ended by asking one question; "Is it plugged in?"

You may also be surprised how many tech folks, appliance repairmen and auto mechanics "Google" the brand, model number and problem before attacking your problem. You can try that, too before calling someone else.  example - "JVC LT-43MAW588 no power" (try it).

I spent nearly 30 years in IT, from tech support phone rooms to my own contract business installing entire networks for medium sized companies. 8 times out of 10 the bosses master password was in his secretary's desk drawer, or under her desk pad. At first it dismayed me, later it just pissed me off. Before long I started concentrating on the Bosses secretary (no, not like that. Gosh what a mind you have) and gave her special training, because she did all the work anyway.

You would also be surprised how many people use "password" as their password. That being said, it's not considered the worst password. (insert face palm here)

Quick tips:
Does your password have your name, birthday or address in it? Change it now.
Are you using the same password for everything? Don't. Use different passwords for your bank, utilities etc. NEVER use those same passwords for Facebook.
You're best bet is a password manager. Most IT sites (Spiceworks, Cnet, Pcmag, et al.) say this is the way to go.
I found one that is free for multiple devices.
Full version is only $36.00 / year

https://www.lastpass.com

 I have not used it yet, as I use my own system (28 years in IT) and sorry, I am NOT going to share it. Soon I will be using one, probably this one, because they are better than mine and easier to migrate (move from system to system).


Be prepared: You will be required to enter a 12 character password which is
At least 12 characters long
At least 1 number
At least 1 lowercase letter
At least 1 uppercase letter
Not your email

There are many other choices, Cnet has the most readable list, but you can just google "Best Password Managers" to find your own.
https://www.cnet.com/news/the-best-password-managers-of-2019/


Just for entertainment, here is a list of bad passwords, the top 10 are much the same anywhere you look. If your password is on there, get a password manager, NOW.

Source

#10  iloveyou
# 9  qwerty
# 8  sunshine
# 7  1234567
# 6  111111
# 5  12345
# 4  12345678
# 3  123456789
# 2  password
# 1  123456

1 comment:

Gordon said...

Those who are observant now know what one of my TVs are