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Think you know what a strong password is? You’re probably wrong!

Common sense on what a “strong” password is has changed a little bit. Chances are, you might think a strong password is:

  • (at least) one upper-case letter
  • (at least) one lower-case letter
  • (at least) one symbol
  • (at least) one number

And as a result, you’ve probably generated a password something like this: $ax0ph0n3 – Right?

Turns out, that may not be the best password after all. As computers (and computer programmers) got better at stringing together guesses at passwords – especially really important ones like the President’s email or a login to this blog – the time to guess a short, but total gibberish word got a lot shorter. XKCD’s Randall Munroe put it like this:

XKCD: Password Strength

Add to this the fact that so many institutions make it ridiculously easy to guess at or use social engineering to find password hints, and there’s a huge problem brewing.

What do I mean by that? My bank gives the option to use the city of my High School as verification that they’re talking to me. LifeLock asked me a whole slew of “personally identifiable information” questions – including the year my first child was born. I don’t use those questions. If I did, anyone who was my Facebook friend would have that information. Worse still, someone claiming to be interviewing me for a job could call my friends or family, ask a few questions about my “background”, and then impersonate me. This happens more often than you’d think and it’s pretty tricky to avoid.

First, let’s get back to passwords. What do I recommend? LONG, easy-for-you-to-remember passwords. I wouldn’t go with four lowercase words (most systems don’t let you, anyway) – but something that uses existing conventions and is also long. The full name, price, and city, of your favorite meal for instance. Kinda easy to remember ChickenParmesan1499Denver right? Certainly easier than $ax0ph0n3.

Second, to avoid social engineering – never use any publicly-available information as verification if you can help it. I’ve had friends who used non sequiturs as answers (often hilarious, but also easy to remember) or create complete, alternate reality versions of themselves to answer those personal questions (also hilarious, harder to remember).

Third, wherever possible, use 2-step authentication. Facebook, Gmail, MailChimp, and other online apps allow you to use 2-step authentication (sometimes also called 2-stage authentication). Here’s how it works: first, you log in using your normal username/password combination, then a 6-digit code is sent to your cell phone via text message. You’re asked to enter that 6-digit code before you can log in for real – thus preventing anyone who isn’t in possession of your cell phone from logging in (for now).

It sounds like a massive pain in the butt (and it is), but it works well and is currently pretty secure.

What about you – how do you secure your online efforts? Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments!

Passwords, Security

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"Nick Armstrong is brilliant and made us feel cared for. He is talented and his work is of the highest quality. Nick respects his work and his cost is reasonable and he delivers on time."

- Ed and Deb Shapiro, Be The Change
2014-01-01T14:06:05-07:00
"Nick Armstrong is brilliant and made us feel cared for. He is talented and his work is of the highest quality. Nick respects his work and his cost is reasonable and he delivers on time." - Ed and Deb Shapiro, Be The Change
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- Catherine Rogers, Coldwell Banker
2013-12-28T13:28:40-07:00
"Nick Armstrong has been a wonderful WordPress consultant for my business. His tutoring expertise was extremely helpful. Nick is a tremendous WordPress resource and expert." - Catherine Rogers, Coldwell Banker
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"We worked along side Nick for a year and half and would recommend his talent and creativeness to anyone willing to take a look at the “standard” way of doing things a little differently that still achieve lasting results."

- Jan Peters, Fort Collins Brewery
2014-01-01T11:58:52-07:00
"We worked along side Nick for a year and half and would recommend his talent and creativeness to anyone willing to take a look at the “standard” way of doing things a little differently that still achieve lasting results." - Jan Peters, Fort Collins Brewery
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- Megan Henderson, Henderson + Company
2014-01-01T11:57:28-07:00
"Nick is the Yoda of the programming and marketing world: he is wise and powerful in the ways of the code; he wields his mouse with great speed and agility; he continually ponders the mysteries of marketing; and he is an excellent and effective instructor with a mischievous sense of humor :-)" - Megan Henderson, Henderson + Company
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“Nick and his team delivered a great new website for my company. I am happy with the results and the feedback from our clients and friends was super positive.”

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2014-01-01T11:49:52-07:00
“Nick and his team delivered a great new website for my company. I am happy with the results and the feedback from our clients and friends was super positive.” - Betsy Craig, MenuTrinfo
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"As an expert web developer, Nick can do almost anything you ask him to! He really does need to wear a cape to work. Nick is very generous with his time, and he genuinely loves to help people solve problems. I am looking forward to working with Nick on many more exciting projects."

- Molly McCowan, InkBot Editing
2014-01-01T12:03:37-07:00
"As an expert web developer, Nick can do almost anything you ask him to! He really does need to wear a cape to work. Nick is very generous with his time, and he genuinely loves to help people solve problems. I am looking forward to working with Nick on many more exciting projects." - Molly McCowan, InkBot Editing
https://pixelatedonpurpose.com/testimonials/molly-mccowan-inkbot-editing/
"Nick has an eye for creative and fun ways to step a business up a notch. He’s passionate, experienced, and knowledgeable about marketing and web development. He helped redesign our website for easier management and created campaigns for our social media outreach for a reasonable cost. Nick is a great person to have on board any business team."

- Chelsey Walker, Ridekick
2014-01-01T14:05:33-07:00
"Nick has an eye for creative and fun ways to step a business up a notch. He’s passionate, experienced, and knowledgeable about marketing and web development. He helped redesign our website for easier management and created campaigns for our social media outreach for a reasonable cost. Nick is a great person to have on board any business team." - Chelsey Walker, Ridekick
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"We enjoyed working with Nick, he was fun, very responsive, and has great ideas. We like the look of our new website, functionality, and how it tells our message of what Greenpoint Landscaping really is. He also set us up on a blogging plan to help drive traffic to our website."

- Peter Roberts, Greenpoint Landscaping
2014-09-10T15:47:51-06:00
"We enjoyed working with Nick, he was fun, very responsive, and has great ideas. We like the look of our new website, functionality, and how it tells our message of what Greenpoint Landscaping really is. He also set us up on a blogging plan to help drive traffic to our website." - Peter Roberts, Greenpoint Landscaping
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"There are very few individuals in this day-and-age that commit themselves so passionately into their profession and Nick Armstrong is one. I would recommend him to anyone, especially to those who don’t completely understand the backside of setting up a business website. He was great!"

- Linda Griego, Java Raiz
2014-01-01T12:06:09-07:00
"There are very few individuals in this day-and-age that commit themselves so passionately into their profession and Nick Armstrong is one. I would recommend him to anyone, especially to those who don’t completely understand the backside of setting up a business website. He was great!" - Linda Griego, Java Raiz
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"Nick has done an awesome job firstly recreating my program's website, then improved on it, and followed up with great training materials and a promise to be there when we will expand the website."

- Linda Hodgson, ChangeLabs
2013-12-27T21:53:40-07:00
"Nick has done an awesome job firstly recreating my program's website, then improved on it, and followed up with great training materials and a promise to be there when we will expand the website." - Linda Hodgson, ChangeLabs
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“Nick has been a great asset on the project we worked on together. His knowledge and expertise made the process go smoothly. I would hire him for future projects when the opportunity presents itself.“

-  Sam Haltom, Another Color, Inc
2014-01-01T11:49:09-07:00
“Nick has been a great asset on the project we worked on together. His knowledge and expertise made the process go smoothly. I would hire him for future projects when the opportunity presents itself.“ -  Sam Haltom, Another Color, Inc
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A division of WTF MarketingPixelated on Purpose is a small business web design company in Fort Collins, Colorado and a division of WTF Marketing.

Pixelated on Purpose
#177 2614 S. Timberline Road Ste 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
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