Synopses & Reviews
User passwords are the keys to the network kingdom, yet most users choose overly simplistic passwords (like password) that anyone could guess, while system administrators demand impossible to remember passwords littered with obscure characters and random numerals. Author Mark Burnett has accumulated and analyzed over 2,000,000 user passwords, and in this highly entertaining and informative book filled with dozens of illustrations reveals his findings and balances the rigid needs of security professionals against the ease of use desired by users.
All of us remember when we first started with computers or the internet. We quickly learned that everything seems to need a password so to cope with that, we develop a password strategy. But statistics show that most password strategies aren't that great and are in fact so often predictable that crackers too often crack them in a matter of minutes. Some companies might assign you completely random character sequences but how many of those do you ever remember without writing them down? Some companies might force you to select complex patterns that include numbers and symbols, but a dictionary word followed by one or two numbers is the most common password pattern. Some companies force users to change their passwords so frequently that users end up with highly predictable patterns. But users aren't to blame, it's just that no one has taught them how to cope with strict password policies. This book will teach you how to cope with the world of password policies, password crackers, and human predictability. It teaches specific password patterns that will meet even the most unyielding security policy requirements but that users will remember in asnap. If you deal with passwords, you need this book.
Review
"What is the key to coming up with a secure password? Length. Use 10 characters or more, says Mark Burnett, author of Perfect Passwords (Syngress, $26, amazon.com). "Best are passwords that consist of a few parts"-words, prefixes, spelled-out numbers. Good examples: bluebananas and skyisfalling. "They’re easy to remember, and when you’re prompted to switch your password, you can just swap out one chunk," he says. With this method, foursaltypeanuts becomes foursaltycashews."--Real Simple Magazine
Synopsis
User passwords are the keys to the network kingdom, yet most users choose overly simplistic passwords (like password) that anyone could guess, while system administrators demand impossible to remember passwords littered with obscure characters and random numerals.
Every computer user must face the problems of password security. According to a recent British study, passwords are usually obvious: around 50 percent of computer users select passwords based on names of a family member, spouse, partner, or a pet. Many users face the problem of selecting strong passwords that meet corporate security requirements. Too often, systems reject user-selected passwords because they are not long enough or otherwise do not meet complexity requirements. This book teaches users how to select passwords that always meet complexity requirements.
A typical computer user must remember dozens of passwords and they are told to make them all unique and never write them down. For most users, the solution is easy passwords that follow simple patterns. This book teaches users how to select strong passwords they can easily remember.
* Examines the password problem from the perspective of the administrator trying to secure their network
* Author Mark Burnett has accumulated and analyzed over 1,000,000 user passwords and through his research has discovered what works, what doesn't work, and how many people probably have dogs named Spot
* Throughout the book, Burnett sprinkles interesting and humorous password ranging from the Top 20 dog names to the number of references to the King James Bible in passwords
Table of Contents
How random is random?; Why they always want numbers in your password; Why you have to keep changing your password; 20 pointers for perfect passwords; How crackers crack; You're never as tricky as you think; Password safekeeping; Celebrate Password Day; What about secret questions? Never ever, except sometimes, reuse your password; What does your password say about you?; The top 200 passwords