security

My Virtual Private Server tutorial was fairly extensive, but it left out something important: information security! I think it’s wise to revisit the topic now, since security and encryption are critical in any application of computer systems. With the popularity of cloud computing and storage, it’s easy to take security for granted. Easy to think “Let someone else worry about it for me! That’s why I pay them.” I disagree with that premise, for simple (and pessimistic) reasons: [Read More]

The previous post about Self-Hosted Password Managers was well received, and it brought up some interesting discussion on Twitter. A common takeaway was the importance of two-factor authentication (2FA for short). Two-factor authentication is a system whereby a login system verifies with a separate and unrelated login system. Log into system #1 and verify that you’re truly the correct user by verifying with a pre-configured integration with system #2. Et voila! [Read More]

Do you have a password you use everywhere? Be honest, we’re friends here. Good password security is critical, but few take it seriously. I understand why, life has become too complex to keep track of everything inside your head. Security / Convenience — Pick One! Consider the Github list of the top 100 most commonly used passwords, sorted by frequency. Here are the top 10: 123456 password 12345678 qwerty 123456789 12345 1234 111111 1234567 dragon “Dragon” appearing as #10 surprised me, but the rest are sadly predictable and fall into an obvious pattern — quick & easy keyboard entry. [Read More]