Password Security

In last weeks post on Laptop Security, we explored some of the special issues of keeping your laptop secure, many of which also apply to desktops. Now, there are many commercial products to assist you in that, but we will generally focus on the free and open-source ones. Remember, free does not mean bad. The open-source community has produced a great deal of quality software.

Now, we turn to the issue of password security. A few bits of common sense advice:

  1. Do not base your password on a dictionary word. Brute force attacks on passwords use dictionaries.
  2. If possible, combine letters and numbers, even better, non-alphanumberic characters, ie ! $ % etc.
  3. Vary the case of letters. Remember, FoUr is a different password than four or Four.
  4. Passphrases can be a good idea with sites that do not limit the length of your password. If ones do, try a passphrase as a mneumonic. For example, turn The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over the Lazy Dog into TqBfJoTlD – hard to break, but easy to assemble when you log in. Note the varying case.
  5. Change your password regularly.

Now, that requires a lot of work. So, try some software assistance. While several commercial software packages allow for password vaults, we offer this nice free one, KeePass. KeePass is a password manager that stores all passwords in one database locked with a master key/password or key disk. A key disk can be stored on a USB drive, a floppy disk, etc. Just remember to take a copy of it and store it in your safety deposit box, a fire-proof safe, or with a loved one, in case of unexpected loss.

KeePass is a Windows program, but doesn’t store any information in the Windows registry. Thus it will work on older versions and newer versions of Windows and will continue to be updated. It can auto-type into web browsers and other programs. It is extensible with plugins and very configurable.

Look forward to our next part in this continuing series of securing your computer use, when we will discuss more secure tools you can store on your USB key-disk, and more about USB jumpdrives in general.

Laptop Security

Jim Rossman of the Dallas Morning News advised of his experience leaving his laptop at an airport security checkpoint. Mr. Rossman is right, a simple business card attached to your laptop will allow its owner to be idenitified.

Our colleagues at Flight Wisdom suggested that you consider STOP. Security Tracking of Office Property, despite the name, works well for personal use as well. If you want your thief to know your name and address, putting it on the laptop will certainly help them find you, although that may be a bit paranoid. A third-party is certainly helpful in these cases. Also, the security plate, cemented to your laptop, is a theft deterrent in itself.

The next step after a security tag, or equivalent label is a laptop security cable. These cables are enough theft deterrent. Given time and a hacksaw, someone can remove these cables, but the goal is such things will delay them. Most theft is dependant on stealth and speed, not hanging around with such tools. Of course, finding a place to lash it in your hotel room on vacation is usually hard.

The final step is of course, in software. Set your computer BIOS to require a password, and then prevent booting from the USB port, a floppy disk, or a CD-ROM. If you need to do any of these things, go in and override it for the time you need it. Then, set a password for logging onto the system, be it a variant of Windows, UNIX, or the Mac OS.

Of course, protecting your files can be a matter of encyption. Check out a future post, when we intend to report on Encryption Tools as well as other software security for your laptop or even your desktop.

Pocket Keyboard

We have yet to purchase the Virtual Laser Keyboard, but we have been waiting for this technology to become available.  It projects the image of a keyboard onto a flat surface, and uses lasers to sense key-press events. Currently, it is about the size of a cellular phone, and comes with either bluetooth or serial connectivity.

This technology, when coupled with various types of electronic ink and oled displays that are also being developed, could be used in the future to produce a very small keyboard and video hookup for a small computing device. Currently, that device is a PDA or mobile phone, both of which are continuing to increase their computer power.

For now, however, we believe as soon as the price point reduces, it may become a viable option for the basic of mobile functions, word processing, if nothing else.

Frugal it isn't

TrekStor i.Beat organix Gold MP3 Player (1 GB)

This MP3 player is built for every millionaire who loves digital music, according to the Amazon description. Eighteen-karat gold, 63 diamonds, and a gem-encrusted chain. Of course, we endorse frugal purchasing. We even are reluctant to endorse the Ipod, not because it isn’t impressive and well designed, but because too many people want to steal it. Imagine how much security this thing requires. Hope it comes with lojack for that price.

Dimmables Come into the Main Stream

On a recent trip to the local Home Depot, we were pleased to see not only a whole section of CFLs, but Phillips dimmable CFLs in the R30 and R40 sizes available for the first time. They only had a few boxes, but $11.95 each was still less than we’d found online. So, check your local home improvement warehouse for these dimmable CFLs if you can.

Programmable Thermostats

When we started this site, we did not think we would necessarily emphasize energy-saving. But, with rising fuel and energy costs a consideration for all, we feel it is a good move to explore new technologies can save you money.

Now, with the summer over and winter coming, it is time to think about heating your home. There are two basic types of heating systems: 24 volt and line voltage. Line voltage systems are usually used for electric baseboard heaters. In this, the 240 or 120 volts that power the heater run directly through the thermostat.

Now, there is no lack of programmable thermostats on the market. They are not all created equal and are priced differently for a reason. Programmable thermostats are divided into 7, 5-2, and 5-1-1 day programmable thermostats, based on the number of different programs it can contain. While we think that backlit displays for thermostats make them look more impressive and are easier to find, we have never sprung for the extra feature.

Some also have a vacation override function, which allows a second program to supplement the first in the event of a vacation. Another feature related to this allows the vacation override to be triggered by a dry contact switch. Thus, a wire can be run to a home automation system to allow remote control. This allows you to call ahead and switch back from vacation to normal mode, a wonderful feature for any vacation homes you might have.

One of the biggest problems with heating and cooling control is the multi-room house. With central heating and cooling, if one person wants the air on, the whole house gets air. With varying cooling/heating capability and size of room, that can mean variants in temperature. There is an option. One is of course, having vents that can close. A more high-tech solution is a motorized duct damper. By installing these dampers and wiring them to temperature controls, the duct can be opened or closed based on the temperature. This is called zonal heating or cooling, as it divides the house into zones.

This system is already in place if you have electric heating. Electric heating usually mean independent thermostats per baseboard, and thus the cost of upgrading to programmable is much more expensive, as there are more to replace. We are preparing to field-test the least expensive programmable line voltage thermostat we could fine, a rebranded version of the Line Voltage Thermostat – LUX ELV1 for a list price of $39.99. We’ll have more information on how that worked out in a future post as well as thoughts on controlling your temperature remotely.

Ridding Yourself of Legacy Hardware

Legacy hardware consists of hardware or ports no longer necessary to the availability of better alternatives.

  • Parallel port – You would be hard-pressed to find a non-USB printer nowadays. So why do you need the port?
  • Serial port – While there are still some devices that still run off of serial ports, they are rare enough that one could purchase USB->Serial Converter cables for the last ones and eliminate that port as well.
  • Floppy controller and floppy drives – Floppy drives and floppy disks are fairly rare nowadays. We’ve removed them from all of our computers in favor of one external USB floppy drive for emergencies. Most people will find a USB flash memory drive is not only more durable, but can store more in less space
  • IDE connectors – We have yet to fully rid ourselves of 40-pin IDE connectors. While hard drives now come with Serial ATA connectors, which are smaller and more efficient, removing the headaches of master and slave that come with the IDE system, CD/DVD drives have yet to switch over in any large majority.
  • Analog Video Connector – The 15-pin VGA connector, despite having been around since the earlier days of VGA monitors, shows few signs of going away. The newer standard, DVI(Digital Visual Interface), not only transmits to the monitor digitally, but usually has the pins to transmit analog signals as well in order to remain compatible with the older standards.

Friends of the Environment

Some of us are more environmentally conscious than others. Most tend to want to help the environment, but admit they could do more. Corporations are the same way. Check out The Green Electronics Guide. This guide from Greenpeace lists companies and their records for environmental responsibility. We commend Greenpeace for its efforts to get companies to remove toxic chemicals from their components.
When it is time to dispose of your old electronics, if you cannot find someone to use them, research takeback programs. Dell, for example, will offer you a recycling kit with every computer purchased to allow you to rid yourself of an old one. If this fails, there is always donation. Allow your old tech to be someone else new tech.

Protect Yourself from Burnout

Our colleagues at Flight Wisdom wrote a few weeks ago here about the danger of laptop battery issues. Dell was followed by Apple in its battery recall. As this article from Business Week reports, the online community kept pressure on the manufacturers to do something about this. And now Dell and Apple are recalling over 5 million batteries.
But the danger of computer components isn’t limited to batteries, as one writer reports here. His hard drive burnt out in what appears to be a rather dramatic manner.

So, we thought we would take this time to give our tips to reduce the risk of preventable accidents. Obviously, if your component is faulty or improperly designed, there is no amount of preparation you can make to prevent problems…although even outside of warranty, some companies will replace an item that spontaneously combusted as opposed to other types of mechanical failure.

  1. Make sure cables inside your computer do not interfere with airflow. The biggest cables in computers are ribbon cables used for components such as ATA hard drives and CDROMs. The cheapest solution is to replace these with round cables, which compress the ribbon down for increased airflow. The better solution is to, if possible, replace your drives with the new Serial ATA drives. The SATA cables are much thinner than the older parallel ones, and the drives themselves are better as well. SATA CD/DVD drives are still relatively rare though, but at least consider replacing the hard drives.
  2. Once a month or so, shut the computer down and blow out the interior of the computer with a bottle of canned air, especially the exhaust fans to remove dust that might accumulate and reduce air efficiency.
  3. Keep aware of any product recalls or reports of problems with hardware in your system and be prepared to replace it if necessary. For laptops, blow out the exhaust fans from the outside while the computer is off.
  4. Also for laptops, if you plan on using the laptop for long periods on AC power, take the battery out. If that is not an option, regularly discharge and recharge the battery. For business travellers, consider a second battery and regular swap the two.