The Most Common Password Is...
By Cate Eales
Appeared July 2, 2009 on castanet.net
The
most common password is "password." If you could guess that, how long
do you think it would take someone to guess YOUR password? (If you guessed
"abc123" or "qwerty", you were close.) Keeping track of your passwords is
important, and it's not as hard as you think.
Also, Adobe Flash and Adobe Shockwave have critical updates you should
get. And if you don't want Internet Explorer 8 automatically downloaded,
you can block it with a tool from Microsoft.
Keeping Track of Passwords
Do you know your email password? Do you know the password to your wireless
network? To your router? Did you even know you HAD a password to your
router? Windows and Windows programs are so darned good at remembering our
passwords for us that we simply forget those passwords. Sometimes we
forget that we even have passwords. That works well, right up until we
need to know them!
When I help a customer migrate their email to a new computer, or
troubleshoot a wireless network problem, it is very helpful for all of us
if those passwords are handy. Without that baseline information, fixing,
moving, even basic troubleshooting is going to be more difficult and
time-consuming than it has to be.
Migrating to a new computer and solving connectivity
problems are only two reasons to keep track of your passwords. I've had to
help surviving family members figure out how to access email and financial
information after someone has died. It can be done, but this issue can be
prevented, too!
There are several ways, ranging from high tech to low tech, to keep track
of your passwords. And while you are at it, to keep track of your credit
card numbers, your passport and social insurance information, and even
your dog's tag and tattoo numbers.
That's the easy part. One simple, elegant, high tech
solution is a program called
KeePass Password Safe.
Once you enter all the information, you only have to
try to remember
one password. The tedious part is entering all the information. The hard
part is figuring out what all the information is!
I can help you with that. Next week, more high tech and a low tech method,
and some help with where to store the information once you have gathered
and organized it.
Critical Updates for Adobe Flash Player and Adobe
Shockwave Player
Last week Adobe issued critical updates for two commonly used web browser
plugins, Flash Player and Shockwave Player. Although they accomplish the
same thing --- allowing us to view certain types of video content --- they
are not the same program. So they BOTH will need updating. You can
visit
this page to check which version you have.
The newest version of Shockwave is 11.5.0.600. Adobe recommends
uninstalling earlier versions and installing this one, which you will find
here. Pay
attention during the install, as you will be offered the Google Toolbar,
or if you already have the Google Toolbar, a Norton toolbar. You DO NOT
have to accept these in order to get the Shockwave Player. Just uncheck
the box and continue.
Adobe Flash Player is currently at version 10.0 22.87. That is available
for
download here. There are issues with Adobe Flash Player and Internet
Explorer 8. More about that next week.
Speaking of Internet Explorer 8...
Not everyone wants Internet Explorer 8 right now. Some would rather have
the rest of us sort things out before downloading it! When first released,
it was an optional download, but now Microsoft has placed it in the
regular Microsoft Updates stream, and it's going to show up in your
updates if it hasn't already.
If you would like to block it, the safest and most effective way to do
that (without blocking ALL your updates) is to use the Internet Explorer 8
Blocker Toolkit from Microsoft. You can
download it here. Follow the instructions on that page to download AND
THEN RUN the toolkit. It will prevent IE8 from showing up in your
automatic updates forever. But you can still visit the
IE8 download site and get it any time you are ready.
We wish you a Happy Canada Day, and to our American friends, a Happy 4th
of July. Please celebrate and drive safely, no matter where you are.
Do you need help with your computer? With your
scanner/printer/camera/music player? Do you have a virus or a
spyware problem? Do you need more RAM? Do you need a backup
plan? Do you have a new computer and now you're wondering how to get the
files from the old one over to the new one? I'm here to help you and your
home or business computer get along! To ask a question, make a comment or
suggestion, or schedule a visit, email
help@computercarekelowna.com.
You can read previous columns
here. If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email,
please visit this link. It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the
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Links
Most Common Password
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2113976,00.asp
KeePass Password Safe
http://keepass.info/
Check Adobe Shockwave and Flash versions
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/
Install Adobe Shockwave Player
http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/
Install Adobe Flash Player
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=DXLUJ
Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 8
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=21687628-5806-4ba6-9e4e-8e224ec6dd8c&displaylang=en
Internet Explorer 8 Blocker Toolkit FAQ
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/updatemanagement/dd365124.aspx
Download Internet Explorer 8
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=341c2ad5-8c3d-4347-8c03-08cdecd8852b
Computer Care Kelowna
http://computercarekelowna.com/
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives
http://rlis.com/column.htm
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http://rlis.com/rlis.xml
---
Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible
and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric,
and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in
Computer Care
Kelowna, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware
and malware eradication; personal computer training and management;
digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and
management. Email Cate at
help@computercarekelowna.com with your comments, suggestions, or
questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet
Solutions website at www.rlis.com.
©
Cate Eales 2009 – All Rights Reserved
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