KeriBlog

Cars, Security & a Peek into my Life

How to Use a Password Manager

A strong password looks like this:

That’s difficult to brute force, and a dictionary attack won’t work on it… but how do you remember this?

You don’t – your password manager does.

Here, I made a fake one to show you, this is inside my manager.

How it works:

1 – make 1 master password, like 25 characters long, write it down on paper, and ideally, memorize it, then store a physical copy somewhere other than home
2 – use that master password to log into the manager. That’s it, no more remembering from here on
3 – use the password generator to create a unique password for each site you log into

Add login information, notes, click okay to save.

To log into a site: go to manager > copy the password > back to browser > paste > done

4 – routinely backup the database, and store it on 2 USB keys in 2 locations (why? Here.)

Which manager program to use?

Here’s a shopping list:

– 256 encryption minimum, AES-256 (Advanced Encryption Standard)
– ideally the backup file is encrypted
– has the ability to exclude certain characters when generating passwords
– can sync between devices
– be wary of plugins that are independent of any software
– simple is best! It’s like a car – the more features it has, the more there is to break

Possible Programs:

– KeePassX – open source

– 1Password – (a Canadian company!)

– Password Safe – open source

Important: this is not an endorsement any of these programs, do your homework

This post has been brought to you by Nuix and KeriBlog.

Meet Nuix here.

 

 

How to Change Your Router Password

It’s not that I don’t trust the guy setting it up, but, why rely on someone else for my own security?

Things you’ll need.

  • 1 – access to your router
  • 2 – a CAT 5 cable, connecting your router, into your computer
  • 3 – a flashlight
  • 4 – a pin to push the ‘reset’ button on the router
  • 5 – a password manager

Okay here we go!

Reset your router.  Push the tiny reset button on the back using your pin, hold for 30 seconds.  I also unplug/plug it back in, for good measure.  This will clear all your settings… your WiFi name and password, everything.  It’s like we have a brand new router now.

Use your cable to connect computer to router. Plug into ‘Port 1’ on your router.

Open a new browser window, we’re going to log into your router.  Use this chart for what IP address, to type into the address bar of your browser:

Don’t see yours above? Use this site to look it up.

Log into your router. Type the IP address into the address/URL bar of your browser, then log in using the username and password.

Here we are inside my router.

First change the name of your router, and the password.

Now we’re going to secure your WiFi.  Find your ‘wireless security’ tab, look for the SSID.

SSID = name of your WiFi

  • 1 – Name your WiFi network
  • 2 – don’t click that, we’re going to keep your WiFi network hidden (security through obscurity)
  • 3 – change the channel to anything other than the default.  Your internet will be faster. I’ll explain why in video sometime, for now just do it.

For example, here’s my settings:

  • Router Name – $r}W68@2%J
  • Router Password – 8fXM(e;?sbU67R#Za$hk
  • WiFi Username – $8LP^y:6[e4r
  • WiFi Password – iq7B:f<o3e4xa[%GuP,g

Make sure your password includes numbers, letters and symbols, and is at least 15 characters long.  15 is the magic number, again I’ll explain why in video.

Copy the changes into your password manager. Save all your changes.  Unhook the cables, you’re done, good work.

Do this regularly.  I change mine 1/month.