Password Security, Windows 10 settings that need to be turned off, Chromebook use by Date

Good morning.  In today's blog,

- These are the 20 most common passwords leaked on the dark web — make sure none of them are yours

With no end in sight for the Ukraine/Russia conflict and the threat of Russian cyber warfare, it is important for everyone to assess their password strategy to secure their online data.  see below for more info.

- Turn Off These Annoying Windows 10 Settings

One of the default settings in Windows 10 allows Microsoft to use your computer to provide updates to other users on the web?  That's right, your computer and internet connection are being utilize world wide as an update server.  See this section below for more information.

- Before You Buy a Chromebook, Check the Expiration Date

Are you considering buying a Chromebook?  Be sure to check your expiration date.  Who'd have thought, Chromebooks have a use by date?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/before-you-buy-a-chromebook-check-the-expiration-date-11646538322?st=8yr80fa3kya5zw5&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

These are the 20 most common passwords leaked on the dark web — make sure none of them are yours

CNBC has published a list of the top 20 passwords found on the dark web.  Many of these I have seen in use or a slightly different version from some of those listed.

Password security is a pain I know but it is your only defense in protecting your financial and personal data from being stolen and causing much more pain.

Some of the things you can do is change your passwords on a regular basis and do not reuse passwords either on the same account or use the same password for multiple accounts.  The first thing hackers will do once they have compromised one of your passwords is to try that password on your other accounts.

If you change your password do not perform a simple change such as adding 1 to a number, i.e. Blah987 to Blah988.  They know this trick.  They are equipped with powerful cracking programs that can perform millions of combinations and permutations of passwords based on a cracked password in minutes.  With many computers and lots of compromised systems working for them, they have time on their side.

To see the 20 most compromised passwords, follow the link below and then check the chart below to see how your password stacks up for complicity.

 Most common passwords hackers leak on the dark web: Lookout report (cnbc.com)

If your password wasn't on the list above then just how safe is your current password?  The chart below project just how long it would take a computer to crack your password.

The Y axis depicts the length of your password while the X axis lists complexity.

Turn Off These Annoying Windows 10 Settings

Did you know the default setting in Windows 10 allows Microsoft to use your computer to provide updates to other users on the web?  That's right, your computer and internet connection is being utilize world wide as an update server.

Microsoft plans to roll out Windows 11 to all eligible computers by mid 2022.  That said, if you have a computer that does not meet the hardware requirements to upgrade or prefer to stay with Windows 10 then read the following article and change these settings to improve your computer performance and Windows 10 experience.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/windows-10-settings-you-need-to-disable-now/ar-AAOPTLU?ocid=msedgntp

DForce Intel based Windows 11 Workstations

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15EUghuRhwZbYitLvbLrhqncIbyYhNP_y/view?usp=sharing

Windows 9, Google Chromebooks and DDOS attack takes down Sony Network and Chinese Operating System

Microsoft plans to launch Windows 9 on September 30.

Operating system choices, what to do.  Microsoft will reportedly announce Windows 9 on September 30th.  Presumably the Windows 9 launch will help lay rest to the Windows 8 launch and the references to Vista.  All this after Microsoft announced that OEMs will be allowed to continue to build and ship computers with Windows 7 Professional beyond October 2014.  However, OEMs will not be permitted to ship consumer versions of Windows 7.

Windows 8 really is not bad and represented a vision of 1 OS for all devices.  Young people love it, older users not so much and businesses dislike change.

The following piece by Ed Bott, The Ed Bott report best explains consumer vs business needs.

Sharpen the line between business and consumer Windows.

Remember back in 2001, when Microsoft unified the business and consumer versions of Windows in Windows XP?
That was a good idea at the time. In that pre-tablet, pre-smartphone era, there was effectively no difference between the hardware in a business PC and a consumer PC.
Today there are profound differences between business and consumer devices, and the tension between those two markets explains much of the turmoil that began with the release of Windows 8 nearly two years ago.
You can’t ignore the business market, but you can’t expect much innovation in this legacy business either. Many businesses are buying desktop PCs to serve as single-purpose devices (in call centers or on factory floors, for example). Most conventional business laptops are running Office and a browser and little else. When was the last time you saw a brand-new desktop program or a new class of peripherals for conventional PCs? All the innovation is happening on mobile devices, with software delivered as apps and web services.
And there’s the problem: Enterprise customers, who pay dearly for Windows licenses, want as little change as possible. Consumers, for whom Windows is an increasingly smaller part of the cost of a mobile device, want the newest features and apps without the headaches of managing a PC’s complexity.
I suspect that sometime in the next few years Microsoft is going to have to let these two branches of the Windows line drift apart again. That might be the only way to keep conservative IT pros happy while not slowing down the pace of innovation on consumer-focused mobile devices that happen to run Windows.

http://www.zdnet.com/windows-9-microsoft-faces-four-daunting-challenges-7000032902/

I think Microsoft could save themselves a lot of grief by following some of Ed's advice.  I have seen a lot of machines with Windows 7 and 8 that should never have been made.  They are extremely under-powered and that leads to a poor buyer experience.  The non-IT person is not capable of distinguishing a consumer device from a business device.  Chipsets, processors, ram and hard drives all add up to a screamer or a lemon.

The Windows 9 version is code named "Threshold" and is presumably to be a bridge from the desktop to the cloud.   The September 30th launch will allow the public to preview the new OS and the final product expected in the Fall of 2015 will likely be very different.

I've read where it will be a subscription model, $20/year.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsofts-windows-9-much-ado-about-little-given-cloud-shift-7000032858/?s_cid=e540&ttag=e540&ftag=TRE5369823

as the Shift to the Cloud continues,

Chromebooks, Google's OS based alternatives to PC or MACs continue to gain acceptance.  However without an internet connection their usefulness is limited.  That is supposedly being addressed by new Apps that are less Internet dependent and can add usability without the internet.

I think I am going to purchase a Chromebook this Labor day weekend and find out for myself if I can live at least mobile without the traditional notebook.

Microsoft says not but in a column by Jamil Bryant who weaned himself from IOS he say Redmond is full of hot air.  However to be fair his article (see following link) rankled IOS users as much as Windows people.

http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/08/microsoft-come-reasons-buy-windows-laptop-chromebook.html

the Cloud, "Pandora's Box???"  UPDATE 3-Sony says PlayStation network back online; user data safe

Over the weekend I was communicating with a private board of my fellow BJJ training partners.  One of my friends was lamenting that his internet had been down the entire weekend and he could not view or follow the UFC fights Saturday night.  His cable provider did not carry Fox Sports South and as explained, his internet connection was down.  Justin's does not use a traditional computer but a PS4 for gaming and surfing the internet.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/25/sony-network-idUSL3N0QV2LV20140825

On a side note, a client of mine had been under a DDOS attack on their phone computer the past two weeks.  The offending IP address was attempting to attach itself so frequently that the phone computers logs were filling up and causing the phones to to down.  The offending IP address source was located in France.  I configured a rule in their Sonicwall and blocked the IP range.  All was well for about a week, when the attacker shifted to a different IP range and knocked the phones offline again.  We have created another rule to block this range but the phone vendor says this is happening frequently to lots of companies.  The only reason we can think of for the attacks is disruption of commerce.

As applications, communications and reliance on the Internet increase we must remember of how vulnerable and exposed businesses are with the new standard of doing business.  With all the security issues and problems I'm not sure that the world is ready for this,

Source: China-Backed Operating System to Launch By October

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2464470,00.asp

Happy Labor Day!  Safe travels and computing.

WIndows 8 Launch Oct 26th, BYOD has many options

Friday 10/26/12, Windows 8 Official Launch Date
Microsoft $499 Surface Tablet sells out, Office 2013 free upgrade, iPad Mini, Chromebook

Office 2013 free upgrade for owners of Office 2010
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9232656/Microsoft_kicks_off_free_Office_2013_upgrades

Microsoft Sells out of $500 Surface RT Pre-Orders in One Day
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/10/microsoft-sells-out-of-500-surface-rt-pre-orders-in-one-day/

and as the BYOD trend gains momemtum, (IT security headaches will abound)

iPad Mini will hit Stores November 2
http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/19/source-ipad-mini-will-hit-stores-and-ship-to-early-buyers-november-2/

Apple phasing out iPad 2
 http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/10/19/apple-predicted-to-phase-out-ipad-2-to-streamline-product-line-for-ipad-mini


Google Chromebooks available for $249, something useable rather than a tablet.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features.html

 Security News, Issues and Concerns

The recent increase in DDoS attacks on banks by Iranian, Russian crime syndicates and other foreign sources are cause for alarm for increased vigilance by businesses and consumers.  The attacks have demonstrated weaknesses in the banking systems security and hopefully will put the banks on a higher state of alert to patch and implement added security.

http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/interviews/ddos-first-line-defense-i-1683

The latest scheme involve hackers backed by investors to target online users.  An international gang of cyber crooks is plotting a major campaign to steal money from the online accounts of thousands of consumers at 30 or more major U.S. banks, security firm RSA warned... to read more click on link below;

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9232117/Cybercriminals_plot_massive_banking_Trojan_attack?source=rss_keyword_edpicks&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+computerworld%2Fs%2Ffeed%2Fkeyword%2FEditorsPicks+%28Computerworld+Editors%27+Picks%29&google_editors_picks=true

and as the BYOD trend gains momemtum, (IT security headaches will abound), Malware on mobile devices, tablets and phone on the rise.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a consumer alert warning of malware attacks against mobile devices that run the Android operating system.
http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/fbi-warns-mobile-malware-risks-a-5216