by Flagship Staff | Jun 4, 2015 | Blog
Breaches, scams, fraud, identity theft. These words are all over the news and, sadly, have affected millions of people. Unfortunately, these crimes will not be going away anytime soon.
Do you ever think about how secure your passwords are? You should. Passwords are vital in protecting your home computers, as well as your bank accounts and credit cards. Because of that, passwords can cause a fair amount of consternation if you have to remember so many of them.
One way to solve this dilemma is to develop a method/scheme to create passwords that are easy to remember, but hard for others to guess. Here are just a few suggestions for devising a password.
• Use a password scheme that contains characters that are the same across all of your passwords with other characters that are unique to the site you’re logging onto. For example, if you’re a dog lover and you use the stock symbol (or some other way to represent the company), you might come up with a password for Yahoo that’s “yhoodog2015.”
• Use a passphrase and turn it into a password. “A Coke and a smile” could be “aCokeAndaSmile.”
• Create a compound word using a couple of small words. “My dog Odie” might become “MyDogOdie.”
• Take a word or phrase and remove the vowels from it. “Fly like an eagle” becomes “flylkngl.”
• Pick a memorable word or name, as well as a number that’s the same length as the word and intermix them. “Kennedy” plus “1234567” is now “K1e2n3n4e5d6y7.”
In addition to these suggestions, it’s always a good idea to mix upper and lower case letters in your password and add special characters (i.e., @, $, !, etc.) within the password to make it harder to guess or hack. Just do it in a way that’s easy for you to remember, like replacing each letter S with a $ or a 5. To make your password even stronger, remember that longer is better
Below lists various passwords and the time it takes a hacker to crack them.
Password < 1 second No method
P@55w0rd 3 days Replacing letters with sympbols and numbers
wbmidog01 7 hours Company representation, a word, and a number
Wbmidog01 39 days Same as above, but added an uppercase letter
1Xa5jK@9# 275 days Random 9 charcter password
Du4*fB9$0t 58 years Random 10 charcter password
T4@nk$J04n@bil 2 billion years Using mixed caseand replacing letters with numbers and special charcters. (Says Thanks John a Billion)
K1e2n3n4e5d6y7 98 billion years Intermixed letters and numbers
As you can see, there are ways to create passwords that are easy to remember but hard for others to guess. If you do this, you won’t have to write them down on a piece of paper and stick it to your keyboard. What can you come up with?
by Flagship Staff | Jun 1, 2015 | Blog
Sitting for extended periods can contribute to health problems later in life, including heart disease and diabetes. However, research suggests that engaging in a low-intensity activity every hour, such as a two-minute walk, can help reverse the negative impacts of sitting for a long period of time.
Here are a couple ways you can fit those two-minute walks into your work day:
- The next time you need to speak to a coworker, considering walking to talk to him or her instead of using electronic messages.
- Instead of taking an elevator, walking up or down the stairs is an excellent way to get moving.
The benefits of walking, or engaging in another low-intensity physical activity, are also additive. Every extra minute spent walking not only contributes to the health benefits, but it is also a minute that you didn’t spend sitting. Even small amounts of physical activity can help improve your health.
by Flagship Staff | May 25, 2015 | Blog
Winter is not kind to automobiles, especially ones kept outside during snowstorms and frigid nights. Consider giving your vehicle a spring overhaul to restore its condition and extend its life. Areas of concern include:
Tires: Low pressure can cause a blowout, diminishes handling and will lower your fuel economy. A sticker in your door jamb will indicate correct pressure. Inflate your tires properly. It is a good idea to rotate tires about every 7,500 miles,
Fluids: Check your coolant level and dipsticks for oil and transmission fluid level. Also be on the lookout for brittle gaskets.
Hoses, belts and blades: All of these deteriorate through use and age, but especially when temperatures are cold. Check the tightness of the belts when the engine is off, and check the firmness of the radiator hose when the car is running.
Underside: Salt and sand can cling to your car’s exterior and damage the body of your car. Wash the undercarriage with a sprinkler or a garden hose to get rid of lingering debris.
by Flagship Staff | May 25, 2015 | Blog
If you’re looking for a way to save money and improve your physical fitness, consider riding your bicycle to work. It is efficient, economical, ecological and healthy.
Before changing up your commute, you should prepare ahead of time to avoid an accident or injury.
- Pick up a community map from your local tourist office to identify bike routes, lanes and trails.
- Practice your route on the weekend or drive it in your car to make sure the route is safe.
- Know the laws that apply to bikers and how to interact with motorists while sharing the road.
While biking to work, remember these important tips:
- Always wear a helmet.
- Use hand signals to indicate stops and turns for other bikes and motorists.
by Flagship Staff | May 18, 2015 | Blog
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year and about 885,000 require medical attention for these injuries. If fact, dog bites account for approximately one-third of all homeowner’s insurance liability claim dollars paid out each year.
Even if you think your dog is about as ferocious as Snoopy, it’s wise to take steps to minimize your risks:
- Spay or neuter your dog to reduce its desire to roam and become aggressive with other dogs and humans.
- Introduce your dog to various situations and people so that it will not be nervous in new social circumstances.
- Accompany your dog to training courses to learn how to respect humans and the rules you establish in your home.
- Teach your dog to act properly at all times. When the dog exhibits signs of aggression, even in a playful manner, put a stop to it. Your pet does not understand the difference between playtime and a real life attacking situation.
- Provide your dog with regular veterinary care, vaccinations and licensing.
- Do not bring your dog into social situations if you are unsure how it will react. This will reduce the chance that something could go wrong.
