Passwords are getting easier to crack even as we more create more complicated passwords. Hashcat, one of the leading password cracking software programs was just upgraded to allow it to break passwords of up to 55 characters in length. In addition to using a program like LastPass or Dashlane to store individual passwords for every website you log into, you should use two-factor authentication for every site that offers it. For more on two-factor authentication, here’s David Strom’s article from Dice News in Tech.

Protecting Logins with a Second Authentication Factor (via Dice News in Tech)

Two-factor authentication is catching on for a variety of consumer Web services. For those of you not in the know, this isn’t all that new. Years ago, various computer vendors set out to improve things with hardware-based two-factor authentication: Something uniquely in your possession that would generate a one-time code to work with a security appliance and better secure your logins. RSA made millions in this market, and over the years these tokens have been used by millions of users.
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