Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post

photon · 02-10-2016, 12:10 PM

For a master password the longer the better, so a passphrase might be better than just a password. I avoid any kind of pattern based scheme as password hackers have crazy good algorithms for patterns that people think are really obscure, and they all share them. So a 30 character passphrase would be good, and passphrases are usually easier to remember. But don't choose your favorite super hero quote, that'll probably be in the hacker's lists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passphrase

Though the good news is for something like 1Password, they use hashing algorithms that take relatively more time to calculate, so to try a password might take a few milliseconds. This is good because if someone was trying to crack your master password, they could only try hundreds or thousands or maybe tens of thousands of passwords per second. Weaker hashing algorithms take less time and allow for millions or billions of password tests per second.

I use KeePass where I can configure this, I have it set so it takes like a second to try one password, so it's unlikely anyone would ever be able to crack my file with a brute force or dictionary attack. I also have a 25 character password.

As for storing it, if it's the master password you'll probably be typing it every day at least (don't have your browser remember your 1Password password!!), so remembering it really doesn't become an issue.

However if you really want a backup, then written on a paper and put in a safety deposit box maybe (may seem overkill but this would have banking, credit card, email, etc passwords in it). Or pick spot in your house and write it down (like under the stairs on a stud or inside the furnace panel, someone may see it but not know what the heck it means, bonus it will confuse future generations) possibly?

02-10-2016, 12:10 PM	#6
photon The new goggles also do nothing. Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Calgary Exp:	For a master password the longer the better, so a passphrase might be better than just a password. I avoid any kind of pattern based scheme as password hackers have crazy good algorithms for patterns that people think are really obscure, and they all share them. So a 30 character passphrase would be good, and passphrases are usually easier to remember. But don't choose your favorite super hero quote, that'll probably be in the hacker's lists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passphrase Though the good news is for something like 1Password, they use hashing algorithms that take relatively more time to calculate, so to try a password might take a few milliseconds. This is good because if someone was trying to crack your master password, they could only try hundreds or thousands or maybe tens of thousands of passwords per second. Weaker hashing algorithms take less time and allow for millions or billions of password tests per second. I use KeePass where I can configure this, I have it set so it takes like a second to try one password, so it's unlikely anyone would ever be able to crack my file with a brute force or dictionary attack. I also have a 25 character password. As for storing it, if it's the master password you'll probably be typing it every day at least (don't have your browser remember your 1Password password!!), so remembering it really doesn't become an issue. However if you really want a backup, then written on a paper and put in a safety deposit box maybe (may seem overkill but this would have banking, credit card, email, etc passwords in it). Or pick spot in your house and write it down (like under the stairs on a stud or inside the furnace panel, someone may see it but not know what the heck it means, bonus it will confuse future generations) possibly? __________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.