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general >> truth >> Come up with a Random number
(Message started by: JaneBD on Aug 6th, 2014, 9:00am)

Title: Come up with a Random number
Post by JaneBD on Aug 6th, 2014, 9:00am
Think of a random number ...
Now is that truly a random number or was it pre-defined somehow. What if you were somehow influenced by certain words or something you saw prior to this message?

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by towr on Aug 6th, 2014, 10:07am
If you ask people for a number between 1 and 50, a disproportionally large number will choose 37. It sounds like the most random number they could choose to most people, and therefor it isn't.
People are very bad random number generators. (Just like they are very bad random password generators.)

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by JaneBD on Aug 6th, 2014, 10:58am
This is exactly what I've noticed too. This'll sound weird, but I've never tried - rather than coming up with the most random password you can think of, what if you picked the most obvious?

Would that make it harder to guess, easier or simply have no effect?

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by towr on Aug 6th, 2014, 11:03am
The most obvious one is "password" (and variations of it are also often the actual most used ones).

The best way to choose a random password is to use real randomness (e.g. cosmic radiation) and/or good pseudo-randomness (e.g. Mersenne twister).

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by JaneBD on Aug 6th, 2014, 11:10am
Hmmm thanks, tbh I usually use various number sequences. I get so bored sometimes that I'll come up with an algorithm for them ... Then end up forgetting them.

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by rmsgrey on Aug 7th, 2014, 6:13am
There's some debate over whether it's better to use a random password or one it's easier for you to memorise.

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by JaneBD on Aug 7th, 2014, 8:45am

on 08/07/14 at 06:13:12, rmsgrey wrote:
There's some debate over whether it's better to use a random password or one it's easier for you to memorise.


Which one would you choose?

I'd probably choose a random one (cause I got stuff to hide haha)

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by towr on Aug 7th, 2014, 9:02am
It's probably best to use random passwords combined with a password safe.

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by Grimbal on Aug 8th, 2014, 5:23am
It is important to have a different password for each web site.
Ideally, you should change them regularily.
Therefore, you cannot remember them.
So yes, a random generator (including all allowed special characters) and a password safe.

For unimportant accounts, you can use your dog's name or whatever.  I guess the reason "password" and "1234" are among the most common passwords is that for many accounts there is no need for security.  I don't think many use those for their online payment account.

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by rmsgrey on Aug 8th, 2014, 6:52am
My concern with a password safe would be what happens in the case of a hard-drive failure? Or do you keep multiple copies in various locations? In which case, synchronisation and security are both questions...

Personally, I store passwords in my head, and have a roughly 80% chance of being able to sign in to a site I've not visited since signing up for it years previously - for sites I use semi-regularly, my failure rate is less than 1 failure so far...

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by towr on Aug 8th, 2014, 8:38am
I keep copies of my password safe. In as far as they're not up to date, all account are invariably linked to an email-address and I can go through the recovery-process.
(For passwords you only use very rarely, you could just depend on this. Just do password/account-recovery when you need to use the account.)

I think there are cloud-based password safes, although you'd probably still want an independent backup.
For the really paranoid you can divide up the password to your password safe among your friends so that any M out of N together can decode it, just in case you get a case of amnesia. Or, y'know, in case of death, and you want them to do one final status update on facebook.

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by movie4fun on Aug 18th, 2014, 5:39pm
I kept thinkign when I saw this post and couldnt come up with any number even when i was writing this this I couldnt come out with a single no. And what does that tell you? Maybe I am confused or concentrating on some other things maybe?

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by JiNbOtAk on Aug 21st, 2014, 9:05pm

on 08/08/14 at 08:38:03, towr wrote:
Or, y'know, in case of death, and you want them to do one final status update on facebook.


Yup, this is the dream! To update my FB status from the hereafter.

Title: Re: Come up with a Random number
Post by wakiza33 on Sep 29th, 2014, 12:43pm
No debate, you should use a random password generator.

For $500, you can buy a simple password blaster--1 billion tries per day.

Fortunately, complex passwords would still take literally hundreds of years to crack, even with this method.



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