wu :: forums
« wu :: forums - Come up with a Random number »

Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register.
Mar 28th, 2024, 11:20pm

RIDDLES SITE WRITE MATH! Home Home Help Help Search Search Members Members Login Login Register Register
   wu :: forums
   general
   truth
(Moderators: ThudnBlunder, william wu, Eigenray, towr, Grimbal, SMQ, Icarus)
   Come up with a Random number
« Previous topic | Next topic »
Pages: 1  Reply Reply Notify of replies Notify of replies Send Topic Send Topic Print Print
   Author  Topic: Come up with a Random number  (Read 1494 times)
JaneBD
Junior Member
**





   
WWW Email

Gender: female
Posts: 57
Come up with a Random number  
« on: Aug 6th, 2014, 9:00am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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?
IP Logged

"Do or Do not, there is no try" - Yoda
A Work in Progress
towr
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Some people are average, some are just mean.

   


Gender: male
Posts: 13730
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #1 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 10:07am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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.)
IP Logged

Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
JaneBD
Junior Member
**





   
WWW Email

Gender: female
Posts: 57
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #2 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 10:58am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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?
IP Logged

"Do or Do not, there is no try" - Yoda
A Work in Progress
towr
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Some people are average, some are just mean.

   


Gender: male
Posts: 13730
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #3 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 11:03am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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).
IP Logged

Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
JaneBD
Junior Member
**





   
WWW Email

Gender: female
Posts: 57
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #4 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 11:10am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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.
IP Logged

"Do or Do not, there is no try" - Yoda
A Work in Progress
rmsgrey
Uberpuzzler
*****





134688278 134688278   rmsgrey   rmsgrey


Gender: male
Posts: 2872
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #5 on: Aug 7th, 2014, 6:13am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

There's some debate over whether it's better to use a random password or one it's easier for you to memorise.
IP Logged
JaneBD
Junior Member
**





   
WWW Email

Gender: female
Posts: 57
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #6 on: Aug 7th, 2014, 8:45am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

on Aug 7th, 2014, 6:13am, 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)
IP Logged

"Do or Do not, there is no try" - Yoda
A Work in Progress
towr
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Some people are average, some are just mean.

   


Gender: male
Posts: 13730
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #7 on: Aug 7th, 2014, 9:02am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

It's probably best to use random passwords combined with a password safe.
IP Logged

Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
Grimbal
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****






   


Gender: male
Posts: 7526
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #8 on: Aug 8th, 2014, 5:23am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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.
IP Logged
rmsgrey
Uberpuzzler
*****





134688278 134688278   rmsgrey   rmsgrey


Gender: male
Posts: 2872
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #9 on: Aug 8th, 2014, 6:52am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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...
IP Logged
towr
wu::riddles Moderator
Uberpuzzler
*****



Some people are average, some are just mean.

   


Gender: male
Posts: 13730
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #10 on: Aug 8th, 2014, 8:38am »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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.
IP Logged

Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
movie4fun
Newbie
*





   


Gender: male
Posts: 49
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #11 on: Aug 18th, 2014, 5:39pm »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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?
IP Logged
JiNbOtAk
Uberpuzzler
*****




Hana Hana No Mi

   


Gender: male
Posts: 1187
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #12 on: Aug 21st, 2014, 9:05pm »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

on Aug 8th, 2014, 8:38am, 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.
IP Logged

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
wakiza33
Junior Member
**



industrial Engineer // Berkeley Alumnus

   
WWW

Posts: 54
Re: Come up with a Random number  
« Reply #13 on: Sep 29th, 2014, 12:43pm »
Quote Quote Modify Modify

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.
IP Logged

Binder Jetting Engineer
Pages: 1  Reply Reply Notify of replies Notify of replies Send Topic Send Topic Print Print

« Previous topic | Next topic »

Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.4!
Forum software copyright © 2000-2004 Yet another Bulletin Board