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JaneBD
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Come up with a Random number
« on: Aug 6th, 2014, 9:00am » |
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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?
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"Do or Do not, there is no try" - Yoda A Work in Progress
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towr
wu::riddles Moderator Uberpuzzler
Some people are average, some are just mean.
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #1 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 10:07am » |
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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.)
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JaneBD
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #2 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 10:58am » |
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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?
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"Do or Do not, there is no try" - Yoda A Work in Progress
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towr
wu::riddles Moderator Uberpuzzler
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #3 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 11:03am » |
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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).
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JaneBD
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #4 on: Aug 6th, 2014, 11:10am » |
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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.
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rmsgrey
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #5 on: Aug 7th, 2014, 6:13am » |
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There's some debate over whether it's better to use a random password or one it's easier for you to memorise.
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JaneBD
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #6 on: Aug 7th, 2014, 8:45am » |
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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)
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"Do or Do not, there is no try" - Yoda A Work in Progress
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towr
wu::riddles Moderator Uberpuzzler
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #7 on: Aug 7th, 2014, 9:02am » |
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It's probably best to use random passwords combined with a password safe.
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Grimbal
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #8 on: Aug 8th, 2014, 5:23am » |
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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.
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rmsgrey
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #9 on: Aug 8th, 2014, 6:52am » |
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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...
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towr
wu::riddles Moderator Uberpuzzler
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #10 on: Aug 8th, 2014, 8:38am » |
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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.
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movie4fun
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #11 on: Aug 18th, 2014, 5:39pm » |
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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?
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JiNbOtAk
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #12 on: Aug 21st, 2014, 9:05pm » |
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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.
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wakiza33
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Re: Come up with a Random number
« Reply #13 on: Sep 29th, 2014, 12:43pm » |
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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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