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Don't use 1234 as your password

nortonwang.com

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Re: Don't use 1234 as your password

#7

Post by gamegoblin »

hobs wrote: post #2

Also, fail2ban is a useful thing in this instance. But if your password is 1234... what's the deal with that?

One of the first commands I type into a new VPS:

    sudo apt-get install fail2ban
I remember when I got my very first VPS, and within a couple of days I was getting a really long bruteforce where the attacker tried every common name "aaron, adam, alex, etc" and around 120 common passwords for each of them (fortunately my text-based password on that VPS was 41 characters). I think they tried a few thousand usernames total. That's when I realized the internet is a scary place, and now I only use RSA keys.

Re: Don't use 1234 as your password

#8

Post by dangrossman »

The very first time I tried Linux, after spending an entire day downloading Slackware, copying it to a set of install diskettes, partitioning a hard drive and installing it, I set my root password to "12345".

I was around 10 at the time, 1995 plus or minus a year or two.

After booting for the first time, I dialed up AOL and logged on to a Linux-topic IRC channel. I talked to the strangers there about how excited I was to try Linux for the first time.

I quit my IRC client and typed "ls". Command not found. I tried "uptime". Command not find. "cd". Command not found.

While I was on IRC, someone had telnet'd in, guessed my stupidly simple password, and rm -rf'd the whole hard disk. I cried over breaking the computer and had to be consoled by my parents. I never used a common password again.

I now miss the days when hackers and viruses alike just wanted to delete your files or print messages on your screen. Secretly taking over your still-functioning system is much nastier.

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