Tips for Wireless Router

• Change administrator password on router
• Change SSID (Server Set Identifier)
• Do not broadcast SSID
• Enable WPA pr WPA2 Encryption
• Enable MAC Filtering
• Reduce WLAN transmitter power.  Some routers can do this and it is difficult to setup.
• Disable Remote Administration
• Disable UPNP unless you know that you need this.

Passwords:

Keep Passwords safe

• www.roboform.com (Free, but there is a pro version with more features, has a password generator)
• www.keepass.info (Free)

Check the strength of your password - Microsoft’s Password Checker

How to create a strong password

Tips for creating a passsword:

1. Think of a sentence
2. Use the first letter of every word in the sentence
3. Substitute the letter ‘O’ with the number ‘0′ (Zero), the letter ‘E’ with the number ‘3′, I with ! or the number 1 etc.
4. Make sure you use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters.
5. Check password with Microsoft’s Password Checker

Do’s

• Use both upper and lower case letters
• Use numbers nad punctuation marks. 
• Make your password between 8 and 20 characters long.
• Use the special characters on your keyboard. (! @ # $ % * ( ) - + = , < > : : “ ‘ .)
• Make your password easy to remember, but hard to guess
• Create different passwords for different accounts and webites
• Keep them to your self.
• Consider using a phrase, sentence, or song title or lyrics as a password.  Use the first letter of every word. Substitute the letter ‘O’ with the number ‘0′ (Zero), the letter ‘E’ with the number ‘3′, I with ! or the number 1 etc.
• Make your password easy to type quickly to avoid people from seeing your password typed over your shoulder.

Don’ts

• Use the same password for different accounts of application. 
• Creat a password using your user name for site you are visiting.
• Use your name, social security number, or any other person information that could identify you.  This means pet names, girlfriend/boyfriend names, birth dates, phone numbers, etc…
• Use any word found in a diction longer than three letters.
• Use numbers in place of letters.  For example “Password” becomes “Pa55w0rd”.
• Create a password of keys next to one anoter on the keyboard (asdfghj or zxcvbn)
• Use dates to create a password (AUgusT2001)
• Re-use any of your last 10 passwords.
• Share your password with others.
• Write them down and store them near your computer.
• Provide your password or any other sensitive information over email or instant messages.
• Enable the ‘Save Password’ option in your web browser.
• Use sample passwords given on different web sites, including this one.

Listener calls:

Koolguy wanted to say hi.  We breifly talked about Guitar Hero on his PC. Thank you for the call Koolguy!

DaveAC from the chat room mentioined www.pctools.com/guides/passwords to generate passwords.  He asked a question about trusting these types of sites.  I let him know that Roboform has it’s own password generator so you would not have to worry about trusting a site.

DaveAC and I also discussed backup strategies.