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Heartbleed bug is just one more reason to have very secure passwords

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 GREC# 169695

Have you heard about the Heartbleed Bug?

Years ago, about 6 to be specific, I had someone hack my email account.  In one night they ordered all kinds of crap and signed me up for all sorts of things.  The phone calls started coming in on my cell phone before 8 a.m.  Hundreds of phone calls. It was days before I knew the extent of what had been done.  

Packages started arriving in the mail, the sod guy showed up ready to sod my lawn and I was getting all sorts of nonsense emails and phone calls.  A police report,  many refused packages, deleting an email account and changing (yes actually changing) my cell phone number later I began to recover from that nightmare.  

It did however help me to create a new excellent habit.  I had a couple of sites that require me to change my password quarterly.  Yes, it's a pain in the rear to keep up with them and I absolutely refuse to use an on line service that can potentially also be compromised to store my passwords. I actually store them myself in a very secure location.

And in the not to distant past I was introduced to a site that tells you how long it would take a computer to "hack" your password and I now use it before I ever change a password.

secureMy email password seems pretty secure to me.  On line password storage is just NOT for me.  Having one "across the board" password is just NOT for me. Havng a password that a computer can crack in less than a day is just NOT for me.

So I'd like to pass this site on to you to "test" a couple of your passwords.  If you think they are secure you might be as shocked as I was at my very well thought out passwords obviously being quite unsecure.  But hey, if you want to sit and wait 6 Billion years for your computer to crack my password, go for it. Chances are I won't care and you won't be there to see it happen.

Posted by

706-485-9668  us on facebook

Tammy@Lake-Sinclair.com

(Click on Lane Realty Logo for web site)

Tammy Lankford, Broker/Owner

 

Broker License # 169695  Lane Realty License # H-11420

Real Estate Instructor License # 355089

Call me today for all your Lake Sinclair real estate needs.

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Comments(107)

Anna Hatridge
R Gilliam Real Estate LLC - Farmington, MO
Missouri Realtor with R Gilliam Real Estate LLC

Thank you for the timely information.

Apr 11, 2014 02:33 PM
Jane Chaulklin-Schott
TEAMCONNECT REALTY - (407) 394-9766 - Orlando, FL
TeamConnect Luxury Homes - Orlando, Florida, 32836

Tammy, this is good information. Thanks. Great reminder for me to change some passwords. Sorry about your experience.

Apr 11, 2014 02:53 PM
Steven Murray, Broker, SRES® IRES SRS Toronto Real Estate Board
Right At Home Realty Inc. Brokerage - Oshawa, ON
Your Durham Region Real Estate Broker

Good advice. Passwords should be changed regularly.

Apr 11, 2014 08:43 PM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Hi Tammy~ Thanks for sharing this website. I need to read up on Heartbleed. I don't think my passwords are very secure. I should probably think about changing them!

Apr 12, 2014 12:57 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Hi Tammy, thanks for sharing your story.  I'm sure it was a royal pain to undue all that had been done to your hacked e-mail, etc.  That must have been a huge eye opener!

Apr 12, 2014 08:06 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

For those of you who are too weary to use the tool, absolutely, I understand.  I used to be afraid to buy anything on line, but when most of the world was doing it I finally did too and nothing bad ever happened.  But I wanted to share it and certainly get it if you think it best not to test your passwords there.

Perhaps you want to test a "like" word that is not an actual password.

Apr 12, 2014 12:18 PM
Steven Pahl
Keller Williams Tampa Properties - Tampa, FL
Real Estate Consultant Tampa, FL 813-319-6423
Thanks for the information, I will definitely be checking my apparently "not so secure" passwords!
Apr 12, 2014 01:17 PM
Stephen Howell
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Annapolis, MD
Annapolis MD Homes For Sale 443-994-8043

Thanks for this excellent reminder to change passwords.  In addition to that, using two-part authentication is even more secure; that's when, for example, you also have to enter a code sent to your cellphone to confirm your identity. The more steps you take to secure your e-mail, websites, and online presence, the safer you and your clients will be. It is important to remember that we're dealing with confidential information and it's our responsibility to protect that information as best as possible. Furthermore, compromised accounts and profiles of any kind potentially damage our reputation in the marketplace as real estate agents.  And, our reputation is really what we're offering to clients ... our skills and integrity!

Apr 12, 2014 10:59 PM
George P. Cruz Sr.
Premier Brokers International - Port St Lucie, FL
PSL FL CDPE, TRC, CIPS

Thanks for website..

 

 

 

 

 

Apr 12, 2014 11:50 PM
Dee Toohey
Innovative Realty Solutions Group - Longwood, FL
Broker, ABR, AHWD, CIPS, FMS, ePro

Tammy, always good to be reminded of events like this.  Never save credit or debit cards info on you pc, accounts or phones/tablets.

 

Apr 13, 2014 12:18 AM
Jerry Lucas
ABC Legal Docs LLC - Colorado Springs, CO
Notary Training, Consulting. Colorado Springs, CO

LastPass and KeePass are 2 popular password managers.

https://lastpass.com/

http://keepass.info/

  • 73% of people use the same password for multiple sites.
  • 6 Characters in the average password.
  • 3 Minutes to crack the average password.
Apr 13, 2014 11:20 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

Jerry- did you know LastPass was compromised by the Heartbleed bug?  

Apr 13, 2014 12:39 PM
Jerry Lucas
ABC Legal Docs LLC - Colorado Springs, CO
Notary Training, Consulting. Colorado Springs, CO

LastPass uses Trust No One (TNO) private encryption and multiple layers of security.  LastPass employees and hackers cannot access your stored passwords. Heartbleed affected one layer of security (OpenSSL) but had no affect on the other layers of security. 

Strong security and defense does not rely on one layer of protection.  LastPass also allows for two-factor authentication.  A hacker would need your user name, password, private encryption key and your cell phone.

You can watch a video tutorial on LastPass from Leo Laporte, The Tech Guy at twit.tv/show/twit-live-specials/199

Apr 13, 2014 01:33 PM
Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate
John L Scott Market Center - Birkenfeld, OR
"Your Local Expert!" 503-739-3843

Tammy, WOW. 6 billion years...you are a MASTER. I can't even tell you how long mine went. It takes longer to swallow a pill, if that tells you anything!

Apr 14, 2014 01:54 AM
Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate
John L Scott Market Center - Birkenfeld, OR
"Your Local Expert!" 503-739-3843

Tammy, I just changed mine and I'm now up to 165 sexbillion years or something like that...thanks for the tip, missy!!

Apr 14, 2014 02:03 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

My list has a layer of protection that just my husband and I can get through, I'm good with that.  I know lots of people feel safe with on line storage for passwords, I'm just not one of them yet.

Gayle- yeah mine was minutes when I was introduced to the site.  Made me re-think the process of password creation for sure.

Apr 14, 2014 02:14 AM
M.C. Dwyer
Melody Russell Team at eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Felton, CA
MC Dwyer-Santa Cruz Mountains Property Specialist

Thanks for the heads up Tammy - I just got back from vacation so getting your blog in my daily digest is a real blessing!

Apr 14, 2014 05:28 AM
George P. Cruz Sr.
Premier Brokers International - Port St Lucie, FL
PSL FL CDPE, TRC, CIPS

Thanks the more creative I get the more years I get..

 

Apr 14, 2014 11:24 PM
Deleted Account
Fort Myers, FL

My passwords are fairly secure by my standards.  If you count all the online stores and websites you go to, it can add up and be very time consuming to change them all, possibly 6-8 hours for me.  I plan to update my passwords soon and make them a little longer to make them more secure, but want to pick a day that I can spend all day doing i. 

Apr 16, 2014 01:23 AM
Denise Lones
The Lones Group, Inc. - Bellingham, WA
CSP, MIRM, CDEI - Real Estate Coaching & Branding

Our IT Director created this easy to read page that's all about Heartbleed, which you might also find useful: http://www.thelonesgroup.com/customer/vault.asp?op=item&vid=2074

Although Heartbleed affects password security, password security will not protect you from Heartbleed. Many websites have taken measures to protect themselves, but many have not. Agents still need to take care because of this and understand what it is and how to be safe.

Apr 16, 2014 03:30 AM