It’s tough to create and remember strong passwords for each online system or site you access. It’s a BAD idea though to use the same password for several or all systems and sites! A helpful option is to create a strong “core” password and then use unique variations of it for the systems you use. Here’s a strong password: 5P0ky!3Z. It contains 8 characters, a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, at least one number and one non-alphanumeric character or symbol, and no personally identifiable info. By adding a character or two at the beginning or the end, you can have many variations to use – effectively creating a series of new strong passwords to use. Remember to change your “core” password and its variations on a regular basis.   Source: SANS Institute

Tech and business leaders view cyber-attacks as the No. 1 threat, according to a Cyber Ark survey. Fifty-one percent of those polled said a potential cyber-attacker has been on their IT systems in the past year. “Businesses are realizing how important these threats are. Their concern reflects the government’s concern about the threats,” said Cyber Ark’s John Worrall. Source: CompTIA SmartBrief, CSO(6/26)                             
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Students at a school in London exploited a teacher’s poor password selection to access grades and other school records. The teacher had used his daughter’s name as a password, but became suspicious when students made reference to an excursion, which had not yet been announced, so he changed his password to the registration number of his car, which was parked outside the school every day. When he received complaints from other teachers about grades being leaked, he changed it again, this time to his postcode. The students in question cracked this within days too. Be wise in your password selection!   Source: SANS Institute

Gartner Inc., a leading info tech research and advisory company, is giving the thumbs up to the soon-to-be released Windows 8.1, crediting the operating system refresh with overcoming the major downsides of Windows 8. Improvements include the ability to boot directly to the desktop rather than the Windows 8 Start screen & the restoration of a Start button on the desktop. Ready access to the desktop should make it easier for users to find a familiar interface, much like Windows 7. While Microsoft has been mum on many details, analysts expect little change to the Windows desktop, which would ensure high levels of compatibility with legacy Win32 desktop applications.   Source: Network World