Greg's Corner

Updates from August, 2016 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Geebo 10:45 am on August 3, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: passwords ( 5 ), security ( 46 )   

  Changing your password frequently might actually be less secure 

  

  Ever since there have been computers in offices we’ve always been told to change our passwords on a regular basis. usually 60 days. This was done in the name of security. We were told that this practice will keep out the bad guys. It’s been this way for decades and the practice has been treated as gospel however, it may just be superstition.

  Carnegie Mellon University professor Lorrie Cranor, who is also chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission, says that requiring employees to change their password every 60 days makes systems even more vulnerable. Research indicates that people who are made to frequently change their passwords only change them in incremental amounts. If a bad actor was able to come into possession of someone’s old passwords, they may be able to determine the current password due to the patterns in the old passwords.

  A password like “tarheels#1”, for instance (excluding the quotation marks) frequently became “tArheels#1” after the first change, “taRheels#1” on the second change and so on. Or it might be changed to “tarheels#11” on the first change and “tarheels#111” on the second. Another common technique was to substitute a digit to make it “tarheels#2”, “tarheels#3”, and so on.

  This can also lead to people writing down their passwords on post-it notes that are stuck under their keyboards.

  Instead of passwords companies may want to look to biometrics, such as fingerprint readers, to secure their systems. While it’s not completely unhackable it is exponentially more secure than passwords.

   

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  Geebo 11:29 am on August 2, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employee benefits ( 2 ), employment ( 33 ), student debt ( 15 ), student loans ( 15 )   

  Is student loan debt relief the new 401k? 

  

  In the past, most employers provided a helpful benefits package to their employees. Robust health and dental plans along with a helpful 401k plan used to be the norm. A number of employers even had a program where you could be reimbursed for your college education if you attended classes while working for the company. Unfortunately, since the financial crash of 2008 a lot of employers have started scaling back on the amount of benefits that they offer. The financial crash also resulted in higher amounts of debt for college students who took out student loans in order to pay for their education.

  Now, some companies are offering a student debt relief plan as part of their employee benefits to attract recent college graduates. Much like a 401k, the company matches an employee’s deduction amount, and the plans can give out up to $1200 a year for six years. While it doesn’t completely wipe out a student’s debt it can take years off the payback process.

  If this practice becomes more widely accepted by more companies do you think this will encourage more people to seek a college education? Please let us know in the comments.

  Sharonda Fentress is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Sharonda Fentress 1:22 pm on August 19, 2016 Permalink

    Yes that would help a great deal that is an awesome idea!

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  Geebo 12:32 pm on August 1, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: child labor, electronics, Slavery ( 5 ), technology ( 7 )   

  The form of slavery we’re all complicit in 

  

  Here at Greg’s Corner we often talk about the human trafficking and slavery that is facilitated by less than scrupulous sites like Backpage. Unfortunately there is another form of slavery that most of us are supporting whether we realize it or not. Most gadgets that we are dependent on today like our phones, computers and tablets, have roots in overseas child labor. While a number of us are aware of the child labor in many assembling plants overseas did you know that there are around one million children who are working in dangerous mines for our gadgets? Many of the materials in our electronics such as gold and cobalt are mined by children across the globe. Even with the safety precautions that miners here in the US have it’s still one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Now imagine being a child down in some mine without such safety protections.

  The conundrum is that as a society we can’t function anymore without these electronics. From basic communication to international business we’ve all become reliant on these devices. It’s almost impossible to function properly in our country without them. So what can be done about the abuses these children have to endure? For starters, Mashable has a great post about how you can help but I think the most important point they bring up is that we need to hold the electronics manufacturers to task for allowing their partners to engage in these practices. However, this would cut into the profits of many of these companies and too many of them would probably not be willing to do that but there is hope. According to the Mashable post…

  “If even half the people who own smartphones spoke up and said, ‘You know, I’m really worried about these kids mining these minerals in my cellphone,’ I really think that would get companies’ attention,” Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy and coordinator for the Child Labor Coalition says. “If there were enough evidence of consumer concern, the company would then be forced to take the lead on that.”

  Think about dropping an e-mail to your tech’s manufacturers asking them about their child labor practices. These children deserve the same opportunities that the children in our country do. It’s the least we can do.