Here are some interesting statistics on how long it takes someone with the wrong intentions (in other words a hacker) to obtain your password.  It really makes sense to use a mix of Upper and Lower Case letters but numbers and symbols and increasing the length of your passwords really ramps up your security level. Also, no common words – probably no real words – and do not use the same password for all of your accounts.

Most-used passwords: 123456, password, 12345678, qwerty, abc123

Time it takes a hacker’s computer to randomly guess your password:

Length: 6 characters
Lowercase: 10 minutes
+ Uppercase: 10 hours
+ Nos. & Symbols: 18 days

Length: 7 characters
Lowercase: 4 hours
+ Uppercase: 23 days
+ Nos. & Symbols: 4 years

Length: 8 characters
Lowercase: 4 days
+ Uppercase: 3 years
+ Nos. & Symbols: 463 years

Length: 9 characters
Lowercase: 4 months
+ Uppercase: 178 years
+ Nos. & Symbols: 44,530 years

Average amount it costs a business to field a phone call requesting a password reset: $10
Proportion of help desk calls that are password-related: 30%
Users who choose a common word or simple key combination for a password: 50%

Data: Gartner, Forrester, Duo Security, Imperva, LastBit Software

Earlier I posted an item entitled “Entitlement? where I questioned whether or not Social Security payments are in fact an entitlement.  This week I received the following from a friend and thought it bared posting.

History Lesson on Your Social Security Card
Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn’t know this. It’s easy to check out, if you don’t believe it.  Be sure and show it to your family and friends. They need a little history lesson on what’s what and  it doesn’t matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.
Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message, NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION, was removed.

When Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program he promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary, No longer Voluntary.

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program, Now 7.65% on the first $90,000.

3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,  No longer tax deductible.

4.) That the money the participants put into the independent ‘Trust Fund’ rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund
the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program. Under Johnson the money was moved to The General Fund and SPENT!!! 

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.  Under Clinton & Gore Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed 

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social
Security check every month and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to ‘put away’ — you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’ and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.

Q:Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’ deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?

A: That’s right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.  Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments!   The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!

Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and
maybe changes will evolve. But it’s worth a try. How many people can YOU
send this to?

I am beginning to wonder how long I can hold out?  After Apple’s announcements yesterday it appears that my days of using a PC are numbered.  Let’s be honest, I have begun the migration – I have, and use daily, an iPhone, iPad and a 13″ MacBook but my “main” device is a HP 18″ laptop.  After I typed main I thought a little and realized that I spend more time on the other three devices than I do on the HP!  And it is not close.  As the integration in the Apple line of products gets tighter and more transparent, not having all of my data and work on Apple products will make less sense.  Up to this point, my primary reason for not making the move has been Quicken – the PC data structure is different that the Apple version and I would have trouble with my history.   I suspect that at some point that problem will be resolved but even is not the answer is rather simple – run Windows on the Mac for that one application.

Having watched Apple for a long time – my first computer was an Apple IIE in 1979 – I originally thought that Steve Jobs was just a brash kid who got lucky but as time as passed it has become abundantly clear that he is in fact a genius.  First, when he returned to Apple he not only stopped the slide but put Apple on the fast tract. To the point that today Apple’s market cap is greater than arch rival Microsoft’s.   Then he began the process of introducing totally new types of products.  Jobs has the knack for figuring out what we want before we know we want it.

So, as the time comes to replace the HP laptop I suspect that the replacement will more than likely be a Mac – either an iMac or a MacBook Pro bringing me full circle – from Apple back to Apple.

Barack Obama has said that Abraham Lincoln is his political hero.  That being the case President Obama might want to recall the following from President Lincoln.

“Property is the fruit of labor. Property is desirable, is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently to build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence.”

With increasing percentages of our population, currently over 40%, not paying any Federal income tax, that portion of the voting population incentives are to demand more in the way of government programs, and with their votes support those that  favor the current setup  The end result is  that those that do pay income taxes must surrender a larger portion of the fruits of their labor.

One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, said the following; “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not”.

Do we need a safety net?  Yes, however the incentives in that safety net should be focused on providing ways to bring that portion of our population into the group that pays taxes not one that perpetuates the status quo.

Each year for the last three I have vowed to NOT return to Minnesota in late April however, there always seems to be a compelling reason why we should make the trek in that time frame.  Well we are now in the third; wet, cold and windy May, and next year we will remain in Arizona at least until the middle of May.  With May being a pleasant month in Arizona and our own history clearly demonstrating that May in Minnesota can, and probably will be, awful the die is set.  Should we find something that requires our presence before the middle of May, we will fly back for that something and return to Arizona.  I suppose that I could blame our three year scenario on short term memory loss, being Norwegian or some other malady, but in all likelihood it boils down to a poor decision.  The first one can be excused but the two following are a mystery.  So next year I will not miss the year end three-putt party for Poncho’s Gauchos, The Renegades and The Rough Riders.  Also, I will be playing golf in late April and early May instead of looking out the window at awful weather and wondering why I am in Minnesota.

Sometimes I wonder about my own sanity.  I sit here in Alexandria, Minnesota with the temperature at 39° with a mix of rain and snow while back in Rio Verde Arizona the temperature is 84° and the sun is out.  I willingly left Arizona a little over a week ago – What Was I Thinking?  The bad news is that the outlook for the upcoming week, except for Sunday, is pretty much the same with the temperature inching up to the low 50’s.  But we are here and will make it through.  That said, golf is at the best suspect and at the worst non-existent.  There is some good news, the ice on our end of the lake is out but with these temps no boating is on the horizon. Every year I promise that next year I will make the trip to Minnesota much later but every year something comes up that necessitates an earlier departure.   A University of Minnesota climate scientist gave a presentation at Alex Tech yesterday.  He noted that on April 21 (yes, yesterday) in 1980, the temperature was 100; on April 21 in 1945, the temperature was 0 – only in Minnesota can you have a 100 degree difference in temperatures on the same date.  The miserable weather aside, everything is fine with our home here and we have the time to catch up with friends.

I get more than little upset when I hear Social Security referred to as an “Entitlement”!  While it may be for some in my case it was anything but.  Had I been allowed to invest those amounts that I paid into Social Security along with the matching amount that my employers paid in at an even modest rate of return I could not spend all of the money.  So calling what I receive an entitlement is totally disingenuous.  In reality I will never recover what I paid in – never.  I never hear the pensions that are paid to Public Employees referred to as entitlements but in many cases these individuals paid nothing into the account that funds their pensions.  Why is my Social Security an entitlement and their pension never referred to in that manner?  Unfortunately this situation is the same for many current Social Security recipients and certainly for those currently paying into the system.  Now because the money that I paid in has been used to fund other’s benefits my benefit becomes an entitlement?  With that kind of logic I suspect you can justify most anything.

While there have been many articles and posts about the iPad I would like to add my two cents worth.  I acquired my iPad in early November and continually find ways that it makes things both easier and more productive.  I have made two trips since acquiring the iPad and in both cases the iPad eliminated the need to carry a laptop.  Now my Apple MacBook only weighs a little over 5 pounds but the iPad comes in at around a pound and one half – a substantial difference when slogging your way through the lengthy concourses at our airports.  Because Kindle software is available for the iPad another weight reduction comes from no longer having to carry my Kindle – here again not a lot of weight but never the less we are now up to a weight reduction of close to five pounds – see the above about the airport terminals.  Another iPad advantage is that at most airports it is not necessary to take it out when going through security.  By the way, I am not a big Apple user – my mainstay computer is a HP 18″ laptop.  Having  said that, I find it amazing how much of my day-to-day activity happens on the iPad!  Email, Twitter, Facebook, web browsing happen daily while sitting in the great room watching television – no need to get up and go to the office to research something on the internet that comes up on TV.

The virtually unlimited range of apps available for the iPad – something over 60,000 iPad specific apps not counting the over 300,000 for the iPhone which run on the iPad – means one can find an app to fit almost any situation. While on the subject of applications those with an iPad that do not have an Air Print printer and may have been trying to find a way to print from the iPad, there is help and it works very well – the app is Print n Share and you can find it in the app store.  Another very helpful app is LogMeIn.  This app allows me to access my main computer – the HP Laptop – or my Apple MacBook from anywhere and actually work on that computer.  I would be remiss if I did not mention Evernote.  This application helps to organize my life and keeps the entire gauntlet of different sources of information in one spot, categorized by whatever grouping I choose to establish, makes them available from anywhere  – from whatever of my devices I am using at that time – as long as there is an internet connection.   If you are looking for an alternative to Safari for web browsing take a look at Skyfire.  Walt Mossberg – the technology writer for The Wall Street Journal – wrote a very informative article titled In and Out Of Office: Putting iPads to Work this week.  You can find it at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703899704576204564046912604.html?mod=djemptech_t.

The iPad on-screen keyboard is more than adequate for most of the activities that I do on the iPad but when I think I will be doing more typing I take out my Padacs combo iPad carrying case/keyboard.  The keyboard is narrower than a standard keyboard but works well with its only shortcoming being the lack of a right shift key.  By the way, the Padacs keyboard is silicone so it is silent and I have used it to take notes in meetings without the disruptive clicking attendant to most laptop keyboards.  If I do not contemplate other than normal things on a trip my iPad travels in a wonderful leather case by Targus.  I got mine at Best Buy but I am sure there are other outlets.

Earlier I wrote about my decision to move from the Droid to an iPhone, a decision made much easier by my experience with the iPad.  Many, if not all, of the applications are the same and the operation is truly identical.  The next question I suppose is do I upgrade to the iPad 2?  For me the answer is more than likely no.  While there are certainly changes and upgrades I have not found any of them compelling enough to make the change and I will probably stay on the sideline until iPad 3.  If however I were inclined, I would look to Alltech Wholesale on eBay to sell my current iPad.  This is where I sold my Droid for more than I paid for it.  As you have probably surmised, I am a very happy iPad user and would recommend an iPad to anyone.

As life goes on we encounter things that seem to defy logic.

• Like, why are motorcycles, particularly the Harleys and crotch rockets, allowed to be so loud?  Let’s face it; if our car was half as loud we would be required to repair it.  Added to the mystery, we have evidence that they do not have to be that way – look at the Japanese bikes.
• Staying with the two wheel conveyances, why do bicycle riders claim all of the rights of the road but declare that stop signs and red lights are not meant for them?
• To my knowledge all states have anti-littering laws but why are trucks allowed to litter our highways with their tire debris?  Virtually all of this comes from retreaded tires that come apart and in addition to the littering issue this is a safety hazard.  You really do not want to be behind a truck when one of those comes unglued!  Plus, we are saddled with the cost of cleaning up the mess they leave.  By mandating a change to new – not recapped – tires this issue would go away.
• Is there no issue that the global warming crowd will not try to pin on increased temperatures?  In  this Sunday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune there was an article about the declining moose populations in Northern Minnesota.  The postulation was that warmer temperatures were the cause.  However, in the same article it was noted that moose populations in neighboring North Dakota were increasing and the temperatures in North Dakota are warmer!
• Why is talking on a cell phone, particularly one that is hands free, while driving more distracting than talking to a passenger?  I suspect that if the passenger is in the back seat the cell phone is probably less distracting and if the rear seat passenger is a child all bets are off.

Just a few thoughts.  Add to the list with your comments as I am sure that you have other ones and probably ones that stretch logic even more than this group.

Not quite a year ago I wrote about my newly acquired Motorola Droid and my general satisfaction with the device.  Over the intervening months I added applications and found the device more than capable.  As you are probably aware, earlier this month, Verizon began offering the Apple iPhone 4 and after a week or so I acquired one.  As I already have an Apple iPad the learning curve on the usage of the applications and the method operation was easily acquired and one of my motivations was that the two devices would operate similarly.  One of the first things that struck me was how much easier it is to operate the iPhone than the Droid.  I had been told about this by friends and family but as Verizon was the only option given where I live the potential benefit was lost on me.  All of my critical apps – like Poynt and The Kindle – were also available on the iPhone along with an increasing number of applications that were either not available for the Droid or I had not discovered them.  Almost daily I am encountering more apps that I like, mostly by seeing them online or in the magazines.  Some like the Walgreen’s app are more  a convenience and others like the SI Swim Suit Edition are an unexpected bonus.  One thing to bear in mind if you are upgrading from another Verizon device to the iPhone is that you will have to reset-up your voice mail  I was not told this by the salesperson at Verizon and only discovered it by accident – I had not received any voice mails. However after I setup the new voice mail account I found 4 waiting voice mails.   This is totally different than other upgrades over the years with Verizon so be forewarned. By the way, I had considered waiting and looking at the upcoming Droid Bionic but as the form factor is the same as the Droid X I decided to pass.  I had found the rather large size of the Droid X a little ungainly.

In this process, I also discovered that used cell phones have value and in my case almost as much as I paid for it a year ago.  The purchaser, Alltech Wholesale an eBay merchant, provided free shipping to their location in Carrollton, Texas and promptly credited the agreed amount to my PayPal account.  I was able to transfer the amount from PayPal to my checking account on the same day.  So if you have an unused cell phone laying around the house, you may want to check and see if it has value.  Certainly, if you are upgrading from one smart phone to another, check out the options here.