Strong Passwords – Fight Fire with Fire

Over the last few years there has been a shift in how different services which require passwords set up rules for you to create passwords. Some services require your password to be a certain number of digits. Some require your password to contain a certain number of alpha digits and a certain number of numerical digits. Some will even allow you to create a "pass phrase" which is basically a sentence. Easy for you to remember because it has some meaning to you, but harder for hackers to guess. I say harder because even though you are creating a fairly strong passphrase, people still choose the painfully obvious. Today's hackers aren't simply drive by punks. They are intelligent and resourceful and will use their abilities to gain as much knowledge as they can about you.and use that information to break into your accounts.
Back in the 80's hackers invented a language called Leetspeak where they would take normal alpha charectors like an "S" and convert it to an ascii charector like an "$". The hackers would use this secret language to talk about their conquests and to the uninitiated, it would look like gibberish. Here is an example (more...)