Recently: there have been (probably automated) hacking attempts against some user accounts here at MVS, including mine. None have been successful as far as I know.
How automated hacking attempts work: a computer somewhere on the internet fills in a username and password on the login page. The passwords it fills in are guesses, (probably) the top ten or hundred most common passwords, like "password" for instance. After that, it tries dictionary words, one after another.
The reason we don't have to panic: after 3 unsuccessful attempts, the user is required to fill out one of those "what letters are in this image" challenges. That will slow down the hacking attempt considerably, making the average attack on the average password take years.
Do panic if: your password is "password" or something easily guessed at. Well, don't panic, but do change it right now.
How to Change Your Password
Go to your User Control Panel, then click the Profile tab, then click Edit profile settings. Or just click this link to go right to it.
I suggest
- 8 characters or more
- a capital letter or two
- a number
- and a funny character like ! or @ or # or $ or % or ^
User Control Panel screenshot:
Even if They Got In
If a hacking attempt was successful on an account here, a hacker would still end up only being able to make posts in your name, and similar low-level mischief. However, if a hacker did get in to your MVS account, he would know your password and thus he would be able to try that password on your email account at Hotmail or Gmail or Yahoo! Mail or wherever. So that possibility leads us to...
Best Practices
Beyond MVS, it's just good practice to use strong passwords and change them every month or two. It's bad practice to use simple, guessable passwords, or use the same password for many accounts.
This isn't new stuff; it's been around for decades. You've probably heard it before. But people still have online accounts compromised because of poor password choices. Don't be one of them!
I just changed my MVS password. Be like me!
If you have any questions contact me or post to this topic and I'll be glad to help.
