Worksheet Passwords as easy as ABC for hackers

The careless way people choose passwords is putting computer security at risk. According to a recent survey of 5,000 computer users, most peoples passwords are easy for hackers to guess. The names of family and friends, football teams, pets and cars are common sources of password inspiration, even though such information is relatively easy to obtain. In a separate study in the US last year, a passwordcracking program set about finding the passwords of the 10,000 employees of a well-known international financial firm. It discovered 30% of the passwords in one hour. The UK report, published by Internet security consultants NetSafe, found that 40% of passwords were based on the names of family members and friends. Of this, 25% were the names of users children and 18% the names of their partners. Birthdays, football teams, celebrities, pop groups and singers, favourite places and pets are also widely used. In various permutations, Manchester United was the most popular brand chosen as a password and from the world of entertainment, men prefer Kylie and women prefer George, reflecting the populations collective crushes on singer Kylie Minogue and actor George Clooney. NetSafe says that passwords should be a combination of letters, numbers and symbols at least eight digits long, and be changed at least once a month. They suggest using a mnemonic to create a strong, but memorable, password. A common technique is to take the first letter of each word in a phrase, expression or song lyric familiar to the user and then use random capitalization, substitute digits for letters and add punctuation marks. For example, Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away could be Y,am7sSFa! The Golden Rule is: dont have anything which is in the dictionary. Password-cracking programs will zip through the dictionary in seconds flat.

English dictionary
There are more than six and a half quadrillion different eight-character passwords using the 95 standard computer keyboard characters. Even though some password-cracking programs can test nearly 8 million combinations every second, breaking a truly random eight-character password could still take more than 10 years on average.

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Activity 1 Look at the following dictionary definitions. Find each word, or a form of the word, in the text. Check your answers in the dictionary.
a Someone who uses a computer to connect to other peoples computers secretly and often illegally, so that they can find or change information. (title and paragraph 1) b To solve a complicated problem or find the answer to a mystery. (paragraph 2) c To begin doing something, especially in a determined or enthusiastic way. (paragraph 2) d Feeling of love and admiration for someone, often someone you know you cant have a relationship with. (paragraph 4) e A sentence or short poem that you use to help you remember something. (paragraph 5) f To move very quickly. (paragraph 6)

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This page is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2007.

Worksheet
Activity 2 The word hack has several uses and meanings. What are the meanings as used in these sentences? Check your answers in the dictionary.
a Many people have been fined or imprisoned for hacking into the computers of large companies. b The garden will be much nicer when weve finally hacked down those bushes. c I dont think I can hack working here anymore. d Im totally hacked off with him.

English dictionary
a I went to the shopping mall, but I bought zip. What did I buy? b Americans have a zip code. What is the British equivalent? c What is a zip file?

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Activity 5 Computer technology is responsible for the introduction of many new words into the language. What, in a computing context, are the following? Check your answers in the dictionary.
a cyberspace b an emoticon

Activity 3 Here are some other expressions using crack. Look in the dictionary and add the missing word to each sentence. Write a brief definition for each expression.
a Weve wasted too much time already. Come on, lets ________ cracking. b I wont stop now. I think Ill crack ________ until it gets dark. c The school is cracking ________ on absenteeism before it becomes too much of a problem. d When he told us what had happened, we just cracked ________ . We just couldnt stop laughing.

c a flame

d a mouse potato e netiquette f a newbie g snail mail h spam i a URL

For discussion 1 Do you have the same password that you use all the time, or do you have different ones?
2 Would someone who knows you be able to guess your password or passwords? 3 Do you follow any of the advice given in the text for choosing a password? Might you do so now you have read the text? 4 Are you a mouse potato? What do you mainly use the computer for? Could you live without it?

Activity 4 The word zip has several uses. Answer the questions and then check in the dictionary.

This page is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2007.