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Finding Happiness In A World Full Of Passwords

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 06:24 AM PST

Relying on username-password combinations seems so last decade (last century?) these days. With smartphones able to do facial recognition and thumb readers as options on laptops, passwords feel like they should be phasing out.

In the meantime, the passwords we're choosing aren't very secure. A recent SplashData report shows the top-three most popular are password, 123456, and 12345678. One has to wonder why there aren't more security breaches with that kind of non-security. Just how worried should you be about keeping your life online?

Hackers

Recently, millions and millions of users have been affected by security lapses, resulting in hackers gaining access their accounts on such sites as Yahoo Voice, LinkedIn and eHarmony, among others. Even a lone reporter, Matt Honan, using strong passwords, fell victim to a hacker when social engineering at Apple and Amazon resulted in his Twitter account getting compromised and his iPhone, iPad and MacBook were remotely erased.

It seems there isn't a month that goes by without a significant security breach, and those are just the ones you hear about. Imagine a hacker gaining access to your account by getting the last four digits of your credit card number from Amazon, and then turning over to Apple and using that information to gain access to your whole Apple world. All without having to guess one password.

Sticky Notes

There have to be better ways to protect yourself. Being online 24/7 doesn't help matters here, as nearly every site has their own rules for what makes a good strong password, and nearly every site requires one. The way we've learned to cope with the password madness, writing them down on little sticky notes, isn't helping, either.

Password vault software

That's where password vault software comes into play. As the name might reveal, a password vault is a safe location to store all your unique passwords for each site. The passwords can be auto-generated so they don't match dictionary words, and are literally long strings of random characters. You just have to remember the password key to the vault. Then, unlocking the vault will unlock your passwords when you visit each site.

It actually is that simple, but you have to make sure the vault software is available when not on your home machine, otherwise you can't log into any of the sites and your access control mechanisms turn out to be worthless.

Two-phase verification

Beyond password vaults, many of the larger sites, mostly financials, are now relying on two-phase/multifactor verification mechanisms. When logging in from an unrecognized machine, the username-password values are no longer sufficient to gain access. You typically must provide an identification code that is sent to a so-called trusted location, like via text messaging to your registered mobile phone number, voice calls again to a registered phone number, and even snail mail when there isn't a trusted alternative. The latter isn't a quick option, but it suffices when no other options are available.

Recovery from a security breach

How quickly you can recover after a breach truly depends on the safeguards put into place before matters get out of your hands. Beyond just making sure backups are current, there are other alternatives that can help with the big picture. Relying on something like Microsoft SharePoint to store your documents for collaboration is an alternative. Basically, safeguard your information away from your machine in addition to on your machine.

The key part here is that you need multi-user access. With the right processes in place, a content management system like SharePoint helps keep the goods secure and out of the hands of the hackers and also helps your users access content nearly anywhere. Just be sure to set up the associated SQL Server host on a separate server from SharePoint.

Conclusion

Until biometrics become more common, username-password combinations are pretty much here to stay. There may be a second or third authentication factor for some websites, but the bulk of sites only rely on passwords for security. Do check out password vaults for the generation and storage of your strong passwords, and remember that using password is a good way to get hacked.

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Images: "3d illustration of folder icon with security password / Shutterstock.com"

The post Finding Happiness In A World Full Of Passwords appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

This Is How To Kill A $2bn Business

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 04:48 AM PST

Writing as a journalist of efficiency, sustainability and good practise, the disintegration of Hostess Brands is telling and worth an article.

Q: How does a company as big and as pertinent to America as Hostess fail?

(Possible) A: Not caring about its brand or its future.

Sustainability is about more than just 'continuing to subsist'. It's about caring about something enough to want it to continue in health. It's about renewal, not replacement. 'Creative destruction' refers to the process of usurping we see happen all the time: mp3 replacing CD replacing cassette replacing vinyl. Hostess has been stale for a while.

Did 18,500 workers lose their jobs because Hostess and its products became irrelevant? They've always been pretty disgusting in objective terms but in the past people were enamored with them. Including the people who ran the company.

Who or what is Hostess Brands? (for readers outside the US, I'm guessing)

Hostess Brands is the US foodstuff company responsible for producing Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Ding Dongs. Its products are artificial, unreal consumables that many people today would prefer not to consume, but that were once upon a time the hottest product on the shelf. Wonder Bread was not the best thing since sliced bread. It was sliced bread.

Twinkies, featured in countless Hollywood movies, are known as an item of Americana beyond the States by people who have never even tasted the vanilla-flavoured cream inside, or smelled whatever chemical that smell is.

Snakeskin

The demise of Hostess might be seen as a natural process by some - like a snake shedding its old skin of scales grown during the 1940s, emerging more modern, with less of an appetite for artificial foods. Hisss!

But the truth is, the creative destruction that sees one company die and another replace it, buying up its assets and so forth, is not an ideal or natural outcome. A sustainable business model evolves. There has been progression in the quality of gimmicks and 'meal cover fakery', but apart from some seeded loaves and whatnot Hostess has innovated not at all.

What is the lesson here?

Businesses of all sizes can learn how not to fail from the decay of Hostess. Its little fake cakes are rumoured to last for up to 25 years. The mental image of an ageless, unreal product not standing the test of time, is profoundly telling of America.

When we live and work surrounded by everyday tools like smartphones, cloud computing, and GPS tracking, and when even machines with a single purpose such as franking machines and printers are equipped with more tech than home computers were five years ago - how does a multi-billion dollar company fail to evolve?

Let's start on the surface. Hostess hasn't done anything smart with its image, logo or products for many years. But, on a deeper level, the values associated with the America that first fell for Wonder Bread and Twinkies and Ding Dongs sugary charm now are very much dated, and 'of an era'. Just look at the little cowboy on the Twinkie label.

The history of Hostess

Funnily enough, the Twinkie itself was an innovation born during financial hardship, becoming the favourite snack of the Great Depression, according to the now defunct Hostess website.

Wonder Bread was launched with a clever marketing stunt, with helium balloons delivered to children and an informational postcard to give to their mothers. Another innovation: Wonder Bread was the first US bread to be sold ready-sliced.

To come to prominence through being in touch with what people want, to understand what your values are – making a product from offcuts – to running a business into the ground despite billions of dollars of income…

So again we ask:

… How does North America's #1 selling bread go out of business? Hostess blames the striking bakers' union but a widely reported story is that senior management and investors had been sucking the company dry for a while.

Both sides agree the strikes came about because workers were being asked to put up with pay cuts of 8%. Meanwhile the CEO was happily accepting a 300% pay rise - $750k to $1,225,000 – and other senior executives enjoyed similar massive pay increases. The last CEO Ted Driscoll left the job, which had been inflated to a salary of $1,500,000, with almost a $2,000,000 severance package. You get the picture.

One story being stage-whispered (ie: not so loudly) online is that the new CEO, Greg Rayburn, had been hired to put the company down like a dog, and share out the profit among senior management. As a liquidation specialist Greg was experienced enough to navigate the ship onto the rocks in such a way that all the cash spilled into the right pockets. To the right people it was worth tripling his salary. This is what many are saying, and I've read nothing to disbelieve it.

So what?

As someone who writes about business efficiency this story is the equivalent of someone new wearing a familiar, raggedy old coat. It's another example of a company that, despite all the sophisticated communications equipment available, still cannot figure out a meaningful purpose or a common goal to unite and stimulate its team. There's the same old split between workers and management. The unwillingness to embark on bold new ventures.

Many commentators are saying this: Hostess deserves to crumble, but eighteen and a half thousand people do not deserve to lose their jobs.

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Images: "Hostess products disappear from shelves / Shutterstock.com"

The post This Is How To Kill A $2bn Business appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.