The Complete Guide to Writing Passwords

Writing a good password is a skill that a surprisingly high amount of people lack. Many password tips will tell you not to use the same password for everything. I agree. But it's becoming impossible to remember a password for each and every account you have, which is why several different passwords are enough. However, having one password that will unlock many accounts makes it easier for a person to access all of those, once he knows your password. That means you have to make the decision about which accounts are really important and which accounts don't matter as much. So how can you write a hard-to-guess password? 

There are plenty of password testers out there, such as howsecureismypassword.net, which is what I used to determine my password strength (results above). But don't be fooled: these password testers can only do so much. What they recognize is the variety of characters you use, like symbols, numbers, capital letters and lowercase letters. You want to keep in mind who you are trying to protect your account from more: computers or actual people? For instance, if you want a good password for a home computer account, you'll want to choose something hard for people around you to guess. If you're trying to create a passcode hard for a computer to guess, these password testers aren't always accurate, sometimes a password like "!A56h$32" is a lot easier to guess, with the help of a computer, than a password like "dontgiveuphope". You'll also notice that the latter is much easier to remember. So how can you make that password harder to crack? Try these steps:

1. Find a phrase or title of a song you like: "dontforgettolive"
2. Capitalize where appropriate: "DontForgetToLive"
3. Add punctuation: "Don'tForgetToLive"
4. Add punctuation in the form of emoticons: "Don'tForgetToLive(:"
5. This one's if you have a really good memory; substitute letters for numbers: "D0n'tForg3tT0L1vE(:"

Notice that I didn't substitute ALL the o's with 0's, and so on. Password hacking programs are equipped to substitute numbers for letters! So it is at your own risk that you substitute these letters with numbers. 

 

The password we finally came up with, when plugged in the the password tester I mentioned, estimated this computer cracking time:

That is a lot of years. Remember, however, that testers calculate all the possible combinations for your password, multiply that by the time it would take to try each one. Of course it is not perfectly accurate.

So those were tips on how to write a good password. But what about the don'ts? What do you absolutely not want to do?

• Don't use numbers in a patterns. A passcode that contains "123", "111", or "246" and the like is very, very easy for a person to guess, and even more so for a computer.
• Don't put your username or other identifying information (i.e., your name, birthday, country, pet name, teacher name, etc.) in your password.
• Don't use only one type of character. Use a variety, to make it more difficult for hackers.
• Don't use letters in patterns, either. "asdfghjkl" and "qwerty" are the easiest passwords to guess, ever.
• These should be obvious: don't write down your password. Don't tell people your password; if necessary, not over a connection but in person. Over a connection, everything is recorded.
• If required to change your password, don't make it similar to the previous one. It should be completely different.
• Don't use extremely common phrases, like "LiveLaughLove<3" or "SharingIsCaring". Plus, those passwords are stupid.

So now you have it: how to write your next password. Keep in mind that this is not your final guide--there are a number of choices that you have to make yourself, depending on the situation. See you soon, or as they say en francais: a bientôt!

What Makes Up A Good Photo?

Well, what is it?  A lot of people assume that to take good photos, you have to be a professional photographer. Or take a photography class. The answer is that you need neither. To take a good "people" photo, all you need is knowledge of the four traits that make up a fantastic photo.

Expression is so important in every photo. The scene could be fantastic, but without expression your photo lacks reality. It isn't interesting without expression.

Color is pleasing to the eye. When anyone sees something colorful, they are attracted to it.

Motion captures the moment. You should be able to hear the froth of the waves, see them crashing onto shore.

A noisy photo is never a good one. Where is the subject? The background? The subject of your photo deserves attention, and the only way they'll get it is if the photo is simple and powerful.

What are your tips for taking good photos?

Hair Tips

If you're anything like me, you have really thick, wavy, nearly unmanageable hair. Don't get me wrong, I love my hair (thanks, mom, dad). Everyone wants shiny, soft, smooth hair, so here's what I do to maintain my hair. Oh, and all the credit goes to my mom, who taught me this stuff, because her hair is even thicker and softer and shinier than mine.

Many people wash their hair everyday. I don't. I do it once a week, usually Saturday. It's not necessary  for me to wash it everyday because I wear it in a ponytail all the time. Many of my friends balk at this, but then again, they wear their hair down all the time, so it needs washing more often. Plus, my hair would get super rough if I washed it everyday. Anyways, to each his own.

Washing Hair:

• The night before I shampoo my hair, I cover it (rub it into my scalp, too) in oil and lay a towel over my pillow. Keep this in overnight, it's like a pre-condition. There are several oils that work. I use an Indian oil called "Bhringraj Tel", but you can use any of these oils:
• Coconut oil
• Almond oil
• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Any other kind of oil that comes from veggies/fruits
• While shampooing, I take a small mug and put in a small dollop of shampoo. Then I fill up the mug halfway with water and mix it up with my fingers. I'm diluting the shampoo. This way the shampoo spreads and cleans all my hair and isn't too much. I use anti-dandruff shampoo, but any shampoo is ok as long as it's diluted. Then wash it off nicely.
• ALWAYS USE COLD (AS COLD AS YOU CAN TOLERATE) WATER WHILE WASHING YOUR HAIR! Hot water breaks bonds. Cold water keeps the shine in and helps with frizz control.
• I use Kirkland Conditioner, it smells neutral and it's really awesome. Generally I squirt liberal amounts of conditioner onto my palm and spread it all over my hair. Then I use a wide tooth comb to carefully spread the conditioner to all parts. Then I use one of those clips (I call 'em crocodile clips) to keep my conditioned hair on top of my head. That's when I wash the rest of myself/brush my teeth or whatever. Anything to keep you occupied for five minutes. Then I let it down and wash it all off. 

Drying Hair:

• I DON'T use a towel to rub the water off. I let my hair loose and tame it with a wide tooth comb. In all honesty, it's best to let it dry before combing it at all, but you can't really walk around the house with hair that poofs up and curls like mine.
• Once it's dry, you can brush it.

Smoothing Hair:

• For smooth hair, you can either braid it or twist it up into a bun. Or two. I prefer to twist it because braiding makes it all curly. Me want wavy! No curly!
• Leave the bun in for as long as possible (this is why I do this whole thing over the weekend).
• Take down. Ta da! Smooth, beautiful hair!
• If it's still frizzy, you can use a mild oil to tame it. It won't make your hair stringy. I use Keo Karpin. But usually I don't put oil in my hair.

Happy hair!

Striped Nails

Hey, just wanted to share another nail art style...you may already know about this one as well. It can vary in a lot of ways; the number of stripes, the colours (duh). It can get a bit tedious (and you'll see why) but it's super easy, and it's worth it. All you need is tape, and of course, nail polish.

1. Arrange all the colours you want to use in order, from lightest to darkest.
2. Apply base coat.
3. Apply the LIGHTEST colour on your full nail. 
4. Apply top coat.
5. Take a tiny strip of tape (Scotch tape works best) about the size that you want the lightest stripe and press it GENTLY down over the place where you want your lightest stripe.
6. Apply the next lightest colour over your nail. Try not to go over the tape, but if you do, no problem. That's what it's there for.
7. Apply top coat.
8. You can stop now (I did) or you can keep going--repeat steps 3 to 7 in the light to dark order.
9. When it's all done, flaunt your stripey nails!

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread Cookies

I was browsing ohmysugarhigh.com, and guess what I found? A recipe for cookie heaven!! My one weakness is chocolate-chip cookies. I cannot resist! I just had to post the recipe here.

INGREDIENTS

yield: 4-6 dozen, depending upon size.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2-3)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups quick or old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

DIRECTION

1. Preheat oven to 375° degrees F.
2. In medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In large bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add brown sugar and then beat additional 2 minutes. Beat in banana, eggs and vanilla, just until combined.
4. Stir in flour mixture.
5. Stir in oats, nuts and chocolate chunks.
6. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for one minute before moving to wire rack to cool completely.

All credit to ohmysugarhigh.com.

Newspaper Nails

I did my nails like this a while ago. The best part is: it's sooo easy! All it requires are basic right and left nail painting skills.

You Will Need:

• newspaper bits
• skin coloured nail polish
• isopropyl alcohol
• top coat nail polish

1. Apply two coats of a skin coloured nail polish.
2. Dip each fingernail in a bowl of isopropyl alcohol.
3. Wait a second, then put a piece of newspaper on each nail.
4. WAIT FOR IT TO DRY! This is really important.
5. Peel the newspaper off.
6. Apply top coat, to smooth and make it last longer.
7. Flaunt your awesome nails.

Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Bowl

I know I said this is a photoblog, but hey, these are photos, right? :) I LOVE chocolate. I'm a hardcore chocoholic. But anyways, this cookie recipe is to DIE for. And it only takes about five minutes. Ready?

Looks delicious! 

First, equip yourself with these ingredients. 

Place all the sugars and butters in a two cup bowl. Use a fork to combine the ingredients.

Add two tablespoons of egg yolk to the mixture. Add the vanilla also. Stir.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir again.

Finally--the chocolate! Stir in the chips. :)

Put a few on the top, too.

Microwave for about 2 minutes.

Top off with some vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Yum.

(Adapted from picky-palate.com)