Technology facts you thought you knew

[Paul]

• WHOIS is a protocol, not a series of websites. You don't necessarily need a website to use it. There are WHOIS clients, just like there are email cients and web browsers.
• The Web and the Internet are not the same thing. The former is a subset of the latter.
• FTP isn't the only way to upload files to a web server. There are more secure options, but, sadly, they're not as easy to use.
• Mbps and MB/s are different kinds of measurements and don't mean the same thing. It's the casing of the "b" differentiates them, not the slash ("/").
• Almost all passwords can be cracked quickly. If you're concerned about security, be sure to use a different password for each website and a good password manager.
• Don't use JPEG for images on your website. It's a lossy format: that means the image will look worse than if you use a lossless format, such as PNG. This is especially apparent on devices with high-DPI screens, such as smartphones.
• Photoshop isn't always the best tool for image editing. It creates raster images: pictures made of tiny dots. For computer-generated images, vector images are preferred; they are made of lines and shapes, so they don't lose their quality when they're enlargened.
• Large shared hosting providers often host thousands of websites on a single server. It's possible to see who else is on your server, and sometimes even to edit their files.
• Globally, Android's market share is much larger than iOS', and is growing. iOS' market share is shrinking. However, in the US, iOS is pulling ahead.
• Despite being a very successful company, Google has started plenty of big projects that ended in failure. It happens to the best of us.
• Mining Bitcoin is more or less the technical equivalent of cracking passwords--except the latter is (usually) much easier.
• Apache, while easy to use, isn't the most powerful web server. Try Nginx ("engine-x") or Lighttpd ("lighty") for important websites.
• The United States is producing fewer and fewer Computer Science graduates each year. This is a big problem, as there are already more jobs than qualified professionals.
• You think gas is expensive? Inkjet printer ink costs around $4,000 per gallon. Invest in a laser printer: you'll save a lot of money.

 

[Paul]

Thanks for sharing these facts. It is important that you should update your password from time to time for your security and convenience too.

The effectiveness of changing your password varies depending on the circumstances. Given a secure system, it's not typically necessary. It's only useful if someone has already obtained your password, or has your password hash and the password is weak. There are lots of ways someone can obtain your password, and you won't always know if they've done so. However, it's often the case that websites--not users--are the ones getting hacked, in which case it doesn't matter as long as the hashing algorithm and the password are both adequately secure.

Here are some examples of insecure passwords. These passwords were obtained from a database that was publicly leaked by hackers; to determine what makes a strong password, I ran some analysis on the hashes and their corresponding passwords. All of these can be cracked in a matter of seconds/minutes with common tools and home computers. (For privacy, I've altered the passwords slightly, even though they're publicly available. Many of these passwords were used by multiple people.)

• Enjoi54! Too short
  
• 148jh$ Too short
  
• sebastian8.- Common pattern (numbers/symbols at the end), common word
  
• azertyuiop83 Common pattern, common phrase
  
• hurensohn0123456789 Common pattern (numbers at the end)
  
• pancake1q2w3e4r5 "l33tspeak" isn't secure, common pattern, common words/phrases
  
• Hamiltonthree3 Common pattern (number at end, capital at beginning), common words
  
• mngze6qq Too short
  
• rory2k12 Too short
• afternoonchubby Common words
• s3nh4102030 Common pattern (numbers at the end)
• 'C')Z{4e Too short
• $}\]|o(H5a Too short

Here are some examples of secure passwords:

• Ry-&O#/~y#82#] Secure for the next few years, assuming attacker has normal computer
• h[@6"90<T(,=h7&5iM.:&b6[3YH Secure against most supercomputers
• WLzb\cnhsjn(S9p3.94JXI53|KUDHSUs?x_w0uy6Il+gQiKK4]p{V<m6EOLy9KDo%Z>p Secure as long as certain mathematical conjectures aren't disproved and quantum computers remain inefficient and/or prohibitively costly

 

[aegisinfoways]

Considering how much Google uses Android operating system in its business, such a prominent share of the industry is anti-competitive. It fortifies everything from its online search engine popularity to advertising popularity. This has to be directly much like the whole Microsoft Windows and PC industry tale.

 

[Paul]

Considering how much Google uses Android operating system in its business, such a prominent share of the industry is anti-competitive. It fortifies everything from its online search engine popularity to advertising popularity. This has to be directly much like the whole Microsoft Windows and PC industry tale.

The same can be said about Apple's proprietary lock-in. For example, it's extremely expensive to produce a product that's compatible with Apple hardware (e.g., Lightning), and you have to agree not to sue Apple under any circumstances. If you launch a lawsuit against Apple, you lose your license to produce Apple-related hardware. This happened to Monster Cable. Apple often uses this in a manner not entirely unlike extortion. Whether or not the demands are legal, it's often cheaper for the opposing company to comply than to contest Apple's demands in court. That's not to say Apple's products are bad, but I don't like their corporate ethics. I consider them to be a patent troll.

P.S. I'm writing this on a MacBook Pro.

 

[Paul]

I updated the first post, since it was a bit out-of-date. I also removed/revised some facts that aren't particularly interesting or were presented oddly.

Notable changes:

• HDMI2, which supports 4K @ 60Hz, is now widely supported by new devices. Most new 4K monitors run at 60Hz.
• FireWire and Thunderbolt are a lot more secure than they used to be, thanks to some cool tricks from Intel and AMD. However, you'll need a modern computer with an up-to-date OS to benefit from the new security features.