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Showing posts from June, 2012

How to tell if your password was leaked on LInkedIn for Dummies (Not Idiots)

 Download the hash file here:  http://www.mediafire.com/?n307hutksjstow3 ** Warning - if you had a stupid password like "linkedin" or "password" it's already been cracked and removed from teh file. You lose. Go here,  http://duckduckgo.com/?q=sha1+password  and replace the 'password' portion with your actual password.  This site doesn't know who you are, so this should be safe.  Copy the result, you'll need it.  The SHA1 hash for 'password' is  5baa61e4c9b93f3f0682250b6cf8331b7ee68fd8. Open the text file and search for the password.  Use your favorite tool for this.  If it's found, the good news is your password isn't cracked yet, but the bad news is it's been leaked and could get cracked soon, depending on complexity. bonus: Next, repeat steps 1 and 3, except prepend 00000  to your password.  So if your password was password , you would get the sha1 for 00000password.   If you get a positive match, your password has alre

Choosing the perfect travel backpack

Going on a trip?  Need new luggage?  Purchasing new luggage is no joke.  Take your time, understand the field well, don't pull the trigger too early.  When you find the right one though, don't hesitate. It will have a drastically positive effect on your life, till death do you apart.  Along the way, you'll be tempted by the sexy, tall, internal frame hiking packs such a the Granite Gear Nimbus Core . It's quite paramount to not act on this temptation, or you're in for a life of regret.  So listen up, the advice in this article could change your life. Forever. My scenario: I'm heading on a camping trip to a small island in the Caribbean.  One boeing flight, then a small prop plan, then taxi or public transport to the beach. Rent gear, set it up, camp, swim, kayak, capture some amazing  http://gopro.com/hd-hero2-cameras/  HD GoPRO2 footage and head home. First, we must understand what types of packs there are. Not even this is documented.  The key metric you

Power napping 101

Tired? Take a nap. It's a powerful and not so well understood technique.  I normally need 7-8 hours of sleep and wake up to an alarm. Yesterday something incredible happened.  I slept only 4.5 hours and I woke up naturally (beat my alarm by over an hour, boom). I had a very active Sunday - I cycled at least 15 miles, including a 50 minute Soul Cycle NYC session with Avicii and Calvin Harris.  I tried to work, but around 9pm started falling asleep.  So I set my alarm for 25 minutes and went to sleep. I woke up  after 20 minutes, had a strong coffee, and started coding.  I remained completely alert until 4am, when I decided to go to sleep for the sake of sanity, not because I was tired. I woke up at 9am, completely refreshed. I'm at work now, still completely refreshed. The 20 minute nap + strong coffee might be the answer to a longer life, and living off only 5 hours of sleep. A 3 extra hours per day is a valuable asset.  That's an extra 21 hours per week, or 84 hour