Hats off to Ellen DeGeneres for exposing a useless and insecure product–Internet Password Minder–and doing it in an amusing way while helping to raise awareness of password security issues.

And thanks to Naked Security for bringing it to my attention. Seriously funny.

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Post your comment with the cleartext here. The solution will be posted tomorrow on Halloween.

Q. Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas?

A. Because Oct. 31 and Dec. 25 are the same; therefore, Halloween = Christmas!

If you don’t get it, you’re not a true Geek. A true Geek could give a more sensible interpretation of the relationship OCT. 31 = DEC. 25 than “Halloween = Christmas!”

Can you also explain why 16 = 20 = 10? How about 86 = 126 = 56?

Fun stuff. Geek entertainment.

BTW, Googling is Verboten! Those who Google will receive a Schlag in den Arsch!

Post your answer in the comments.

Top Ten List of Worst Passwords: Compile your own Top Ten List of the worst passwords you’ve seen or read about. I will compare that with my compiled list from authoritative sources. The person whose list matches the most entries on my list wins. If there are ties, everyone wins.

Strongest Short Easy-to-remember Password: In ten characters or fewer, come up with a strong password that is also easy to remember. Random strings are not allowed, i.e., I won’t accept Xcy4lmO3az. I will judge the strength of the passwords using my Password Meter at Ask the Geek. You must tell me what makes the password memorable to you. For example, can you write down a password hint that means nothing to me, but that tells you what the password is? If there are ties, everyone wins.

You may send an entry for either or both categories, but they must be in separate emails. Use my secure contact form to enter (http://askthegeek.kennyhart.com/index.php/ask-a-question/). Deadline is Sunday, February 7, 2010

Results will be published.

Good luck!

Level 1, dubbed “The Idiot Test,” requires that you enter the correct password into a password field in order to continue to the next level. The name itself seemed a giveaway to me, so I started with the obvious, a blank password, and simply clicked the submit button. No joy. Next, I tried ten of the most popular weak passwords in use (take your pick as to which “Top Ten” list you prefer):

password
root
admin
123456
qwerty
abc123
letmein
changeme
password1
asdfjkl;

None of these worked; it appeared as if the test was going beyond the idiot level. If it’s that simple, it should be obvious, so I took another look at the screen and noticed another subtle clue: “If you have no idea what to do, you must learn HTML.” Hmm. Maybe the page source has a clue. I opened the page source and searched for “password.” Bingo! I found this in the code:

<!-- the first few levels are extremely easy: password is 1e79cde6 –>

Did you figure it out? Hit the comments and let me know.

Enjoy!

I Go Chop Your Dollar

Cheers!
Kenny

The latest release is dated 6/30/2009, Version 0.08.82. That number seems far removed from V. 1.0. I can’t imagine what more the program needs—it works very well now with no intrusive behavior. I’ve tested it with some real malware and it works as advertised. I trust it enough to recommend it to everyone I know.

If you missed my previous article on this nifty security tool, read Panda’s Cloud Antivirus (Beta) is a Winner! Be sure to watch the video I have linked in that article, too. Besides just being cool, the video will give you a new viewpoint on emerging security technology in the Cloud. While you’re at it, this Panda Security video ad’s also worth a look. (Check out the threat characters—very catchy.): Viruses pwned by Panda Antivirus [HQ].

Anyone interested in seeing a security video of the week (or month) column on this blog?

Now through the end of April, your tech savvy can earn you the chance to win one of three Xbox 360 game consoles being given away by our favorite tech site, IT Knowledge Exchange. Winners will be the top three community members who have the most Knowledge Points earned and have asked five IT-related questions. You still get points for asking other questions, but only those related to IT will be counted for the contest. Full details are in community manager’s Jenny Mackintosh’s ITKE Community blog posting, so go there for rules, etc.

The three winners will receive:

• First Place: Xbox 360 Elite
• Second Place: Xbox 360
• Third Place: Xbox 360 Arcade

This is a chance to show off your IT guru skills and win a neat prize in the process. Go ahead and ask a tough question (remember, you need to ask five of them) by going to the Ask a Question page.

Good luck and have fun!