Why You Should Use A Random PIN

There’s safety in numbers – but only if your PIN isn’t your birthday or one of 100 commonly used examples. In fact, according to research by Cambridge University, using your birthday means that there’s an 8.9% chance a stranger could guess your PIN in three attempts.

This means that if everyone was to use their birthday as a PIN (and, thankfully, only around 7% of us do), thieves would be able to get into our accounts once every 11 tries.

The results showed that 84% of PINs for iPhone’s and banks used random or “pseudo-random” numbers. This is the safest type of PIN available, so if you’re issued a random PIN, you should really keep it.

For the non-random PINs, 23% of us use dates – with 29% using their own birthday. Romantically, 26% use their partner’s or a family member’s birthday. 9% use a pattern on the keypad and 5% use a numeric pattern such as repeated numbers.

The problem for the 29% that use their own birthday is that their bank card is usually found in their wallet, alongside information that reveals their date of birthday (such as a driver’s license). In fact, 99% of survey respondents reported keeping their bank card in their wallets along with a card that revealed their birthday.

This means, to quote Cambridge, “if an attacker knows the cardholder’s date of birth and guesses optimally, the chance of being successful is nearly 9%.” That’s pretty high!

Luckily, for the majority of us that use the randomly-generated PIN the bank issued, there’s only a 0.03% chance that the attacker will be able to guess our pin in three attempts. Phew.

I think there’s one oversight here, however – what if your random PIN is accidentally the same as one of the most-common PINs, like 1234? Then you’re back in the high-risk area of having your PIN guessed.

The guys at Cambridge suggest banks could use the following PIN blacklist to prevent the use of these predictable numbers. Until this practice is wide-spread, however, I suggest that you read the list below, and if you PIN is in it, change it!

0000, 0101-0103, 0110, 0111, 0123, 0202, 0303, 0404, 0505, 0606, 0707, 0808, 0909, 1010, 1101-1103, 1110-1112, 1123, 1201-1203, 1210-1212, 1234, 1956-2015, 2222, 2229, 2580, 3333, 4444, 5252, 5683, 6666, 7465, 7667.

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• Why You Should Use A Random PIN

How to use Remote Assistance over the Internet

Use Remote Assistance – The Theory

“After receiving a request for Remote Assistance, the helper (expert) can remotely connect to a problem-PC and view the screen directly to fix the problem. When you initiate a request for help, the Remote Assistance client sends an XML-based encrypted ticket to the helper who is prompted to accept the invitation.”

You can initiate Remote Assistance sessions via e-mail, invitation files, Windows Messengers and in Windows 7 with an option called Easy Connect as detailed below. There are various restrictions and improvements depending on the different version of Windows:

Windows XP and Remote Assistance

If the person who is being helped is behind a firewall, NAT, or ICS, Remote Assistance will still function as long as the person being helped initiates the session via Windows Messenger. There is also the ability to offer help to someone, directly with the other party requesting it (this feature was discontinued in later versions of Windows).

Vista and Remote Assistance

In Windows Vista, Remote Assistance is a standalone application and does not use the Help and Support Center or Windows Messenger. It has been optimized to use less bandwidth for low-speed connections. NAT traversals are also supported, so a session can be established even if the user is behind a NAT device.

Windows 7 and Remote Assistance

In Windows 7, Remote Assistance has an option for connecting directly between two computers without creating an invitation file (by simply exchanging a password). The new option is called Easy Connect and uses PNRP* where two computers can establish a P2P connection over the LAN or the Internet without a relay server.

*: a Microsoft patented protocol which allows you to publish the endpoint of a service on the internet, in this case the service would be the Remote Assistance session http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa371699.aspx

Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance – The difference

Remote Assistance provides a way for users to get the help they need and makes it easier and more cost-effecient for corporate helpdesks to assist users. IT savvy guys can also use Remote Assistance to directly help their friends and family.

Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance run over the top of Terminal Services technology, meaning both use the same port already used by Terminal Services: port 3389.

The main difference however is that Remote Desktop will open the remote desktop locally (and lock the Windows session on the physical remote screen) whereas Remote Assistance will show you the remote screen without interfering with the remote session (and both you and the other party can see what’s happening on the screen, control the mouse and keyboard, chat and send receive files in real-time).

Another big difference is that Remote Assistance is available, among other Windows versions, on all Windows Home editions (XP, Vista, 7) whereas Remote Desktop is not.

Remote Assistance – The Challenge

There are several issues to consider when managing and administering Remote Assistance in the office or at home. You can open ports and put some NAT on your firewall where employees and friends can receive Remote Assistance from outside the corporate firewall or home router. You’re not out of the woods yet, since you still need to fiddle with the invitation file.

It all works on a private network (although this business about providing help to someone is a cumbersome fish to fry!). The nightmare starts when it comes to receiving or providing help over the Internet. Why? Simply because the disparity between operating systems, the security of various businesses and heterogeneous firewall and router settings will make life difficult when trying to use RA.

There are ways to make it work over the Internet, and it work almost fine to help your parents or friends who have one computer behind a home router. However, for business and professional usage, it isn’t convenient or event possible to do so. Some of the main Remote Assistance shortfalls, depending on the various Windows systems, are:

• Windows 7: Easy Connect works on IPv6 only
• NAT traversals techniques are not very good with performance and blocked in the firewalls of most businesses
• Connecting from behind firewalls to behind firewalls is impossible in most cases
• It can quickly become a painful experience to try to use RA with multiple remote computers (multiple Natting rules, invitation files to edit…)
• Upward remote assistance can sometimes be tricky (Vista invitation on XP machines for example)

Use Remote Assistance – The Reality

Remote Assistance is a fantastic tool for proving technical and application support. It also works very well for sharing control of your desktop for on-screen presentation and training. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to use outside the private LAN or even sometimes inside the same private network (with multiple subnets or lots of computers).

You can still make it work in situations where you have access to the remote computer and network. You also need some courage to compromise on security and patience to spend some time giving instructions to the remote party (usually already panicking) before the real troubleshooting starts. An overview of these steps is outlined below:

1. On the remote side, open up port 3389 and add a forwarding rule between the router/firewall to the remote computer you are trying to troubleshoot (something like Allow inbound traffic between source IP and 3389 to Destination IP and port 3389, where destination IP is the remote computer’s LAN IP)
2. Generate an invitation file on the computer you want to access remotely (hic!)
3. Edit that file and manually change the IP address to the remote router’s or firewall’s public IP address. On some later versions of Windows, from Vista upward, RA tries to find out the external IP address on home routers if you enabled UPnP
4. Transfer that file to your local computer and double-click on it. After some waiting, and if there connection hasn’t timed out, you should see the RA invitation dialog box prompting you to enter your password

If you are always providing support to the same remote computer, you only have to do step 1 once, the rest is required every time you want to control a remote computer (unless you have IPv6, Windows 7 on both ends and managed to use Easy Connect and are happy with the performances).

Note: Remote Assistance will not work in cases when outbound traffic from port 3389 is blocked.

Connect Remote Assistance over the Internet, without an invitation?

Yes, it’s possible and simple with a Vedivi Business account. No really, it is a 10 seconds thing!

In a way it is like having all the advantages of the Easy Connect option (no invitation files, simply an access code) without the downsides (available on all versions of Windows, IPv4, fast and without invitation files).

There is no software to install or invitation file to create. To offer help you simply give a pin code to the user at the other end and he/she initiates the Remote Assistance session directly from a web browser. To request assistance, the same principle applies.

Vedivi automatically creates a connection between both web browsers as if both computers were on the same private LAN or at home. Vedivi also automatically manages the invitation in the background so that you don’t have to worry about that.

Troubleshooting – Remote Assistance and Errors

Error “Remote Assistance Cannot Make the Connection the person you are trying to help might have closed Remote Assistance”

Must probably, your computer is unable to open a connection to the remote computer. This is usually due to either the wrong IP address or the router settings. Check that you have done the following:

• Open the RA file in a text editor and change the private IP address to the other side’s public IP. The old IP address should currently look like (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x or 172.16.x.x)
• Port forwarding on port 3389 is enabled on the remote router and pointing to the remote computer’s private IP address (the one you replaced in the invitation file)
• Tips: you can usually test the connection is ok at the TCP level by doing a telnet on the remote IP address and port 3389. If this opens a connection you are good on the connection level and there must be a problem with the invitation file.

By Nikesh Jain

Chat for free: Use instant messaging and your webcam to stay in touch

These days, webcams are easy to buy, connect, and use. In fact, most new laptops come with built-in webcams, and when a webcam is paired with instant messaging or video call software or websites, almost anyone can communicate face to face (or webcam to webcam!) with friends and loved ones.

In this article, we discuss both of these options for staying in touch with family and friends.

Get the software and hardware

Here is what you need to get started:

Instant messaging software: Windows Live Messenger

There are lots of free programs that you can use to stay in touch, but my favorite software for instant messaging and video calls is Windows Live Messenger, which is a part of Windows Live Essentials. With Windows Live Essentials, you get Messenger, Photo Gallery, Mail, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, and Toolbar, plus Microsoft Office Outlook Connector, Office Live Add-in, and Microsoft Silverlight.

Here are five reasons I use Windows Live Messenger instead of other instant messaging software:

· It’s integrated with other Microsoft products and services, like Microsoft Outlook and Windows Live Essentials, so I can see when my friends and family are online as I do other things.

· Most people I know use it (300 million people in 76 countries use Messenger every month), plus I can chat with people on Yahoo! too.

· Messenger offers video chat in HD while sharing your photos and watching videos.

· You can leave 30-second video messages if your friends aren’t around.

· Also, you can set your availability by group. For instance, you can be "Available" for friends but "Offline" for coworkers.

There are lots of other features, but these five are the ones that I use most often to stay in touch. Also, Windows Live Messenger is easy to set up, which makes it simple for me to use with other people who are less technically savvy.

To get it, download Windows Live Messenger from Microsoft. After you’re on the website, click Download, and, in the File Download dialog box, click Run and then follow the installation prompts.

Webcam

The next item you’ll need is a webcam. Choose something that will work with your computer and operating system. Ideally, you should get one with a built-in microphone. Laptops often have built-in webcams, by the way, but if you purchase one on your own, you’ll need to plug the webcam into a USB port on your computer and install the software that comes with it. Then, follow the instructions that come with your webcam to install it on your computer. An external webcam provides a lot of flexibility with camera angle and direction, better optics, increased field of view, and typically higher quality video. For a list of webcams that are optimized for Windows Live, visit the Windows Live marketplace.

Add friends to your Windows Live Messenger account

After you have the messaging software and your webcam is set up, you can start video chatting with friends and family. When you are signed in to your Windows Live Messenger account, it’s time to add friends that you’d like to chat or video chat with. Look for the Friends icon on your Messenger home screen , and on the drop-down menu, click Add a friend. All you need to do is add his or her email address and then click Next twice. The second time you click Next, you are asked whether you’d like to add the person as a favorite, which means that he or she will always appear at the top of your Messenger contacts and will be easy to find. Then, an invitation is sent.

You can easily add friends and contacts to your Windows Live Messenger account.

After your friend accepts the invitation, the two of you can begin chatting. When you’re ready to start an IM or video chat, just double-click the contact name and another window will open with options to IM or to Video call. To have an IM conversation, type your message in the text box provided, and, on your keyboard, press Enter. To have a video chat, click Video call. Note that the other person must be online and available to have an IM conversation or video chat.

Make a call with your webcam

Making a webcam call (or chat with video) is as easy as making a call from the telephone in your kitchen. The big difference is that you’re using your computer with a webcam to make the call. Here’s how it works: Your computer calls another computer using the IP (Internet Protocol) address associated with your contact’s email address. To read more about making a webcam call, go to Windows Live Help, and, in the Search for box, type webcam call. For more information about buying a webcam that is optimized for Windows Live, visit Windows Live marketplace.

Chat during video calls

When you are engaged in a video chat using Windows Live Messenger, you can still send instant messages back and forth, if, for example, your sound goes out or another small technical problem occurs. You can also send or share pictures or documents while you video chat.

You can even IM with other friends while you are video chatting—just open up a chat with anyone else on your contact list and multitask to your heart’s content. The person you’re chatting with will never know that you are also on a video call, but be careful: The person on the video call will see what you’re doing and where your eyes are.

Video and IM tips

With instant messaging, it’s easy to overdo it. Little messages pop up on your screen at the oddest times, and it’s difficult to resist them even when a work deadline or other important task needs to be completed. If you have a lot of people in your contacts list, you could spend half your day instant messaging. To help you stay on track and in touch, here are some instant messaging tips:

· Use the My Status feature to alert others to your availability. This feature tells others at a glance whether you can chat or whether it might not be a good time for you. Conversely, respect the status of those you want to chat with. If someone has the Busy icon on their name, for example, don’t bother sending a message until they become available. To set your status in Windows Live Messenger, go to the File menu, click Status, and then select the option that describes your current availability: Available, Busy, Away, or Appear Offline.

· Establish regular times for video calls. You can always be spontaneous, of course, but remember that some folks wear pajamas half the day and may not always want to pick up a video call!

· Regularly check the video settings for your webcam. First, check your video settings in Windows Live Messenger: Go to the Tools menu, and click Audio and Video Setup. When you click Next to get to the webcam settings, you should see yourself in the window. (If you don’t, in My Computer, check your webcam properties to make sure that you have set up your webcam properly.) Adjust the brightness, contrast, and other camera settings by using the sliding arrow.

Staying in touch with family and friends is actually a lot of fun when you use instant messaging and video. With the way people are scattered around the country—and even around the globe—these days, it’s also a very practical way to communicate.