How Hackers Really Steal Passwords, How Close You Live to a Nuclear Bomb, and the Zero Waste Challenge
This week we’re checking out what it takes to produce zero waste for 30 days, learning how criminals actually steal passwords, looking at where nuclear weapons live around the globe, and tlaking about jobs with the best perks.
Welcome to Lifehacker’s Monday Brain Buffet, a series where we round up interesting, informative, and thought-provoking podcasts, interviews, articles, and other media that will teach you something new, inspire you, and hopefully start your week off on the right foot.
How Hackers Really Steal Your Passwords
With the exception of social engineering, which is a very convenient way to steal credentials, most passwords aren’t stolen by simple dictionary attacks or super complicated cracking. In fact, it’s much easier than you think, especially when databases that aren’t properly salted and hashed are concerned.
This video from DNews explains how evildoers really get their hands on your passwords, and how you’re especially vulnerable if you’re using uncomplicated passwords, popular ones that everyone uses, or easily guessed passwords. In reality, once someone gets their hand on a password database, they just check it for already hashed passwords that are known and long decrypted. So a password like “password123" or even “passWord123!” already have well-known hashes, and if that hash is found in the database, that’s a cracked account for the taking, no brute forcing required. Of course, salting and hashing password databases is the solution here, but the video goes into more detail. Check it out - and then go change your password to something you don’t know. And get a good password manager while you’re at it. [via DNews (YouTube)]
Have You Ever Taken a Job Just for the Perks?
If you’re lucky enough to have a job with perks, odds are they’re something simple, like free coffee in the breakroom and maybe an employee discount program with some select retailers or something. But this thread at Quora offers up an interesting question: Have you ever taken a job just for the perks?
I mean, some jobs have great perks - Google is kind of famous for this, with their sprawling campus packed with cafeterias and snack shops that cater to all kinds, and on-campus rec and exercise facilities, all for free to employees (and in some cases, their families.) Or maybe getting a job at a stadium just to see your favorite team play for free, or an arena just to get access to the concerts. Of course, many perks are designed to keep you at work as much as possible, but there’s no denying the perks are lovely. This answer in the thread gave me a chuckle:
Growing up in Italy, my husband loved bread so much he was literally leaving none left for the family’s dinner. In Italy the bread is bought fresh every morning for the day’s lunch and dinner.So my mother-in-law sent him to work as a delivery boy for the local baker. Problem solved!To this day he loves nothing more than a few slices of salami on some good Italian ciabatta bread.
But the question remains. What about you? Have you ever taken a job just for the perks it offered, even if those perks were minimal? [via Quora]
Could You Make Zero Trash for 30 Days?
Considering the average American produces about four pounds of garbage per day, it’s a pretty big challenge to try and produce zero for thirty days, but Buzzfeed’s Auri Jackson tried, and learned a lot along the way. She learned how to adapt, what the stakes are if we don’t start recycling and reusing and repurposing more of the things we bring home and otherwise just toss in the garbage, and she also learned how much of a privilege in itself it was to even try the challenge, since most affordable and accessible foods come in packaging, but things like fresh produce comes in no packaging, but is more expensive.
The full five minute video of her challenge is fun and entertaining to watch, but it’s also a bit of an eye opener, and kind of runs counter to the whole “one person really can’t make a difference” mentality that’s so prevalent right now. After all, all we have is ourselves to make a difference with. [via Buzzfeed (YouTube), thanks Boing Boing!]
How Close You Live to a Nuclear Bomb
So, how close do you live to a nuclear bomb? Well, if you live in the southern hemisphere, congratulations, you’re probably pretty far from one. But considering 80% of the human population on Earth lives in the northern hemisphere, well, odds are you’re relatively close to one, especially if you’re reading this from inside the United States, in Europe, or somewhere in Russia.
This video, from Real Life Lore, outlines where many countries, including the United States, tend to keep their nuclear weapons and silos, and that’s just on land, and on top of that, what’s public information. It’s also worth keeping in mind that many countries keep a substantial number of nuclear weapons on submarines and other launch platforms at sea, in classified locations. Bottom line though, depending on where you live, you’re either very close—mostly if you live in Europe or western Russia, or substantially farther, like in the United States.
That all said though, it’s less whether you live close to one now and whether you live near a city on a nuclear target list, right? [via RealLifeLore (YouTube)]
A Live Eagle Cam from Southwest Florida
How about some beautiful birds to start your week? This live camera of a bald eagle nest in southwest florida is a joy to keep up in a side window or a picture-in-picture view, and just chill enough to be relaxing and non-distracting, but still offer you a little interest to keep an eye on from time to time. Super chill, and plus, there’s a new baby bird in the family.
Stream it from YouTube above, or check out some alternate cams and information about the birds, their feeding times, and more over at the Eagle Cam homepage. Have a great week! [via EagleCam]
If you have thought-provoking stories, interesting podcasts, eye-opening videos, or anything else you think would be perfect for Brain Buffet, share it with us! Email me, leave it as a comment below, or send it over any way you know how.
Title illustration by Nick Criscuolo.
The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.
QADudeAlan Henry1/16/17 4:24amA lot of people stay at a job for the perks. Just ask anyone who works in government. I’ve stayed at a couple of jobs because some perks made it worthwhile but then again YMMV. Perks make a huge difference to many whether it’s work from home, tuition reimbursement, 401k matching, etc.Reply
Logan CumminsAlan Henry1/16/17 6:24amGreat point about Job Perks being ‘part of the reimbursement package’. Since the 1980's, I’ve said ‘there should at least be a half-semester about what work is, how to understand it, etc.’ for school-age children. They often make lifelong paradigms from what parents say, or complain about, and never get to understand it from an ‘open-mind perspective’ to start with. When my kids were young, I told them that ‘a job is a 2-way contract based on supply and demand’, that the employer wanted them to work all the time, for free (basically), and they as humans, would want to work as little as possible for maximum pay. When you go to work (employment), you are accepting their labor needs and basing your agreement to do this work on what they offered you in return. It is a contract that you BOTH enter into. They break it, you can often sue, you break it, and they will fire you. It’s not a friendship, a playtime, or a hobby; it is business. I then told them that ‘the best job in the world’ is personal, and should be based on a simple concept: if your life expenses, home, food, toys, etc., were freely given to you (that money was no object), what would you want to do for a job that you would gladly do for free, you enjoyed it so much. Now, that is your ‘ultimate, ideal job’, pursue it if you can (and it will in any way, finance your bill structure). Worked great for my children (now grown), but it sure seems this is massively broken in most societies today. Maybe education is the missing parameter here?Reply- StarryNight17Logan Cummins1/16/17 7:21amIf you work in the US, you actually probably can’t successfully sue the company. Most employment agreements contain specific language that basically says that (a) the agreement may be modified by the company at any time at their sole discretion and (b) that your employment is “at-will” meaning that you can leave at any time and they can fire you at any time. So they have the right to end your employment whenever and to change the terms of your employment whenever - unless doing so happens to violate a specific city/state/federal law (e.g., racial discrimination, wage laws, etc).The exceptions here are government workers and union workers, who have much more detailed contracts which do contain specifics on what is and is not allowed.
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