What is the world's weakest password?

In an article today on The Guardian's website, they've shared security firm SplashData's findings on the worst passwords used.

Password '123456' has been named as the worst one for 2014, and is joined in the top 10 by various other number-only passwords.

While SplashData do make password management software, they claim its "worst passwords" are based on a list of 3.3m leaked passwords last year specific to North America and western Europe.

The company do argue that evidence shows that people are still using favourite sports teams, birth years and their children's names as passwords. The article explains that this information could be found out relatively easily by cybercriminals and weak passwords are a particular security mishap when we use the same ones for multiple services.

Click here to read the full article.

With the goal of providing interesting, relevant and useful tasks for the new computing curriculum, we created a mystery called Bob's Algorithm. While the task helps students learn about how an algorithm works, they are also helped to create unique, safe and memorable passwords for all of their favourite websites. It's a concept that can be tweaked in lots of different ways to make it as secure as possible.

If you'd like to try this task free on Windows, please contact info@reflectivethinking.com with your name, role, school name and the number of computers you'd like to try it on.

To try on the iPad, click here.

Thanks,

Natalie Taylor

How can KS3 use the logic behind coding without coding?

There are many useful coding tools which are doing wonders in classrooms. The question is though, what’s the best way for KS3 to learn the ‘computational thinking’ side of coding; part of the new computing curriculum?

It could be argued it’s to introduce students by using ‘real-life’ topics which they can relate to and get excited by. Small groups of students can discuss and debate certain situations, exploring what they may or may not do. The important thing to note is that these topics don’t even need to be directly coding-related.

Take, for example, each group being asked to ‘help’ a team of game developers decide whether they should make their new athletics game browser-based or for a console. They’re given short snippets of information on the dilemma such as how certain languages don’t allow for amazing 3D graphics, whereas others may make multiplayer easier.

Much of the decision depends on what features they see as most important, but also facts on actual programming languages. Students become engaged because they’ll be discussing their own personal opinions, imagining themselves ‘in’ the position of the gamer but also the developer too. While doing this, they’re being introduced to the kind of real-life decisions coders make every day.

This mystery in particular introduces programming languages at a higher level than specific details of languages, but gets across the point that in many cases, as a coder, compromises must be made.

There are two other computing mysteries for KS3 students to solve, and all come with three levels of difficulty. As a summary, one is a ‘whodunit’ which introduces students to Boolean Logic and the other asks groups to think of a solution to sorting out lots of new books.

If you’d like to try these tasks out at your school (plus have access to a Mystery Creator), we have a special Christmas offer.

Buy Digital Mysteries before Christmas and we’ll give you 50% off our usual price (12 month subscription). You and your students can get started shortly after you order, yet your official 12 months won’t begin until the New Year.

For £200, have your whole class using these tasks, as well as access to over 30 other KS3/4 mysteries in various subjects. To find out more, click here.