Easily guessable internet passwords don’t just let you in, they let hackers in too! That’s why it’s time you knew the worst passwords you can possibly choose (and avoided them!). To make it easier for you, here’s a list of the worst passwords of 2011 (Go through it, and while you are at it, don’t forget to thank SplashData, which has created the rankings based on millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers).

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

If you happened to spot your password in the list, change it ASAP. And the next time you are creating a password, make sure it meets the following criteria.

• Your password should be a combination of various characters that range from numbers to letters to special characters.
• It should contain eight characters or more. And don’t forget to separate short words with spaces or underscores.
• Most important of all, don’t use the same password and username combination for multiple websites. If you have problem keeping track of all your accounts, you should probably use an online password manager.

Trust us; having your accounts compromised is a trouble that is much bigger than choosing secure passwords.

Remembrance Day Gives Canadians Time To Remember Armistice Day!

Did you know that Remembrance Day is actually Armistice Day? On 11 November, Canadians and many other countries around the world take time out to reflect on the true meaning of Remembrance Day.

Since its beginning on 28 July 1914, World War I was considered to be one of the principal wars in history. Pitted against each other were the Allies of the Triple Entente on one side of the war bitterly fighting against the Central Powers.

The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia. It was the alliance of the three countries along with the countries of Portugal, Japan, the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Spain that provided the power that was needed to force the Triple Alliance of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria to its knees. Finally, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the war ended. It was on this day that the Germans signed the Armistice stopping the sixth most deadly conflict in world history.

For Canadians, King George V was the one responsible for claiming this day as a day of remembrance for those members of the armed forces that lost their lives in that fateful war. According to Wikipedia, “more than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of great technological advances in firepower without corresponding advances in mobility.”

It’s highly likely that you will see the red remembrance poppy as it has become a very  familiar emblem of Remembrance Day, so much in fact that Remembrance Day is sometimes referred to as Poppy Day.  In such lands where the many battles took place during World War I, beautiful poppies with their brilliant red colour remind all of the blood that was shed.

So don’t lose this chance to remember when. This is the day that Canadians should take pause in their busy days to remember that historic day. Take time to celebrate and reflect. Stand strong Canada and use this holiday for what it signifies — remembrance of those servicemen and servicewomen who have served in the Canadian Forces in the past or for those that are currently serving. They deserve it!

According to a research conducted by Optus, more than half of all Markham businesses do not have a website! Sounds depressing doesn’t it?

But more depressing than that is the fact that only 21% of the 850 SMBs surveyed actually bothered regularly backing up their data. Out of the 21% who regularly backed up their data, 53% reporting doing it onsite, while just 8% said they did it offsite. Well, it’s great that some SMBs are taking measures to keep their data safe but we have a bone of contention here… is backing up data onsite the right thing to do? We mean, how useful is having data backed up right beside the original data when both of them could be destroyed by a fire or any other natural disaster?

So what should you do? Try cloud-based services instead! They allow you to back up data regularly and your data is stored offsite. Plus, they also allow relatively cheap access to online back-up services. Trust us; there is no time to waste pondering over what to do. Back up your data today, if you haven’t, and choose Dynamix and stop gambling with your backups today? We are your trusted Markham backup and disaster recovery professionals.