Online Language - Acronyms

Online written language is different from the common written language; And, online language, even changes if you are writing an email, instant messaging or just posting to a forum or blog.

All languages has theirs particularities, whether they be acronyms or slang words. Understanding this special words will contribute to an easier understanding of the subject you are reading about!

In this post I'll talk about acronyms and what they mean.

Acronym - Meaning

AKA - Also Known As
ASAP - As Soon As Possible
ASL - Age/Sex/Location (normally a question)
BRB - Be Right Back
BS - Back Stab (on gaming), Bull Sh*t
BTW - By The Way
ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival
FAQ - Frequently Asked Question
FYI - For Your Information
FUBAR - F*ed Up Beyond All Recognition
GG - Good Game
GL - Good Luck
LMAO - Laughing My A* Off (equivalent to LOL)
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
M8 - Mate
MOTD - Message of the Day
NP - No Problem
NSFW - Not Safe for Work (be very careful with email carrying this word on subject)
OMG - Oh, My God!
OS - Operating System
PLS or PLZ - Please
SRY or SOZ - Sorry
THX - Thanks
TY - Thank You
U - You
Ur - Your
W8 - Wait
WTF - What The F*
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get (applied to programs)

This is not a complete list (not even close), but it's a list of the ones I came across through out the years browsing online! There are many I use daily and others i see now and then on some website...

Feel free to comment and/or add others you think are important!

Sources:
Netlingo - www.netlingo.com
Wikipédia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_slang

Private Password Policy

Many are aware of the dangers of Internet, the more data we have available online the more exposed we are to online crime, and this information is, in most cases, just protected by a thin layer. Login and Password!

Because login is often public, the password is the user ultimate defense.

But despite being aware of all the dangers many users doesn't give much a thought when picking their password. Unlike username that have to be unique, very few site enforce some kind of password policy. This way is up to the user be self-disciplined and find a secure way of protection.

There are some guidelines we can follow when creating a password:

From CERN IT Department we have a few guidelines on How to choose good passwords

A good password is:
* private: it is used and known by one person only
* secret: it does not appear in clear text in any file or program or on a piece of paper pinned to the terminal
* easily remembered: so there is no need to write it down
* at least 8 characters
* a mixture of at least 3 of the following: upper case letters, lower case letters, digits and punctuation
* not guessable by any program in a reasonable time, for instance less than one week.

If you choose a password under these parameters you will end-up with a fairly secure password.

But like any security expert will tell you, having a password for every account is suicide. But i also recognize that having a password for each account, the best-case scenario, is almost impossible. You'll end up forgetting some of the passwords...

So we face a problem... Having one password is insecure, but having many is too! Let's find something in between!

My way of dealing with this situation is having a short number of different password that i use according to the site I'm registering.

It can be depicted as levels of security. The higher the level, the complex is the password.

I use four levels, or four different passwords.

The first level password (the easier), i use for public foruns, have-to-register-to-see websites and other websites of unknown ownership! This password is very simple, and doesn't obey even one of the guidelines...

But attention, although this is meant to be a simple password, it hasn't to be a stupid password. Never, but never, use login (or any combination of that word) for password and, if you can, try to avoid the top most common passwords. You can find a list of the top 10 here.

Second level, for social-network websites, instant messaging, secondary mail accounts, every site that evolves some kind of personal information, but nothing sensitive. This password will have to be much more complex than the first. And fulfill every guideline, at least.

Third level, primary email and every site that has sensitive private information (like financial...). This has to be a very strong password, you have examples of strong passwords in this Wikipedia article.

Fourth level, not so much because of the complexity of the password, but by the times it is changed... Meaning it isn't just a password but a group of them! This passwords are used for logging at systems that require a periodical change of password. I recommend this password be as complex as second level one, and the group make sense when putted together in a phrase.

The more users are aware of how to create a secure password, the harder it will be to compromise account someone's account.

Absolute safety is a myth but nothing wrong comes from trying!