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- 2/27/09 4:58 PM
Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 2/27/09 4:58 PM
Question:
I hope you all can answer my questions, as I am sick and tired of all the passwords I have to remember for all my online accounts from my department stores to financial sites. What bugs me most about creating passwords is that, every darn site has their own requirements for passwords! Some are case sensitive, some require numbers and letters, some a combination of both, some even restrict the amount of characters I can use! The list of requirements go on and I'm tired of it. I'm not getting any younger and it doesn't help that my memory is really starting to let me down. Some of you are saying why don't you just write it down? I've done that, but because I live with a few people I try to keep it in a safe place, but learned that eventually I will forget where I stashed it. I'm sure I'm not the only who has this dilemma, so how does everyone keep up with all these passwords? What do you do? I believe there are password managers for computer, but are they safe and trustworthy? What if someone else use my computer, will they get compromised? What are my options? Please help me out, I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords. Thank you!
Submitted by: William G.
If you have any advice or recommendations for William, please click the reply link and post your answer. Please be as detailed as possible in your submission and please provide links if you are recommending a product. Thanks!
RoboForm
by shanebrown - 2/27/09 6:33 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
period, enough said.
It does it all, and does it perfectly when it comes to managing password. check it out, try and buy it. you will love it.
A non-software/no-hardware suggestion
by tryggda - 3/13/09 6:50 PM In reply to: RoboForm by shanebrownChoose a basic password, say DESDEMONA.
Then for sites requiring case sensitive just try DESDEMONA or--as I would suggest--desdemona.
If they need a combination of numbers and letters, it will always be 1DESDEMONA or 1desdemona.
You get the idea.
Have a base password and a SET SYSTEM for variants
Forget exactly which one it is? You can easily try desdemona, 1desdemona, 2desdemona, or 123 desdemona, etc etc.
Being too short is usually the problem, not too long.
And usually two will be enough: desdemona and 1desdemona and will be sufficient to cover ALL your password needs with no extra software or other memory required.
Desdemona
by myerslaw - 3/13/09 7:09 PM In reply to: A non-software/no-hardware suggestion by tryggdaMethinks that's a good idea. I use it as well, but have not done so in iambic form --- yet.
Passwords!!!
by nemydiadeep - 3/20/09 11:13 PM In reply to: Desdemona by myerslawI think that what myerslaw said is one of the best options, that's what I do. Pick a base word and then if a combination of numbers and letters are required add a number you will remember.
You won't have to spend money on software then.
123$#!Desdemona
by MartinCailes - 3/14/09 2:17 AM In reply to: A non-software/no-hardware suggestion by tryggdaI just had a password request where 1 capital letter and one of the following @,~,! etc is required. the number of possible combinations would start to get unmanageable even if you knew what the requirements were
It might still work for you without software
by tryggda - 3/14/09 6:35 AM In reply to: 123$#!Desdemona by MartinCailesJust set your rules (and keep them simple and sort of grammatical)
It will always be, say:
desdemona
Then, as needed
a) The capitalized letter will always be the first D: Desdemona
b) The number will always be a given number, say 3: 3Desdemona
c) Your special character will always be * at the end: 3Desdemona*
Or just make 3Desdemona* your universal password.
REMEMBERING PASSWORDS
by amfeder - 3/15/09 5:23 PM In reply to: It might still work for you without software by tryggdaInstead of "3desdemona", you might consider "d3sd3mona". That wa you've got a password that should be ther right length - if you need to lengthen, add "my" before it. If you need to have a least on or 2 cap letters, always make the "d" a cap.
That way you have your memborable formula.
Now I have to go back to every site and change my password to match my formula!!
Remembering Passwords
by r_markan - 3/14/09 2:49 AM In reply to: A non-software/no-hardware suggestion by tryggdaSetting a basic password and simple variations is not always the solution. My banker wants me to change my password every 60 days and I am not allowed to use variants of my earlier passwords. That does drive my crazy. Another, banker wants a change every 6 months .... and so on. That sure can be difficult - with case sensitive, word-nmerical and other limitations imposed by different agencies.
The simplest way is to gp by the rules AND have an excellent memory even if you are 70 years old or more.
Not quite 70 but gaining on it.
by novice57 - 3/25/09 11:58 PM In reply to: Remembering Passwords by r_markanUsing Firefox gives one the ability to assign "properties" to bookmark links. This is accessed with the right click menu and isn't likely to be something others would consider looking into even if they had access to your system. Under properties/description I type in user name and password information for all my bookmarks. When banks or other site passwords are updated I simply access the information contained in the description, make appropriate changes, and then don't have to think about it again. This methodology is explained in my will, which is securely locked away and in the possession of my attorney so that my executor would have electronic access to my accounts in the event of my death or incapacitation.
A Takeoff on that
by realsharp - 3/14/09 1:28 PM In reply to: A non-software/no-hardware suggestion by tryggdaFirst I do use Roboform and love it.
I use 4 numbers first followed by 4+ letters which relate to the company askin got the password, 1234myspace.
Then since I have a domain name for my email address I use MySpace@MyDomain.com. My domain is set to send me all email at my AOL email address. This helps in identifying who's selling your email address to spammers. What? You didn't thoroughly read the Privacy Agreement.
can you explain this a bit more
by belnbst - 3/17/09 8:17 AM In reply to: A Takeoff on that by realsharpIn reading your reply about the domain name and the e-mail you have going to aol e-mail, I'm trying to understand exactly how you combat the privacy issue with companies.
So you create an e-mail such as myspace@mydomain.com, so if say you were using twitter. You'd say your e-mail was twitter@mydomain.com ? so that you would know specifically who was selling your e-mail out? Is that the understanding?
It may be too early in the morning and I'm not able to grasp what your saying, so if you can please explain in detail. I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
belnbst
Custom email addresses
by JediLeba - 4/25/09 5:33 AM In reply to: can you explain this a bit more by belnbstI think that's exactly what he is saying - I do the same thing. I recently had emusic.com sell the address I gave them (I used e-music@mydomain.com), and one of the people on eBay also started spamming me using my paypal address (paypal@mydomain.com). On that one I know who it was because of the content of the spam, but I knew right away that it was spam because of the address it was sent to.
PASSWORDS
by Frank Card - 3/17/09 4:00 AM In reply to: A non-software/no-hardware suggestion by tryggdaProblem with that, surely, is that once the villain has cracked one password it's not too difficult for him to work his way through the rest.
Whole words in a password is never a good idea
by DominusX - 3/21/09 1:29 AM In reply to: A non-software/no-hardware suggestion by tryggdaUsing whole words tend to leave one open for brute force attacks, I'd stay away from them, I prefer pattern based passwords, here's an example of one I have used in the pass. see if you notice the pattern.
p0)o9(i8*u7&y66t
It may look hard to remember, but it's actually quite simple, since I'm not required to memorize each charactor rather just the pattern created on the keyboard, and as you can see it looks quite random.
CNET has several password creation and maintenance software, your best bet is to start there.
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