PC utilities: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords
- 2/27/09 4:58 PM
Passwords
by Fatboy71 - 2/28/09 12:17 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have used Password Safe for around 4 years and I have found it flawless.
With Password Safe you can get it to generate a random and highly secure password for every entry you store in it. You can also backup the password files that it creates so that you then have a backup in case your computer crashed and had to put a fresh install of your OS.
When you find the entry for to log you into the site you are wanting, you simple just double click on it and it is then automatically entered into the relevant part on the website's log in screen.
Below is the link to it, you will need to click on the link on Password safe's site called "pwsafe-3.16.exe".
http://tinyurl.com/bzrven
You only need to remember one word and this formula...
by gothicvamp - 2/28/09 12:32 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
1. Come up with a word that is 11 letters or more, ALL OF THEM DIFFERENT. No letters should repeat - DANGEROUSLY for instance. Memorize that word and that is it.
2. understand that D = 1, A = 2, N = 3, G = 4, E = 5, R = 6, O = 7, U = 8, S = 9, L = 0 and the last letter or letters = themselves so in this case, Y = Y.
3. Whenever you want to make a 'password code' for a new site you now have a set of letters to draw from to do so which represent numbers and at least one letter, depending how many letters beyond 10 your original word that you have memorized has. Use these to come up with different 'password codes' (and letters can be used twice or more here). Three which can be derived from DANGEROUSLY are:
DANGLY
SUGAR
ANYOREO
4. Write these derived words next to the websites they key and stick them to your computer. These password codes all MEAN something else, and only you can decode what, because only you have the key word memorized.
5. Decode a password as follows and use it when registering initially, and then to log on to the appropriate site. Most of us can decode using our fingers - the first finger is D, the 2nd finger is A, etc. Others may have to hide our code, but if so, disguise it in a column of 10 words or phrases or something and keep it in your billfold or somewhere really safe. I personally don't write mine anywhere. Maybe number your codeword in a random book on your shelf.
DANGLY is actually decoded and entered as 12340Y - giving you a simple 6 digit number/letter combination password.
SUGAR is actually entered as 98426 - giving you a VERY simple 5 digit number password.
ANYOREO is actually entered as 23Y7657 - giving you a simple 7 digit number/letter combination password.
The good thing about this system is the 'password codes' do not have to make sense and can be as complicated as you want because you are not remembering them, you are writing them down with the website address. So you could, for instance, come up with:
YNADYSOUYYGERY to get Y321Y978YY456Y, a pretty complicated 13 digit number / letter combination very hard for even a computer program to break. And I was actually pretty sloppy here, using successions of letters which you obviously don't have to do.
To make things even more complicated, the very first word (or phrase) you come up with - your master word that you memorize - can be 12, 13, 15 digits or even more. That will give you more letters at the end that are actual letters to mix up things even more.
Good Luck!
Remembering password solution...
by darrenforster99 - 2/28/09 12:32 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi William
It is annoying the amount of different passwords you need to remember now. I have a few solutions for you though...
Firstly, have you thought about using the same password for every site, I know some sites ask for different things but most sites will all allow one standard password.
If you use something that consists of at least 10 characters and 2 numbers most sites will accept this. The sites that need passwords with characters will accept this, and the sites that require numbers will also accept this. If your not too sure which numbers to use try and think of one that will remind you for example to make it easy to remember you could use the position in the alphabet of your initial e.g. A would 01, B would be 02, etc...
If the site needs a shorter password for example 8 characters (most sites don't use this old security method any more as it's far more secure to just allow the user an unlimited password length) you could just use the first 8 characters of your password.
If you did this then you could attempt to login with the long password, then when you can't get in try the other, most sites allow you up to 5 attempts to get it right anyway.
Another solution is to store your passwords on a USB pen drive as a text document, attach it to your keyring and then you carry your passwords round with you from computer to computer.
The idea here though would be to not call the password file something really obvious, maybe just have that one file on the pen drive, and also to disguise what the letters and numbers mean, just incase someone does get hold of the pen drive and read it.
Also the other solution to this is to save the passwords on the pen drive in a word document. When you are saving the file click Save As... and chose Tools and Security Options. You can then put in one password of any length, and any format and that will stop anyone from just opening the file up. This would be a really simple method, and is very similar to some security systems in buildings. One building I go in stores all their keys and alarm codes and everything in a safe on the wall with one password for that safe, that way if anyone forgets a key or the codes they only need to remember that one password.
If you didn't want to use a pen drive to store your passwords on using the Microsoft Word security tools format you could save it on the computer as it would be protected from anyone else seeing it other than you. Although just to prevent curiosity it would still be better to name it something that isn't that obvious.
Alternatively if you don't have Microsoft Word, you could always use an archive program to compress the text file, like WinRAR, and add password protection to the archive. Then when you need access to your passwords you just open the archive up, put the password in and open up the text file inside with all your other passwords in it. Without the right password there is no way for anyone to get access to it as the compression uses the password to decompress the data.
managing passwords
by shelley532 - 2/28/09 12:34 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi William,
I know how you feel:) What with pin numbers for bank accounts and online passwords, I just found it an impossible task to keep track and very frustrating. So I decided early on to use one word that is relevant to my life and just add three numbers on the end when necessary for some accounts or a capital letter at the start.
I have never had any privacy issues and have been doing this for about four years now. I found this option suits me fine. Otherwise my next option would be to program them into my mobile phone and always keep it locked. Hope this helps.
Cheers Shelley
password dilema
by unionmary759 - 2/28/09 12:40 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Use the same username and password for them all, works for me *smile*
passwords and remembering them!
by sherthebrave - 2/28/09 12:41 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Just one relatively easy way to remember your passwords is to create a memorable "base password" that does not include the frequently un-allowed characters but does contain a least one capital letter and at least one number(for example: meMori86d, mYcatFred241, etc.). Then use this "base password" for all of your passworded sites, BUT add a suffix or prefix identifier to it which is site specific. The example I show below uses a two character suffix or prefix using either the first two characters of the site or the first and last characters of the site.
Example, if my base password were "meMori86d" and I wanted to create a memorable password to log into CNET it might be "meMori86dcn" or "cnmeMor86d" or "CTmeMor86d" or "meMori86dCT" etc...
Later... (if I had used the first pattern) I would use meMori86dya to log into my Yahoo account and meMori86dho for hotmail...
Once you choose your base password and the way you will designate different sites, just be consistent.
I also have a "throw away" password for sites that I don't feel need top security. I use the same one on many sites which require less security. One might be g82bme or iluv2dreem, something simple for you.
I am looking forward to learning what ideas others are using to control their passwords!!
Remembering passwords
by jinx46 - 2/28/09 12:42 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I use an excel sheet. On the first column I write the name of the site or place for which the data is used (registration data or account data), on the 2nd my user name, on the 34d a possible other 'name' as some sites use both, on the 4th the password, on the 5th (titled Note) any notes needed, and on the 6th the email address I have given to the site and the name I have given for myself, on the 7th the date I made my registration or account. The columns have titles that correspond at the top and each new row is another site.
Further, I have 4-5 worksheets with the same headings and each worksheet is titled according to the content of the sites: Poetry, Flightsim, Flighsim Forums, PC Info (here goes Cnet for example), PHOTOSHARE sites, Email sites, etc etc. These show my interests also.
Each time I register at a new site I fill in the information.
I keep this excel on a USB Storage device--that way if the PC goes up in flames or the hard drives give out, I have the information in some safe place.
The excel itself is titled MY REGISTRATIONS. xls to find it easy. Last time I used it was to sign in here and write this for you, 5 minutes ago.
Managing passwords
by Iowarth - 2/28/09 12:43 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I share your problem of increasing age and decreasing memory. In fact, I have shared it since I was about 50 !
There are a number of Password Managers out there and I am sure that some, at least, are excellent and secure. I, however, do not use any of them and have my own reasonably secure solution. (at this point it is probably worth mentioning that there is probably no TOTALLY secure solution - just degrees of difficulty!)
In my case I have simply saved my passwords in an MS Word file, which in turn is password protected. That single password I have memorised (I can manage that, at least!)The password I have used includes the following features i) it includes numbers and letters, ii)since I would not be able to memorise random letters, the letters are, in fact, a word in a foreign language which no-one with access to the computer speaks (not even me!). iii)It also uses a mix of upper and lower case characters. (It's very easy to learn such a word - suitable languages include things like Finnish, Swahili, Welsh etc.)
Although there is (illicit?) software to crack MS Word passwords, it has to be bought - free versions only provide a clue - for example the first four characters. If this is coupled with ensuring that your computer is properly secured i.e. log-ons with their own passwords, Admin account, also password protected and only available to yourself, and the password document saved in your own private documents folder, with an innocuous name (NOT passwords.doc!) you will have a reasonable degree of security for most practical purposes.
I even used this at work before my retirement, where our IT (very competent and enthusiastic) geeks were invited to try and get my passwords file and failed miserably! They narrowed it down, after considerable effort, to one of half a dozen files and managed to extract the first four characters of some of those document passwords but no further. Incidentally, the more recent the Word version the better the password security (presumably this applies even to MS Word 2007 which I have uninstalled as I find it too ghastly for words and virtually unusable for my purposes!)
Chris
AIRoboForm Password Manager
by MrFurry - 2/28/09 12:53 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
www.roboform.com
I have been using RoboForm Password Manager for years, and it is so good I bought the paid version. You can have different passwords for each site to accomodate their particular requirements (it will even generate them for you), that are stored in the application, and you have a single master password to access all the site passwords. One password is easy for you to remember, and you can make it a very secure password (something not easily associated with you, preferably using a combination of letters, numbers and special characters) to maintain your privacy within your living arrangement.
Chris
Remember Passwords
by irdac - 2/28/09 12:56 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
At 80 I could have the same problem with passwords but I cured it at small cost by getting Auscomp Fort Knox. It costs $29.99. The program uses one master password to access the data it stores which can be quite comprehensive. You can not only store passwords but a lot of other information for each entry. I find this very convenient. It will even generate difficult passwords which you could never remember but can enter in the forms by drag and drop. I prefer to create my own passwords since there are a few sites where drag and drop does not work. To make these passwords difficult I do not use words but patterns on the keyboard eg ft6yhu8 though that is not one I have used.
There are free password stores but ones I have found were not so useful.
MANAGE PASSWORDS
by amarkumar - 2/28/09 1:00 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
VISIT www.RoboForm.com AND YOU SHALL GET A SOLUTION.
I AM USING IT SINCE LAST MANY YEARS
my solution
by amisola - 2/28/09 1:12 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I used to have the same problem. The solution that works for me is to categorise the sites that I go to then use one password for each category or just one password for all. Only do this on sites that do not require you bank details, credit cards or anything to do with money then use different passwords to any account that involves money. Don't forget to change the passwords at least once every three months.
Managing my passwords
by ropipo - 2/28/09 1:12 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am also growing older and the mutiplication of PW gave me lot of problems.
Now I use RoboForm to handle the passwords and keep some personal information secured. I just need to remember one password to access Roboform and from there I access any site with a password. For new sites Roboform defines a new password and you accept it or not.
But it will not handle passwords for non internet sites or accessed without a browser.
Roger
managing passwords
by may1940yorkshire - 2/28/09 1:16 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
the way i remeber mine is i usually use either my mothers maiden name and if they need a number as well i add a 1 onto it
the other password i use if neccessary is my wedding date , hope this will help you
Password manager
by fmrfmrfmr - 2/28/09 1:17 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello William
What did you have as platform ?
Windows ?
Mac ?
Other ?
Anyway: try this product: 1password by agile web solutions
link:
http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password?version=2.9.8-7351
I use it since several month (MAC OS X 10.5.6). It works very well.
And I have ONLY 2 PASSWORD TO REMEMBER:
1 Main Password for the WEB connections. It will be asked each time you use a stored PW or when you want to store a new one.
1 Local Administrator Password which allow to manage your computer. I need this Admin PW to access (for example) to the 1Password management.
The advantage: you have a total control on your WEB passwords. They are NOT stored in your Web-browser!
Naturally you have to be careful about the access to the 1Password application. I locked this application with my PC Admin PW.
I hope it can help you
Greetings
François
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