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PC utilities: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords
- 2/27/09 4:58 PM
Remember passwords
by becksdark - 2/28/09 6:47 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Don't remember the password...invent and remember a scheme.
I have a different password for every website I log into. I use a scheme involving a combination of a fixed password "core" used in combination with elements of the website's address.
Use numbers, caps and special characters in your core so you will be more likely to satisfy even the most stringent password requirement.
You can be as creative as you want with the core and the scheme, but it's much easier to remember the method, than to remember each and every password.
It's much more secure than using the same password for every site and saves you the trouble of dealing with a multiplicity of passwords.
An evil-doer might uncover one of your passwords, but it's unlikely they would decipher a cleverly crafted scheme.
And NEVER have your computer remember passwords for you.
Passwords
by parjam - 2/28/09 7:09 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The easiest WAY I know is to use a programme called 'Roboform'. This will store all your sites and your passwords-and you can amend them.
PLUS it is free for a limited no. of sites - extra are easily obtained.
passwords
by kc6qdi - 2/28/09 7:18 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Roboform works for me. Check out cnet for download link.
password help
by bchbmz - 2/28/09 7:52 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
my hubby has the same trouble. He uses a set of numbers along with the name of the site..EX: cnet 123456
always use the same numbers...just change the beginning to the name of the individual site. He is now able to remember the passwords without the frustration. Hope that helps you also.
d
excel spreadsheet
by reviewer 1 - 2/28/09 8:51 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I use an excel spreadsheet, with sheet one unrelated to passwords. On sheet three I put the website, user name and password over and down from the page that appears when you select unnamed sheet three. Then, I hide the columns. Not perfect, but it works better for me than a loose piece of paper floating around.
For passwords, I have one 10 character password that is numbers and letters. Then I truncate it to the minimum required for each website. (Actually, I pick 6 or 8 characters most of the time)
Good Luck.
Password management
by mcneillr - 2/28/09 10:38 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've seen a number of password database (management) programs. I decided on Passwords Max from http://www.authord.com/PP/. What I liked most was their offering of a number of industry standard encryption algorithms. Anybody offering only a proprietary encryption usually doesn't know much about encryption. It will generate passwords using several flexible approaches, from totally random to random selection from a large list of words. I typically pick as strong a PW as the requesting application will accept and rely upon Passwords Max to keep track of it for me.
Low Tech
by brucebrantley - 2/28/09 11:11 PM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I go low tech with a notebook. It never crashes and doesn’t actually hold the passwords.
For example:
First pick four, five or six letters that cannot be easily associated with you, but easily remembered by you. Your pet's name would be a bad choice, but something like jmpw for Just My Pass Word should work fine. Then pick four numbers that have nothing to do with your SSN, birthday, or house number. If you’re afraid you will forget it, go with something that can easily be looked up like the telephone country code for Panama. Let's say the number is 2640.
Commit the letters and numbers to memory. Never write them down and never tell them to anyone.
In a notebook list all your accounts by site and then only write the order of your letter and number combination and capitalize any letter digit that you capitalized for your password. For example:
cnet.com Let # actual password is Jmpw2640
Bank.com # # actual password is 26402640
Credit.net # let # actual password is 2640jmpw2640
Keep in mind that only you know how many letters or numbers there are. The key is to never write your letters and numbers down anywhere. I realize this is not the most secure method, but it is easy to remember and moderately safe. Even if someone steals your notebook, it would not be easy to determine that Let # stands for Totwhtf09321. The down side is that if anyone breaks your code, they can access everything.
REMEMBERING PASSWORDS
by junie315 - 3/1/09 12:29 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have made a document listing all of my accounts needing passwords, hidden 2 levels down in Documents, My Received Files, then a File with a fake name (not labeled "Passwords"), something that seems not too bizarre, but distinctive to me so that I remember it's my password file. It's important to list the account name first, the username, then the password. Be consistent with that order, and make sure you type everything correctly. Every time you sign up with a new account, take the time to call up the document and enter the new info, and make sure you save it.
password manager
by andyhumphreys - 3/1/09 1:53 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Roboform does it for me and I have loads of passwords!
re : Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords
by Hartiq - 3/1/09 2:40 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi,
you could try:
http://www.roboform.com/pass2go.html
If you use that with a good password, and an Ironkey USb drive,
you should be fairly secure.
hth
H.
Remembering passwords
by ksmerd - 3/1/09 2:42 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Just open a single password protected file in word and list all your passwords etc. Then you can access them at any time and you only have to remember one password.
Bambam
Passwords
by vicridge - 3/1/09 5:52 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have the same memory problem. Fortunately, though cumbersome, each site has a password reminder question. Just use that when unsure of your username or password.
Steganos password manager
by gnasher - 3/1/09 6:12 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I use Steganos password manager (http://www.steganos.com/en/products/). You just have to remember the master password and the program stores all your usernames, passwords and urls. It will generate passwords for you if you want. It is very easy to use, stops you forgetting all your passwords, is very useful if you only use a particular site occasionally, and stops any casual user of your computer getting at your passwords. It can almost certainly be cracked by a real expert, but that is probably not an issue for most home users. The other advantage is that you can copy and paste from the program into the website you are logging into, so bypassing keylogger trojans. If you forget your master password you are in trouble, but otherwise it is great.
Personal Passworder
by marcycn - 3/1/09 6:24 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've used Personal Passworder for years. It is very configurable. I have made categories for things other than passwords, like people and their addresses for one and registration keys for programs I've bought for another. I have credit cards in one category and bills in another. You can create a category and name the fields you want since not everything has a password. It also generates a password for you for every account you create that has a password field. I also keep all the numbers on the back of cards that sites now ask for so I don't have to have my card in front of me if I want to buy something on the Internet.
There is a place for notes where you can jot down things you need to know such as those pesky answers to security questions. I also write down the past login's and/or passwords that I use to use on a site when they have made me change one or both. A couple times the site has gone through a server problem and loaded previous information and the current password doesn't work. It's handy to know what the previous one was.
I make sure I backup the data file on a thumb drive when I have made entries and I also export every file to a text file and store it on the thumb drive. That way when I am traveling I can just open the text file if I need to refresh my memory. I also keep a current backup on an external hard drive. You can also print it all out if you want but you need to make sure you secure it someplace since everything is exposed and shred it when you are done with it. I've done this before I got my laptop to travel with and needed my info just in case. You can also hide all passwords if all you want is some of the information in a category. If you find you need a particular password, you can unhide them, get the password and hide them again.
I know there are other programs out there and years ago I tried RoboForm (I know it has improved) but Personal Passworder was a simple program with enormous abilities. I have bought it for a couple family members over the years. We all swear by it and call it our brain. Without it we would be dead in the water on the Internet. 
Roboform rocks for me
by mithil.g - 3/1/09 8:02 AM In reply to: Help! I'm at my wits end trying to manage my passwords by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Have been using roboform for years.
It saves passwords and as an added bonus can fill forms with ease
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