Password Grief
Okay, I have SEVEN (I kid you not) unfinished draft posts up there vying for my attention… But instead I’m going to vent about Internet Passwords - because I just got bugged again.
Every website has their own requirements for passwords.
This has evolved over time, to prevent everyone from using their middle name as their (not very secure) password on every website. I understand it.
But some places require it to be 6 digits, and some 8. Some require a combination of letters and numbers. Some require letters, numbers, and a “special character.” And a few have a 4-digit numeric code!
So how am I supposed to keep track of all these?
My mom writes websites and passwords on an index card in the top drawer of her desk. I used to think that was silly, but I’m begining to relate.
I admit I used to use the same password for everything. But it wasn’t something I felt anyone could guess, so I wasn’t concerned. But it was letters only, so soon a lot of sites wouldn’t accept it.
So then I had a few alternatives that I began using. Sort of “variations on a theme” - things I could remember. So when I tried to log in, if one didn’t work, I’d try another, which usually did.
I’m happiest, of course, when a site remembers me, or my AutoFill pops it up for me… But alas, things don’t run well unless you periodically delete all those “Temporary Internet Files”. Then you’re on your own again.
But more and more site have made more and more cryptic requirements, forcing me to use other passwords… PLUS they limit the number of login attempts, to prevent hackers from sitting there guessing.
What I would like, though, is for them to GIVE ME A CLUE! Not about my password, necessarily (although the places that have hints and secret questions are nice), but about their REQUIREMENTS.
At least, if I enter the wrong password, tell me “Passwords must be 8 characters long and contain both letters and numbers” along with the “that username and password don’t match” error message. Then I’d know it’s one of the LONGER ones, but not one that requires a “special character” - which would probably be enough for me to re-guess what I used.
… or maybe I’ll just start having them tattooed on the back of my hand.
Oh, wait, then there are those sites that require you to change your password on a regular basis…
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January 30th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Sounds like you need this! But then where do you store your key code???
January 30th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
My computer keeps track of all of my online passwords. And when I use a different computer or it loses my cookies *ew*, I have them all emailed to myself. I have on online email address (yahoo) that I can check from anywhere, it is not stored in my computer, and have a folder created just for this kind of information. It works!
January 30th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
here’s a trick I’ve been using for years - don’t bother with the destination of your first trip after high school or your mother’s father’s cat’s name -
just find some random keystrokes that easy for you to remember right in front of you everytime you go to type them in.
1qwe32
or 9ijn9ijn
when websites make you change it, just go backwards
works like a charm and no one, I mean, no one can hack it because it doesn’t come from anyplace in your actual life. There’s no guessing it.
good luck.
sb
February 4th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
What you probably need is a password manager - like the index card, but locked up like Fort Knox and stored on the web so you can get at them regardless of whether or not you empty out the temporary files.
Here’s a (getting old but still good) post on why you need a password manager: http://tinyurl.com/38jxny
@crickl’s nest — careful, that email folder is not encrypted, and its hosted on a machine that’s run by people you don’t know. Your passwords are ripe for the picking.
@stevieb — keyboard combinations are among the first to be cracked: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_cracking#Guessing (check the next to last bullet point)
Sorry to be a bummer.
Cheers,
Tara