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Couple weeks ago, I decided to change my passwords.
I’m one of those people who used to have 2 or 3 passwords that I used for everything, but this has been the summer of the hacker, so I started to worry.
If a hacker got hold of just 1 password, he’d have the keys to the kingdom, so I decided to mix things up. I decided to use a different password for every site I visit.
You aren’t supposed to use words from the dictionary, because those are easy to guess, so I took Leo Laporte‘s advice and used the “Roy G Biv” approach.
“Roy G Biv” is a trick for remembering the colors of the rainbow — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The Tech Guy suggests coming up with something similar, something that’s easy to remember but tough to guess, like “nfCrb1Cb2O” — the last 8 U.S. presidents, with the Democrats capitalized (Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, Obama).
Song lyrics are good, too — “0scysbtd3l” is the first letter of every word in the first line of “The Star Spangled Banner,” but with the numeral “0″ replacing the letter “O” and a “3″ serving as a backward “E.” (It’s good to combine upper and lower case letters and numerals.)
You’d have to type a lot of completely random passwords to guess either of those passwords.
Problem is, I have so many passwords for so many sites that I can’t remember which mnemonic device I used for which site.
So, now, it takes 2 or 3 tries to log into Gmail or check Facebook or buy something from Amazon.
I gave up trying to get into Skype, so I created a whole new account, but I forgot that login and password, too.
I think I may have outsmarted myself, but at least I feel a little bit safer.
Passwords…ugh. I hate it when they have to be 15 characters long, need 2 numbers, 2 uppercase letters, 2 lowercase letters, 2 special characters, and oh yeah…a drop of your blood! How can I remember all that?
You can’t. You’re doomed. We’re all doomed.
I’ve been encountering the same problem.
It began when certain sites required you to have 2-3 numbers, symbols, uppercase letters, etc… and grew even worse with this hacking scare.
Somebody recommended a computer program that remembers ALL our passwords (I think it required a monthly payment after a certain trial period)…
However, if you have a coding system in place, one that converts letters to numbers for instance… or using a book code cipher like spies do…
you could simply write down the passwords with their corresponding sites. Keep them somewhere safe and conveniently close to your desk.
*crickets*
Write them down?! Oh Lord, no, what a security breach that would be! ROFL
Okay, sure, someone might break into your home and steal the scrap of paper… but would they even realize what it was? Or how to decode it?
Disguise it as a grocery list, perhaps?!
If you’re worried about on-line hackers, it would be a great solution.
Or you could take lots of Ginkgo Biloba and exercise you brain with memory games.
Good luck!
I’ve heard of those programs that remember all your passwords, but what if someone hacks that program? Then you’re really up a creek. (Don’t tell IT, but I keep my work passwords — yes, plural — on a Post-It note stuck to the edge of my monitor.)
Oh Todd, I hope your age is not showing!
I have the same problem – I keep a little book in my desk with all the passwords for everything. If anyone ever gets a hold of that book, I’ll just have to go off the grid. Or if I lose it – I’ll be creating all new accounts just like you. Love it!
I don’t think it’s age. I think it’s having 3 passwords at work (that change every 6 months) plus multiple email accounts plus a bunch of different websites and subscriptions. I don’t think it’s … what were we talking about?
True story: in seventh grade, a girl in my class (not me, I swear!) wrote on a pop quiz that Roy G Biv invented the rainbow. I still enjoy a bit of schadenfreude at the memory of the teacher reading that out loud every time I see Roy G Biv. I am not a nice person.
I have a patented yet confidential system for my passwords, which until recently contained lower case letters and digits. When some accounts started requiring a symbol and an upper case letter, my system hit the skids.
How do you know he didn’t invent the rainbow?! As for symbols, stick a period in there somewhere and call it a day.
Passwords, meh! I, too, have written all 1 million of them down. I can’t divulge where I keep this list. Because I don’t remember.
I’m telling you, hackers can’t find passwords written on Post-It notes stuck to your machine. Thieves can, though, and so can co-workers, but definitely not hackers, especially those who can’t see your desk.
Ah, the hoops we jump through to remain hacker-safe! Best to simply write them down in a tiny notebook and promptly hide it away from your computer. Of course, that assumes you’ll remember where you hid it and can access it easily because nobody ever remembers all their passwords!
Yep. I’ve forgotten a lot of clever acronyms over the years. I also have that problem when I try to put something I rarely need in a logical spot so when I need it two years later I will go straight to it. Never works.
Hackers and hacking make me feel paranoid. It’s such a bad world. Sometimes I wish things were simpler.
You know there’s an app for that.
Now if I could just remember its password …
I am so screwed if a hacker ever figures out my password, because it is the same for most everything. I know I should change it, but it makes me break out into cold sweats thinking about how I will keep up with them all. At work, it’s a whole ‘nother story – I have about a dozen different IDs and passwords I have to keep track of. I just have them all saved in Outlook in my Contacts. If any of my co-workers want them, they can have them.
I had to change all my passwords too and now I feel TOTALLY safe… from myself
This is why they invited Post-It notes. Just a suggestion.
I’m always forgetting passwords, and having to have them e-mailed to me! Since Jim is a techie, it horrifies him that I use the same passwords for almost everything!
Wendy