Thursday, October 13, 2016

Password Jungle

I am lost in a maze of passwords.

I can't get into several accounts because the passwords have changed.

I even got an app that helps remember passwords and I forget the password for that!

I've had no time to write a blog this morning because I've been trying to book bus trips for next week and can't remember the freaking password.

Why am I writing at all then. 

I got the secret question wrong so many times they've timed me out ... I have to wait 15 minutes before trying to remember the answer to a question that I answered a couple years ago.

There has got to be a simpler way to do all this. 

Any password hints anyone?

Does anyone else go through this?

14 comments:

Tamara said...

I write them down - like you shouldn't - but there are just too many. And if I try a couple of times, I just send a request to reset.

Anonymous said...

I use the program "Passwordsafe" - if you use a PC, it is free (and open source) - I think the Mac equivalent might cost, but haven't looked into it in years since I do not use a mac. Yes, you have to remember one password to get it open. But if you have to remember it multiple times a day/week, that helps. Mine is a long password phrase, because those are harder to break than a random assortment of letters/numbers. I highly recommend it, it has saved my sanity for a decade.

painting with fire said...

I use OnePassword - all my passwords are stored by it and I only have to remember the master password. I use that one often enough that I won't forget it. And I have a system for how I develop passwords which helps me remember. My husband and I each have access to each others - it's a shared set-up which means if I have forgotten the master he will have access. Doesn't help you this morning but might down the road. It's a nuisance!

Elizabeth said...

My trick is to use a word/letter combination I'll remember, then add the first two letters of the web site as the first to letters. So if my password is hello1234, then on gmail it would be gMhello1234. Does that make any sense?

I also hate the secret questions; remembering whether or not I decided to capitalize something, etc. drives me batty!

Good luck with your password recovery!

Unknown said...

I go thru this all the time and it drives me nuts. Buy a small notebook and have a page in it for each account. Write down the password, etc. and the answers to your security questions. Then keep the book handy to your desk or computer. It is work but it decreases the stress.

Connie said...

Have you tried 1Password or other apps that generate passwords you never have to remember? The only password you need to know is the master one to get you into your wallet/vault—each application has its own lingo—and the software then automatically fills in the password on the current website. Generated passwords can be as long as the site allows, up to 30 characters of total gibberish that are much more secure than real words.

CapriUni said...

I do what Clnl Flp does, sort of. I don't have a physical notebook, but I have a .txt file on my home computer (which only I have access to -- and I've given the file a nonsense name) with all my passwords (and security questions/answers) written down, with this format:

Website Name
(Password)
Security Question:
Security Answer:

And every time I register with a new site, I'll open that file and write all that info down before I type it into the registration fields. I also write nonsense/silly answers for (most) of those security questions.

Ron Arnold said...

Those secret questions are funny. I mean - what if I suddenly remember my favorite childhood friend did something terrible one day and I'm pissed about it? Not my friend then is he?

Rachel said...

I do what Elizabeth does, but with a variation that has, so far, mostly, met every password requirement for length and special characters that a site may throw at me.

I pick a sentence I will never forget, with has meaning for me, say "you are my sunshine my only sunshine". I then use the first 2 letters of the site, capped, the initial letter of every word in the sentence, and add a specific number and special character if allowed/needed.
For me the number is something else, but you could use your favorite digit or the year and a favorite punctuation mark.

So Google would be:

GO + urmsmos + 16 + !

I never have to remember the specific password, just the rules for constructing it.

And yes, I share your frustration. My son has special needs and requires full assistance to access his ipad and websites. Keeping track of his passwords it yet another challenge, given the number of people who have input into his day and digital world.

kstableford said...

LOVE the suggestions for apps that do the work. I, too, am frustrated by password. Thx for the information, everyone.

Nightengale said...

I e-mail myself hints to passwords

Most of my passwords are based on one of several words that I won't forget but others wouldn't guess. I e-mail myself a hint to the word and then what other symbols and capitalization I had to use also.

I've also been known to e-mail myself hints to the secret questions. Especially things like if I said X School or X Middle School for "name of your middle school"

SammE said...

I don't have a huge number of passwords, but had a problem remembering the ones I don't use frequently. Often these are the important ones, though, like the check-in at the doctor's office! I wrote all of them on one card, and grab that when I need to. I originally hid the card, but then it took two days to find it. :) samm

Kathy said...

I always swear that what I need to do with the questions is just always answer them with the same word, no matter what. Then I'll never for get them or mix them up (as long as I remember that word.) Of course, I haven't started it yet...maybe someday. As for passwords, I do what others have mentioned, I have a usual 4 letter word and 4 number combo and I insert the website in the middle. The words has a cap, and if it's a website that needs a symbol, I add that in the middle, too. If it's a site where I don't feel like I need a lot of security, I juts use the 4 letters and 4 numbers combo. I started this about 5 years ago and it;s worked really well.

Unknown said...

Here's what we do:

1. Start with a good password app. Several have been suggested - it sounds like you have one too. I use LastPass.

2. Use the xkcd method to choose a password for the app:

https://xkcd.com/936/

http://correcthorsebatterystaple.net/

3. Tape up a sheet of paper with the main password in big letters for a week or so until it's memorized.

4. For emergencies like today, keep it written down, but in a secret place in your house nowhere near your computer.

Good luck!