Devi
Well-known Member
- Location
- East WA USA
Yes. It's never taken it out of the house. There are other ways we safeguard, but I don't discuss them out here on the web.
I'm sick of passwords.
- Thread starter OldEngineer
- Start date
David777
Well-known Member
- Location
- Silicon Valley
should be:
Okay, so I might use j#An$E_dO&e like constructions for my bank website password.
Myriad ways to create strange strings one can remember but hackers will never bother to try guessing because so many others never do. Instead of a person's name it might be something they know well with limited terms like cooking utensils or cities in your state or dog breeds. For each one they might use a consistent pattern. For example using my same example like structure if cooking utensils with "can opener" spelled backwards, reneponac:
r#En$E_eP&o%Na*C
The non-letters would be the same for all one's passwords. One could use a mix with numbers. Because the android keyboard pop up is always the same, one only needs to recall the method, not actual characters.
should be:
Per example, would use other cooking utensils. One could keep a limited list of a few dozen such terms in a txt file resident on devices that even if one forgot the password, simply looking at that list and then trying the limited possibilities would in a short time rediscover whatever. Better per my advice use aescrypt.
Am not being personal. I don't have an issue describing people that act unwisely so if using a bit of funny name calling provokes changing. Passwords are a very serious issue that ought not be ignored when many solutions are available that almost all such people have never even bothered to investigate. Best of luck.
Per Google:
What percentage of people use weak passwords?
83% of people use weak passwords.
A surprisingly large percentage of Americans do not protect their online accounts after a breach. According to Zippia, weak passwords are used by 83% of people. This includes the 59% of Americans who use their birth date or name as a password.
50+ Password Statistics: The State of Password Security in 2023
Before exploring the full list, here are our top 5 password statistics:
30% of internet users have experienced a data breach due to a weak password.
Two-thirds of Americans use the same password across multiple accounts.
The most commonly used password is “123456.”
59% of US adults use birthdays or names in their passwords.
13% of Americans use the same password for every account.
Michael Z
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern Wisconsin
What gets me are those little puzzles like "click on all the squares containing crosswalks" where there are 1 or 2 squares that are right on the border.
David777
Well-known Member
- Location
- Silicon Valley
In the UK it was found 35% continually use password RESET functions, so don't actually need to store or recall whatever. That IS NOT how password processes are supposed to be used so asking such questions that should be stored each time when a site account is set up only ought be used infrequently. That is the only time such questions are asked that are wisely more difficult to recall than passwords themselves.
Rose65
Well-known Member
- Location
- United Kingdom
Me too. I have different passwords for everything so a list is vital. But it's handwritten and hidden from prying eyes.
I do not like the over-complicated way we are forced to live. I yearn for the old days when cash was used, I had a building society savings account which just had a book that was stamped each time I paid in or drew out. Just one bank account and we paid our bills as they arrived. Books were from the library, there was time and peace to talk to people and relax. No Amazon so we went out to buy presents and it felt good to browse and think about them. We wrote proper Christmas cards and letters, we telephoned those we loved and had proper conversations not quick texts.
How come with all these efficient things now, we are more rushed and stressed than ever? All of us staring at screens rather than communicating with our friends and family.
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
OE...I have about 80 passwords, no lie. I have a Google document that contains my passwords. I periodically remove passwords for sites that I no longer visit. For the sensitive ones, I devised a special code for each site using letters, numbers and symbols, so that even if the document is hacked, no one would be able to figure out what the passwords are. I remember the most important, frequently used passwords without having to check the document.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
Yes, it was addressed to you. You really shouldn't write passwords down. Of course, if it's in a book, then someone would have to steal it to see what's in there. I get it. But it's still not a good method, and no security guy would advise writing your passwords down. That's not meant as an attack on you, merely an observation.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
Again, not the greatest idea. That's actually less safe than using a book and writing it down. Hackers take remote control of systems all the time, and if they find the file...... at the very least I'd ensure the file is password protected. Encrypted too.
My band has an account and password, but you can't access the account - even with that - without also generating a dynamic password which has a lifespan of 15 minutes. That dynamic password is generated on my phone by entering a 6 number password.
A tip for people having trouble creating passwords..... we tend to try to think of words, names, or places. Instead, try using patterns. So for example, a password for Youtube might be the number 7. Looking at your keyboard, a number seven could be made up of yuijn. Hope that makes sense.
There are tools, as have been mentioned earlier. Passwords are a pain.
Also, full disclosure - it's all a matter of what's bearable to you. For example, my computer (Windows) does not have a password. I took it off. I couldn't stand not having access to the computer whenever I needed it, and the password was an extra step (I never turn my computer off). I know the risk, I accept it. My wife also knows all of my password to various sites as a "backup". She's free to log in any time she wants. It's not ideal - far from it - but it works for me.
Paco Dennis
SF VIP
- Location
- Mid-Missouri
I have come to a place where I use many passwords for different websites. I feel like a competent hacker could get into my account, so I have a Discover card with only a $200 credit limit. Everything else I put out on the internet is easy to access even with the "best security."
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
What you don't understand is that the actual passwords are not written down. Only my son and I know how to decipher the coding system I use. None of them are connected to any of my personal information that might be gleaned from an online source, such as my name, initials, address, zip code or DOB.
Last edited:
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
JeeperDon
Member
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
To me, there is a big tradeoff between day-to-day convenience and worrying about hackers. Earlier in this thread I said I us BitWarden. The passwords to the 195 items I have access to are all different and look like 'a@L3TNLr93&eAF'. BitWarden auto-fills the ID/PW info as I go to a site, I don't have to type or copy/paste. The security of unguessable PWs on each site plus the autofill feature far outweigh any fears that BitWarden will be hacked. (My last sales pitch, promise )
)
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
Re my post #57 Let me add that for sensitive sites like banks and brokerages, I never list my user IDs in the document. For others, I only use the first letter of the word, usually end with 2 numbers and in between there are Xs. There are usually more Xs than the actual number of letters in the user ID. So if you see User ID: Rxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx64. What is it?Indeed, first time I'm learning this.
Here's an example of a password hint (not in use yet).
OBO regular format, CAP 1st letter, substitute a symbol for last letter.
So the riddles for hackers to solve:
1. Who or what is OBO? I'll tell you this...whoever or whatever it is does not have an O or B in its name.
2. What does regular format mean?
3. And what symbol is used? Only my son and I know.
Some hints are even more intricate and I don't always use the same symbols.
Last edited:
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
You and me both Michael ! It makes me crazy. What's worse is there are better ways to verify that you're not a bot.
@David777 my husband was among those who used simple, easy to hack passwords. I was always getting on him to change to something more secure. He wound up writing his in a little notebook that we kept in the T.V. stand. And so is one of my cousins who is a doctor (MD), so certainly not a "pea brain". Her password was "password" and she probably used it for all her accounts! I couldn't believe it when she told me that. I told her she'd have to change that.
Last edited: