What's in a password name?
I recently started a new gig so of course, that meant I needed a new password.
This new password was to activate the company computer system. I also have a password for my new e-mail.
This is on top of the various passwords I use to access vital information in my life, everything from my banking account to retirement savings to credit card summaries to my personal medical history.
I have passwords for the numerous websites I regularly visit for information and entertainment – no, that kind – along with passwords for some places that I rarely go but need a password anyway.
At last count, I have about eight active passwords to remember during the course of a regular week.
And, every now and then or even fairly often, I get asked to change the password for security's sake.
To which I say: "Arrrrrrrghhh!"
The standard advice about passwords used to be pretty simple: Don't tell anyone else your password. Guard it with your life.
These days, a vow of silence doesn't work anymore. The computers have decided to make it pretty difficult for human beings until the time arrives when they take over and all the passwords don't really matter anymore.
It can be a real hassle changing passwords. Whenever I create a new password, I get automatic prompts telling me how to mix things up for better security.
It tells me that I can't just pick my favorite color or the name of my childhood pet; I need a combination of letters and numbers, some case-sensitive, some not. The password has to be a certain length as well, no short nicknames or abbreviations anymore.Â
I'm regularly told I should not use passwords that I have used in the past, which is a real bummer for guys like me who uses at least eight variations of the same word as a password across several accounts.
My main go-to password includes the name of the street in Philadelphia where I grew up. I know, that's risky to divulge but I'm willing to bet none of you hackers can come up with it. (At least, I hope so.)
Some sites even rate the difficulty of your password while you're creating it. There's nothing more disheartening to receive a cyber-message telling you that the degree of difficulty for your proposed password is pretty "weak".
As if I don't have enough problems with self-confidence when it comes to this stuff!
I submit it's fairly impossible to keep up with all of your passwords in a fail proof manner and even harder to figure out where to store them for future reference. Of course, the most logical place for passwords to your various computer networks and websites is a file on your computer. But guess what?
Sometimes you have to log back onto your computer after a required re-boot or re-start and one of the first things you have to do when the electronic brain fires up is…well, you know.
You have to type in your password. You know, the one you forgot.
I've got a dead tree file of my passwords kept hidden in a safe place at home. So safe, in fact, I couldn't remember where I put it the last time I wanted to use it for reference. As a result, I've been locked out of one particular site for weeks now, even after sending request after request for help resetting password.
The administrator seems more than willing to help me with my dilemma. Of course, he/she needs my password first.
I think I'll just let this one disintegrate into the ether and go to the place where unused passwords go to die.Â
Talkbacks
littletinyfish | Feb. 7, 2013 at 10:21 a.m. (report)
Eugene, you need something like 1Password: https://agilebits.com/onepassword It's a program that remembers your passwords for you and works across all your devices. It's also incredibly secure. Generate complex, unmemorable passwords and never worry about forgetting them.
Rate this: |
1 comment about this article. Post your comment/review now |
Facebook comments
Disclaimer: Please note that Facebook comments are posted through Facebook and cannot be approved, edited or declined by OnMilwaukee.com. The opinions expressed in Facebook comments do not necessarily reflect those of OnMilwaukee.com or its staff.
Recent Articles & Blogs by Eugene Kane
First Lady to attend slain girl's funeral
Published Feb. 8, 2013
First Lady Michelle Obama's scheduled appearance Saturday at the funeral of a Chicago girl gunned down just miles away from where the President and first lady have a home in their adopted city is an appropriate gesture.
No more Saturday mail?
Published Feb. 7, 2013
I imagine there are lots of people who aren't that bothered by the idea of no more Saturday mail delivery. I mean, who needs another bill, right? But that doesn't mean the elimination of Saturday mail delivery won't make an impact on millions of Americans who have always taken it for granted.
Black history month on TV
Published Feb. 6, 2013
If you want to plan your Black History Month schedule around available television programming, you have lots of choices. As the saying goes, check your local TV listings.
Beyonce is a one-name wonder
Published Feb. 5, 2013
Everybody loves Beyoncé, right? Well, they do and they don't. With the Super Bowl hype reaching a climax, the entertainer known as Beyoncé dominated headlines.
Happy birthday Rosa Parks
Published Feb. 4, 2013
Today would have been Rosa Parks' 100th birthday. More than any other civil rights leader - with the exception of Martin Luther King Jr. - Parks is revered by many because of her essential contribution to the cause of equality for all.
Black history still matters to some
Published Feb. 4, 2013
The fact is that some Americans don't really see Black History Month as all that big a deal at all; other than some re-broadcast of "Roots" or a week-long roster of "black movies" from Hollywood, there doesn't seem to be much urgency to keep the month in the forefront.