Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Password Dilemma - 5hH#4k9du72klom780cvv2378dr90556djkjgl6d4s3f


This sign hangs above my desk where I do all my work.  How do you simplify passwords?



19 and counting...And I know that I have way fewer passwords than a lot of people!  I used to have just one password for everything.  "Everything" for me, consisted of one email account, and Facebook, and two or three sheet music websites.  That was before I married Etsy.  Now I have every networking and social media tool I can handle, and some I can't!
I thought it would be wise to change my password - the same old one (I miss you!) I had used for years and years.  I thought it would be prudent to make different passwords for each account.  And of course I knew it would be safer to make the passwords longer and "stronger" according to those little meters.  So I spent a day doing just that. 
I made the longest, strongest passwords you could imagine.  Some of them are 14 characters long!  There is not going to be any hacking on MY accounts!  haha...  And I have my trusty little...er...big list in the back of my book.
Trouble is, I am constantly having to consult my list now because they are too long and too complicated for me to handle!  My browser, Firefox, will remember them for me, but that doesn't help if you find yourself on someone else's computer, or all those first times when you have to sign in before Firefox will remember for you!  Not to mention those times when updates or cache cleanings wipe them all out again.  I am in Password Hell!!!
The question is...should I make one for each account that is easily memorable for me, even though they may not be as secure?  Or should I use just one password for all of them and make that one long and strong and change it out on everything every month or two? 
I would love to hear what you all do with the password dilemma.  I'm open for suggestions!!!

3 comments:

  1. LOL I am stubbornly hanging on to my old favorite password. Whenever I go to a site that demands something with number(s), capital letters, etc. I simply soup up the old password.
    Which is also confusing! Because whenever I log-in somewhere, I have to remember: Does this site call for Xxxxxx12 or xxxxxxx1 or xXxXxXx

    I like your idea of creating a master list! I've been meaning to do just that. lol

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  2. Ah yes--the Master List--That's what I should call it because it has MASTERED ME!!! LOL I've changed around my original password so many times, I always have to type all the variations before I get the right one!!

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  3. I made a list and can't remember where I put it! ~8-)

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