[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Create a Different, Secure, Easy-to-Remember Password for Every Site here

[amark]

Ok...interesting idea.

As I know nothing about password cracking, but my understanding is the longer and more random it is the better....

Well...let's say your article get's alot of Likes and Yes's....

If I were a passoword cracker..and of course I'd be mostly interested in sites where people spent money...and I noticed your article and how much people liked it...

Isn't a heck of alot of people all of the sudden using the Name of the Site as a major part of the password like doing alot of the work for the cracker tool?

I would think you'd at least have to insert a random character inside the Site Name.

[GogsDavies]

I'm presuming that the substitution of numbers for similar shaped letters i.e. 3=E is just to simplify the explanation? It's a common practice to do this and obviously the "bad guys" are aware of this.

The idea of prefixing the password with the site name is similar to what I do but rather than the name I just put the initial letter. It's always best to avoid "real" words.

So the method I use is to think of a phrase I can easily remember eg. "I have one brother and four sisters" and take the initial letters of this as my password and throw in a few numbers and symbols, thus "Ih1b&4s"; I'll then add the web sites initial so for Amazon I'd have "AIh1b&4s".

As amark says the longer the better and the more random the better. The system I use can simplify remembering a lengthy password and to a degree makes it fairly random. It also allows me to use a mix of upper & lower case, numbers and non-alphanumeric which makes it even more secure.

On a final note; one of my student's password is the whole of the top row of a keyboard followed by the second and third rows so he just runs his finger over them. Extremely lengthy but not exactly random.

[A41202813]

@GogsDavies

Not Exactly Unique Or Random, Because All Sites Beginning With The Same Character Would Have The Exact Same Password.

ACROBAT, AMAZON, APPLE ...

BING, BLOGGER, BOX ...

...

2 Characters, Or More, Would Be More Unique.

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This post has been edited by A41202813: 17 March 2012 - 01:02 PM

[xyberviri]

Just use randomly generated passwords, eventually if you type it in enough you remember it.

[DerisGilMartinez]

Good idea, I tried a similar system myself, but then there are those websites that won't allow you to have a pw longer than 6, 8, or 12 characters and that's when it gets tricky!

[montyw47]

What about pws limited to 8 chars?

[RICSYL]

Let's face it, some of us have a hard time remembering what we had for breakfast. Coming up with discrete high scoring passwords is big hassle, as are protection devices. This simple, clever idea will be put to practice. Thanks!

[goatroapr]

Roboform rules

[TheOldTopkick]

Many sites require you to remember a password. The problem is to remember the password and still keep it out of the abusers hands. As a casual visitor to most sites, I find the article most useful.

[TheOldTopkick]

goatroapr, on 22 March 2012 - 05:50 AM, said:

Roboform rules

I tried a variation of the idea on my grand-daughter's computer and when I needed to access her machine, I could not remember the exact order of the password I had used. I still have not been able to access that machine and it is still broken. It would not make any difference if Roboform was on the computer or not.

This post has been edited by TheOldTopkick: 22 March 2012 - 07:32 AM

[VeryWonkalicious]

I usually think of a short, meaningless phrase. Then I capitalize the first letter of the words, and add numbers.

[Dzebruk]

Put KeePass on a thumb drive and keep it with you.

[climbamtn]

please tell me again why microsoft removed the encryption from my fingerprint reader.all my passwords are encrypted except my actual fingerprint is not an encrypted file. doh. biometric passwords are the way to go.

[artzy65]

GogsDavies, on 17 March 2012 - 11:42 AM, said:

I'm presuming that the substitution of numbers for similar shaped letters i.e. 3=E is just to simplify the explanation? It's a common practice to do this and obviously the "bad guys" are aware of this.

The idea of prefixing the password with the site name is similar to what I do but rather than the name I just put the initial letter. It's always best to avoid "real" words.

So the method I use is to think of a phrase I can easily remember eg. "I have one brother and four sisters" and take the initial letters of this as my password and throw in a few numbers and symbols, thus "Ih1b&4s"; I'll then add the web sites initial so for Amazon I'd have "AIh1b&4s".

As amark says the longer the better and the more random the better. The system I use can simplify remembering a lengthy password and to a degree makes it fairly random. It also allows me to use a mix of upper & lower case, numbers and non-alphanumeric which makes it even more secure.

On a final note; one of my student's password is the whole of the top row of a keyboard followed by the second and third rows so he just runs his finger over them. Extremely lengthy but not exactly random.

Phrases are good, and I use them for my main passwords, but I have so many passwords I always write them down and keep them under lock and key in a filing cabinet.

[citizenkane]

Good suggestions for people without a password plan. A password manager is my solution because I have MANY logins and want the security of random passwords rather than patterns that could be figured out.

Roboform is a great program and I was a long-time Roboform user, but left it when they turned it into a subscription service. (So much for my "pay once, user for a lifetime" license.) LastPass is my current solution because my data is synced with their servers so I can access even from another computer. If you don't need browser integration, free programs like KeePass are great and even allow for portable installations (e.g. USB sticks).

No matter what solution you choose, use strong, unique passwords. You'll be kicking yourself if your bank account gets hacked because you used the same e-mail address and password as with that one as with a free online flash games web site you like to visit.

[terp66]

The major problem with password schemes is the difference rules for the different companies. One will require numbers and letters, another requires a special character, then the next requires only certain special characters. One will require a max of 8 characters, the next requires over 10. Then Google comes along and remembers so many passwords that it is difficult to come up with a new one. Then they wonder why people use Password and 12345.

[MartinOwle]

birth-date but using shift - then a nonsense word. Much harder to crack but not every site accepts !"£$%^&*( or )

[flyingmonkeyair]

Great so a hacker hacks ebay and sees your password EbayHassl3fr33! They'll never guess that your Amazon version is AmazonHassl3fr33! LOL. It's like having the same password for everything.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 30 July 2012 - 07:35 AM
Reason for edit: Edited out Profanity and possible name calling..