It's a clearly inevitable truth that we have loads of passwords. It likely started with a secret code number for our bank, but since that point, the growth of the internet has meant that every day brings a new network, and requires a new password.
Only this month I presume I've enrolled in around 12 new websites and networks. Have I chosen a different password for every one? No way. It's improbable to do something like that, in part because there's not a way I would ever remember them, but also since 'like all of us' I don't have a method to monitor varied passwords.
I maybe could write them down in a book somewhere, but what if I set it aside or couldn't get to it, or -and this is far more typical- wasn't at my computer and had to get a specific account password? It's like leaving all the house keys at your desk and never heading out anywhere with them: safe, yeah, but you'll lose your mind from the lack of convenience.
So, I presume I'm just like most people: I have around three passwords that I can reasonably bring up in my mind, and when I try and go to a site and it doesn't work, I reach through and think of the other passwords I have in my mind until one is accepted. But is this reasonable?
Well, think about this: do you actually trust every single service you sign up for? And even if you actually trust them, what's to block a compromised security system from happening at their HQ? It's taken place with big companies dozens of times - so it can truly happen to a small company. Relying on the same password across all your sites signifies that if a single one of your passwords is compromised, all of them might be.
Alright, I understand too much fear. Thankfully, there are excellent tools to deal with this exact problem. Instead of buying a notepad and creating a crazy password each time you register for a website, there are wonderful programs that function as a kind of password 'safe', where one main password gives you access to the entire system.
Any of these single password organizer pieces of software will make up random passwords for your logins too, giving you the chance to sleep easy with the knowledge that even if a pass is found on some lost site you registered for and quickly forgot, no one will ever be able to use that password for anything. Eliminate all that fretting concerning online safety commence with a password organizing tool immediately.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Big News: All Those Important Password Aren't Incredibly Unhackable
by: Vanessa Holden