So, how many of you actually write down passwords and usernames for all the millions of sites and services that require them in your life?
Now, don’t fib.
Am I the only one who needs a hint as to this username or that password everytime I’m prompted to put one in?
I don’t balance a check book in a traditional fashion so why would one expect that I might keep track of passwords, etc. like normal people?
All I need is a teeny clue, like…
Username____ (could be your email address dumbass)
Password____(nine characters with at least one letter, slacker)
I don’t know. If I don’t write any of it down, then no one can steal it by conventional means (ie. sneaking into my home through a window and rifling through my neatly stored documents to find the secret codes that unlock the innards of my life).
I don’t even write down most phone numbers. I memorize them by the patterns they make on the keypad.
Oh well, this way if I kick the bucket any time soon, my living relatives can remember me as they pull their hair strand, by strand from their heads as they try to piece together the bits of my life.
That could be fun, no?
So, how do you handle things like this? Are you a thorough list-maker extraordinaire or lazy memorizer who spends more time trying to unlock her own codes that it would take to write them down in the first place?
I have to. I have around 20 IDs/passwords I use, some daily, some monthly. Sadly I’m not smart enough to memorize all of them, so I carry a little USB drive on my keyring with all that data. Eight characters, at least one digit, one non-alphanumeric, and the letters must be mixed case?!?
There’s a #10 envelope in my dresser labelled “information for my family” that spells it all out for when I decide to take up residence in a tree or padded cell.
I do have an old piece of paper with various passwords on it, but most of the sites are now obsolete. I now use two or three passwords, and ask Firefox to remember them for me. I’m sure that’s a bad thing.
Ray, you are one organized guy!!! I appreciate your concern for your relatives left behind, but I do not share your go-getterness that allows you to actually put all that info in two different places with labels, etc…very impressive.
Alison, firefox can DO THAT???? You are also well advanced compared to me…vg, sister.
I work in IT, but I’ll be honest that I keep similar passwords for the different services I use. I just can’t remember that much. I do use passwords that are easy for me to remember. I usually jam two different words together and throw in some number. This makes for a long password, which the security people seem to like.
I have to too. I have a card box where they are all stored. All alphabetical and stuff. My husband wouldn’t know how to log on to pay the bills if I didn’t leave that info somewhere.
I don’t want my computer to remember them for me either. Justin and I don’t use different logins on the comp. Many sites we both use so remembering it is a big pain for one or the other of us.
I have more trouble with passwords! I keep writing them down in the backs of different books, backwards, with cryptic comments to myself about which ones they are. Then I can never remember which books they’re in…
Sorry to post here, but I tried to send this to you via “contact me” but the loader just idles. You can search for “Asirra” (this site rejects the link) for a cute Captcha alternative.