Comments on: “HmNiImYkMfPtDie”

By: mirror_father_mirror

mirror_father_mirror — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:33:26 +0000

@Lorelei@twitter My university account, which uses the same password for email and all other transactions, including financial, requires a password of EXACTLY seven characters. Which is so idiotic that I don’t even have words for how idiotic it is.

By: Lorelei@twitter

Lorelei@twitter — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:17:01 +0000

step one: get a password manager like KeePass or LastPass so you don’t have to reuse passwords or memorize a million of them

step two: generate passphrases with this delightfully nerdy tool

step three: fill with rage every time an important financial institution imposes arbitrary character limits (you have ACH access to my checking account and MY PASSWORD CAN’T BE MORE THAN 16 CHARACTERS? FFFFF UUUUUUUUUUU student loan servicers and utility companies!), disallows spaces or requires you to have at least one capital letter and number.

step four: you’re still at the mercy of the internal security of all the companies you have accounts with, but at least now you can amuse yourself making up littles stories about the passphrases you use the most.

By: cee

cee — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:33:36 +0000

please make up more passwords! it isn’t safe.

i have an eight-symbol code that was a ssh account password when I was 18 or something, and it’s so much “my password” that I tend to append it to new passwords to make them longer and more complicated, so i recognise password attachment. but a unique password for each website (chosen thematically so you can remember which is which) really is a lot safer than one password for all the important things, even if it is complicated and cryptographical.

By: David A. Arnott@twitter

David A. Arnott@twitter — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:34:23 +0000

You should probably have a different password for every relevant/important site/service you use. I, too, have a throwaway pw, but for the important things (Twitter! Facebook! Bank! Gmail!), I have a standard password that’s really long, but memorable for only me, and for each one of the different sites, a unique “key” in the middle. So, to use the classic XKCD example http://xkcd.com/936/ if my standard password is “CorrectHorseBatteryStaple”, the Twitter password might be “CorrectHorseRetweetBatteryStaple” and Facebook might be “CorrectHorseLikeBatteryStaple”, and so on.

By: aetataureate

aetataureate — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:16:21 +0000

Password discussion always walks a fine line between prudent and totally bananaphone. But, tween Mike Dang choosing a cryptology-strong password for America Online is about the cutest thing in the world.