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Passwords

littlekiwi

littlekiwi

I charge by the hour for anything before noon
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
10,794
How do you keep track of them all? I seem to have a knack for not remembering them then having to reset them. So far today I've had to do skype and adobe. I've probably got at least 12 places that use passwords and i can never remember them.
 
I keep them in my email. lol. Every so often I will email it to myself, so it's portable and available. As a back up, I print my email to a pdf and upload to Smugmug once every couple of months too. It's listed under a special subject name, and no one would actually understand what all the mumbo jumbo means. :giggle
 
I hate passwords. I rarely change them and I use the same one just about everywhere. I know that I shouldn't, but I do. I used to have them all in my Notes on my iPhone, but somehow they all got deleted.
 
I just put all of mine into a protected Excel spreadsheet and saved it to my desktop at home. I am the only one that knows the password ... I think I have over 30 different passwords and user ID's - that is CRAZY!
 
I use a portable app called KeePass Portable which is saved on my external hard drive (and a backup copy at work) because not only do I have to remember all my personal passwords, I have to keep track of work passwords.
 
I used to have a list but now I use Notes and my iPad has a double entry password that lists all of them which synch across my devices.

Years ago when we got married, dh balked at writing down the passwords etc for all our business/home accounts saying that they were all on his computer! 'And what if you are in an accident and the computer is destroyed too????' He finally made a list and I bug him to update it every year or so. It's still a pain when some account suddenly insists on the 8 item password with the three or more characters...one capital, one number and one character.
 
I typically use 3 different variations. For accounts that I don't care if someone broke into, i.e. ones that require a password just to create an account, I have a simple repeated small word with the numbers 1234. For others, we use a former pet name and the year the pet died. And so on.

It is hard to remember them. I let Firefox memorize most of the ones I don't care too much about. The ones for bank accounts, credit cards, etc. I save in Contacts and have them coded - or I just memorize them.

It is important that your spouse and you know each other's passwords for financial accounts. Should one of you pass, the other will need access to the accounts. Having the password could save lots of headaches. And if you are like me, getting a list of what those accounts are and where they are at is also needed. So there is a New Year's resolution for you. Create a spreadsheet listing location of account (bank name, etc.), account id, password, and what it is. And if you don't have a spouse, then do this for your children and any one else that will need access to your stuff once you are gone.
 
JillW said:
I just put all of mine into a protected Excel spreadsheet and saved it to my desktop at home. I am the only one that knows the password ... I think I have over 30 different passwords and user ID's - that is CRAZY!
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Ha! I was just reading through the new responses and re-read mine ... needing a PASSWORD to get into a spreadsheet filled with PASSWORDS ... LOL - I hope I don't forget the password to open that sheet since I didn't write it down anywhere! Ha ha!
 
JillW said:
I just put all of mine into a protected Excel spreadsheet and saved it to my desktop at home. I am the only one that knows the password ... I think I have over 30 different passwords and user ID's - that is CRAZY!
Click to expand...
i would o this but i would forget the p/word to that spreadsheet and then be really up the creek!

i stick to a few and rotate them as needed - what throws me is when they put in a new requirement - must have caps and lowercase or and numbers and more than 8 characters etc...
 
I keep a list in my bill paying book for those passwords. As far as other sites, I tend to use one of two different passwords that I always remember.
 
I used to have an excel sheet with my username and then a clue to the password. But so many have been added or had to change to have a different character or I try to keep it current. The plan is to give the answers to my clues to my son so if I were to pass away. If I tell my husband my password he immediately writes it in his notebook -- argh..
 
I have a few variations that I use on about 5 passwords. Like Bev, I have a super easy to break password that I use only at those dumb sites that require a password to use. Ugh.
The other ones we use meet the 8 characters, 1 capital, 1 lower, 1 number and 1 special character. That way, we aren't reinventing the wheel every time. And DH and I use the same variations. I have written them down, but I make it hard to understand. Like, I would write "Annie" for a password that is our anniversary. (Not a password, just an example). I have access to his email, and he has access to mine, so it would be easy to reset passwords as needed if one of us were to pass.
 
I use a service called LastPass that I think was recommended on one of the last episodes of The Digi Show. Not only does it remember my passwords, but it will generate super-cryptic ones and then save them to the "vault" for me, so I don't have to think up a strong password on my own.
 
i keep a paper with all my passwords in a page protector. it covers the front and back of the page (with all the cross outs due to changing passwords/etc over the years) - i also have a list on my phone in my notepad app for when i am out. i cannot remember most people's phone numbers - so there's no chance of me remembering all the passwords i have. if i don't have access to my list - i am lost.

when oh when will we be able to just use our finger print instead, for everything! passwords are my nemesis !!!!
 
jenn mccabe said:
when oh when will we be able to just use our finger print instead, for everything!
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I have a fingerprint reader on my computer that lets me set up websites passwords, and log onto the computer with it.
I like it about 50% of the time. It works about 50% of the time, and there is a correlation! If I washed dishes, and my fingers are shriveled, it doesn't work. If my finger is too cold, it doesn't work. If I cut my finger, even a paper cut, it doesn't work. Blah.
 
scrappyjedi said:
I use a service called LastPass that I think was recommended on one of the last episodes of The Digi Show. Not only does it remember my passwords, but it will generate super-cryptic ones and then save them to the "vault" for me, so I don't have to think up a strong password on my own.
Click to expand...
Just like @scrappyjedi I use LastPass. It syncs across my home and work computers and is available on my iPhone/iPad. Love it.
 
bestcee said:
I have a fingerprint reader on my computer that lets me set up websites passwords, and log onto the computer with it.
I like it about 50% of the time. It works about 50% of the time, and there is a correlation! If I washed dishes, and my fingers are shriveled, it doesn't work. If my finger is too cold, it doesn't work. If I cut my finger, even a paper cut, it doesn't work. Blah.
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LOL, Courtney. I think I know what you mean! The iPhone and iPad are like that. If my fingers are a little wet, I can't use the fingerprint to unlock it but another swipe on a towel to dry it again and I'm usually good. I still think I'd love to have it for all the passwords. The iPhone will let you have several prints (different fingers or even your thumb) that will work to allow fingerprint access.

Maybe I have to check out that LastPass a few of you have mentioned.
 
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