Great passwords

KODY 105 · Post by **KODY 105** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:38 pm

Lifehacker.com ran an article about password security. I suggest you all visit there and learn how to make stronger passwords! I have not made any new accounts since finding this article, but I expect to overhaul my account passwords in the near future.

Post here about what you like about a system like this. Is it too predictable? Can a person who knows you very well figure out your password MO?

Post by **Catspaw** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:51 pm

Thanks for sharing the link, KODY.

That looks like a good article. I can see how it could become predictable if somebody a) knew you really well and b) knew you were using a system like this, but hopefully those people wouldn't be trying to hack into your stuff! Unless a password is totally random, there's always a chance that somebody close to you could figure it out, but totally random ones can be very hard to keep track of, so a system like they suggest sounds like a better alternative than making all your passwords either your name or your birthday.

Samwise · Post by **Samwise** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:29 pm

I actually like to use l33t sp34k for my passwords. They contain numbers but they still act as phrases, thus easier to memorize. I usually try to alternate between numbers and alphabets.

For example, I love cats can become 1 l0v3 c4t5.

darcie · Post by **darcie** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 2:33 pm

I started doing something similar. I had a favorite password, and I changed some letters to numbers and capitalized others. It seems really random, but it has enough significance to me that I'll remember it.

Arwen · Post by **Arwen** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:50 am

Mine are usually full names: first, middle, last; with each name capitalized and no spaces in between. But they aren't names of the people closest to me, and there are different ones for each thing, so it's unlikely anyone would figure it out. I DO have one standard password for most minor sites, but they're not very important accounts, and so I'm not too worried.

Trent DeWhite · Post by **Trent DeWhite** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:07 am

I just use "catspaw" as my password.

KODY 105 · Post by **KODY 105** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:09 am

Trent DeWhite wrote:I just use "catspaw" as my password.

Be serious, please.

LizzieG · Post by **LizzieG** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 3:47 pm

I had one standard, fairly unguessable password, then added a couple more. I have a word document now of my various usernames and passwords, as it's very easy to get one or the other mixed up.

Post by **Catspaw** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:39 pm

Trent DeWhite wrote:I just use "catspaw" as my password.

That's funny, because I use "ilovetrentdewhitesooooomuch!!!!!" as my password! $\:D/$

I have a few different passwords that I use, and this thread served as my reminder that it was time to change my e-mail password! To log in at work, one system makes you change your password fairly regularly, and especially when I don't work much because of school, I have to write it down so I don't forget it (in a little book I keep in my pocket at work, so it isn't like anybody could get it anyway), but most of my passwords aren't written down anywhere. I feel better that way.

Jennifer Doyle · Post by **Jennifer Doyle** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:22 pm

I just use random words in varying UPPER and lower case letters with some numbers thrown in. Those are inpenetrable.

Iron and Light · Post by **Iron and Light** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:22 pm

I dare say that, with multiple punctuation marks, upper and lower case letters, spaces where they shouldn't be spaces, no spaces where there should be spaces, and the like.. my password/s are completely unguessable $\:D/$ .

PJ · Post by PJ » Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:34 am

I have a bunch of different passwords. Keeping them straight isn't always easy...

Josef1004 · Post by **Josef1004** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 7:01 pm

Use one base password with different suffixes for different accounts.

BTW, I did invent that system before I read the article.

KODY 105 · Post by **KODY 105** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 7:58 pm

Josef1004 wrote:Use one base password with different suffixes for different accounts.

BTW, I did invent that system before I read the article.

So had I, but the article had a few extra ideas I hadn't thought of.

fireflygirl_01 · Post by **fireflygirl_01** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:05 pm

I use obscure references from books. $\:D/$

Josef1004 · Post by **Josef1004** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 7:14 am

fireflygirl_01 wrote:I use obscure references from books. $\:D/$

I'll make note of that.

Tehswift · Post by **Tehswift** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:27 am

One of my passwords is fairly guessable. I should probably change that one. I have a new one though that I find rather clever

JesusIsAlive · Post by **JesusIsAlive** » Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:21 pm

I've changed a few of my passwords to impenetrable passwords. The only tricky part now is remembering that I changed them.

Azariah Ben Yaakov · Post by **Azariah Ben Yaakov** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:39 pm

Perchik wrote:I actually like to use l33t sp34k for my passwords. They contain numbers but they still act as phrases, thus easier to memorize. I usually try to alternate between numbers and alphabets.

For example, I love cats can become 1 l0v3 c4t5.

Any advanced dictionary password attacker uses l33t sp34k as well, and a brute force attacker can pick it up regardless, but it would take longer

.

I started to crack my password here on The ToO at one point, until I was watching my ETA for it, and it was like 12 years.

.

I have up to 128 character passwords for serious stuff, 72 character for mediumish stuff, and just use whatever randomly comes to my mind for online things that generally combine letters, symbols, numbers, punctuation marks, and what have you.

Samwise · Post by **Samwise** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:07 pm

Wow, you're quite hack-proof when it comes to passwords Ryan! I don't have anything too "serious" so my longest password isn't even 20 characters long.

Perhaps I might make my bank account password 128 characters, but I generally refrain from über long passwords as only my password manager application can remember it. So if I'm not on MacBook, I can't log in.