Passwords

php_rules · #1 (**permalink**) 02-07-09, 11:55

Everyone who uses the net has to use a password. Its a fact of life. It sucks.
I usually have 3 levels of password - one that's easy to type for sites that hold little or no information about myself, one that's harder to crack, but still not that safe and one that almost impossible to brute force for online banking and the like.
I was just wondering how you treat your passwords.

bluetrance05 · #2 (**permalink**) 02-09-09, 03:42

I keep my passwords strong and long, with no intention of sharing it to anyone. Whatever type of access I use online, it is always restricted only to me.

centelo · #3 (**permalink**) 02-09-09, 13:21

I had my FIL (father in law) email this past week to explain how his hotmail account was "cracked" and then he goes on to explain that his password was something simple. I shook my head when he told me that his password was his name. People need to be more careful darn it!

clarabean · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-09, 13:48

I use the same basic password for everything but have a few different variations of it. The original part of the password is almost impossible to guess, even if you actually know me.

carl owen · #5 (**permalink**) 02-09-09, 15:22

I truly believe that a password is strictly confidential and I do not prefer sharing it with anyone. I do not think that I should have a very difficult password which is difficult for me to remember but at the same time, It shouldn't be simple so that someone could easily guess it. It should be a good one which is not easy to guess and I think I have a password of the same kind ;) These passwords are kept to secure your personal data and I don't think there is something wrong in it.

BodShane · #6 (**permalink**) 02-10-09, 16:56

Hacking is possible in all situations and it's necessary to improve our security on the server and out of which the basic is the password.

php_rules · #7 (**permalink**) 02-17-09, 07:12

You can setup password expiration on your servers, just to be safe, the only problem with it is that people will start to forget their passwords if the expiry time is too short and they have to change them a lot - I have seen a few sites with a password strength meter on them which is quite a nice effect, I might have to look into this for a few of my websites, just incase.

carl owen · #8 (**permalink**) 02-17-09, 13:57

I don't think setting up password expiry date would help as this will create confusion for the server owner. It is always better to keep proper arrangements for security of your server than to keep expiry date for your server password. You can change your password at regular intervals for the server security but this might create problems if you do not have a good memory ;)

Chiana · #9 (**permalink**) 02-18-09, 00:43

I use several different passwords, but they all contain a mix of upper and lower case letters and various numbers. The more important the site I'm logging into (ie banking or private accounts) the more difficult the password is.

BodShane · #10 (**permalink**) 02-19-09, 09:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiana

I use several different passwords, but they all contain a mix of upper and lower case letters and various numbers. The more important the site I'm logging into (ie banking or private accounts) the more difficult the password is.

Now, that's an ideal situation where you give priority to your most important websites. With servers, you can create SSH key for your login to the server.

Regards,

Shane Phillips

HappyNerd · #11 (**permalink**) 02-20-09, 09:04

I use alphanumeric strings for my passwords. I make them simple for me to remember but they are still pretty hard for anyone to crack. I love those password strength indicators because they help me know if the password is way too weak.

johnny · #12 (**permalink**) 02-20-09, 10:39

I hate passwords. I have so many that it is simply ridiculous. I have a database of my password, which I am sure is far from secure, but it is the only thing that keeps me sane.

php_rules · #13 (**permalink**) 02-20-09, 10:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnny

I hate passwords. I have so many that it is simply ridiculous. I have a database of my password, which I am sure is far from secure, but it is the only thing that keeps me sane.

I made myself a new firefox profile two days ago as the one that I was using was becoming far too slow - I found an add-on that took all my saved passwords and made an xml file from them, I then made a new profile in firefox and imported the passwords back in - there were 487 passwords!!!! I'm glad i backed them up because there would be no way that I would remember them all!

BodShane · #14 (**permalink**) 02-20-09, 11:38

But make sure you are the only one who accesses the machine.

php_rules · #15 (**permalink**) 02-20-09, 11:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane Phillips

But make sure you are the only one who accesses the machine.

I have a rack unit with a key as my main machine here - I always turn it off and lock it so no-one can get on it from this side! I'm pretty paranoid about things like that, I was looking into the thumb scanners as an extra way to secure up my system but they don't seem that much more secure, and I'd rather keep my thumbs!