I've now garnered so many online accounts that I'm starting to have trouble keeping up with the passwords I use for each one, and up until now, I've mostly been ignoring the options that I know of such as extensions like LastPass, partly, because I don't trust putting my passwords on a third party, but seeing as it seems to be working for everyone and I really am starting to need one, I'm beginning to consider it and was wondering if any of our members here had any additional or alternative tips on what to use or what to do. What do you guys do to remember your passwords? Which programs/apps/extensions do you use, if any?
Many of them I just have saved automatically in my browser so I don't have to constantly put them in. In general, though, I use common themed passwords for common themes of sites. These are purely examples: Forums - password "fiftyfive55" Financial accounts - password "B@nk1nG" Email addresses - password "fluffernut30" And then, if I don't automatically get logged in somewhere, then I have a pretty good idea of what that password might be. I end up needing some slightly variations from time to time, so maybe an account requires a capital letter, then I may use "Fiftyfive55" or if it needs a symbol, then "fiftyfive55!" It usually only takes 1-2 attempts to get into most accounts for me and I have thousands of accounts across the web.
A good way to never forget a password is to use only two or three "main" passwords, then use variations on them. After a couple of months or years, tear it apart and start all over again. A good place to start is to use the passwords randomly generated when you sign up for a site or have forgotten your password. They're good, strong passwords that include symbols, numbers, and letters. Start from there and change it up.
Anything important uses a set string of passwords. Everything else is just my finger dragged along the keyboard. Easy peasy.
I started writing my passwords down - pen and paper style on a cheap notepad A few years back I began using different passwords for each account I created so as you can imagine it's a nightmare to remember everything, impossible I might say. I also have a small USB stick where I store some of my passwords in txt format. The downside of doing this is that if I ever loose the notepad or USB stick everything is compromised.
For my email addresses I use variations of one password. For me net-banking account, the password is a lot more complex but having used it for a long time, I have no trouble remembering it. For forums and other places where I don't mind if someone hacks into my account or not, I use the forum URL as part of the password, add a special character or number to it, and I'm good.
I have to be honest and say I use mostly the same password for everything. I do change it up a bit of course but it's never been a problem with me so far (knock on wood). Now if I had had a lot of money to protect then obviously I would have to be more careful and make it more complicated. The way I see it is if I make a password that's unique for everything, I will just forget it. I could write it on a piece of paper but what if I lose the paper? I could write it in Notepad but what if my computer crashes or someone were to find it in my computer. I am smart about it though because I never tell anyone my password except for a select few people I know I can trust.
You're lucky that nothing has happened so far. But retail and banking systems are getting hacked on a regular basis. The Heart Bleed bug affected a lot of sites too. If you password is discovered for one site, then you can be comprised. I keep my passwords written down just in case I forget them. My passwords are based on something familiar to me plus number in front and back. That makes it easy for me to remember and pretty unique at the same time.
I regularly would have problems remembering my passwords and so I basically managed to find one very complex and very complicated password and I use that for pretty much all of my different accounts I do have a few variations for some of the more important accounts so I changed one or two letters and that would make it a bit harder to access some of my other accounts but in general I have about 5 to 6 passwords all the time. I also use a combination of these 5 to 6 different passwords to make them a bit harder to be able to decipher.
I generally keep my passwords the same, with slight variations. This so that I only have to try about 3 or 4 times before I get the right password. I also use the same passwords for things that are generally the same. For example, I'll use the same password for forums, but if I go on a shopping site then I have to remember the password I use for all of my shopping sites.
I know it's not the best idea, but I have two passwords for all my accounts. I have modified those passwords for some accounts, but always in such a fashion that I can easily remember them. If I have to set up a more unusual password, I save it on my notepad on the phone, yet in a secret code. I also always use the same numbers, which are the birth date of a special person in my life.
He is, considering once one site is compromised, they usually tell you to change all passwords just in case. Although writing passwords down is also quite risky, so be careful yourself.
No one can tell that they are passwords. They are embedded into file that looks like a short story. I'm the only one who can figure it out. I got bored one day and came with an very unique way go protect my passwords.
Yeah I am lucky but I don't really have anything to protect with most of my sites. There is of course my Amazon account but I did actually change that one since I did something stupidly desperate to get myself hacked. You just have to be smart with keeping your password a secret, that's all and you really shouldn't keep a lot of value in your accounts anyway or at least try not to.
I use variations of a limited number of passwords, and I simply remember them for a given site. It's not that hard for me, but I access these sites all the time and I hand key passwords so that I always remember them without having to think about them. Most people like using password savers that fill in fields automatically. I like doing the work myself so that I can't forget anything unless I haven't visited that site in a long time. I'd say I log onto 20 or so password-protected sites each day.
I used to use this program called "RoboForm" to store my passwords, but now I just remember them inside my head. I use made up words for my most important accounts, and variations of certain phrases for other less important websites.
I used to be the same way. Even with trying to use few passwords with some variations, it was still exhausting to have to type and type all the time. I use browser extension, and it has saved me a LOT of headache. I really recommend it. It's called LastPass. It can save all your passwords and you can put one bigger password on it, and this is the only one you need to remember. As long as you install the extension, you can use it on any computer. It can also generate new passwords for other sites, and save profiles that you use in applications when you sign up for things- so if you use the same information over and over, it can save you some time on that too. Give it a try, I swear, it's amazing!
LastPass has worked for me for the past year, I have no idea where I would be without it because thanks to using it I have been able to create much stronger passwords than I would normally do as I wouldn't remember them. If you are worried about free 3rd party sites then why not pay for a premium service? They are less likely to do a runner and will put your mind at ease.
I just remember them from the top of my head. I have a few that I will mix together for websites I don't use that often and there I'll just have to try. But for the websites or games I use the most I know them all instantly. It's just something I don't forget, because I'm reminded pretty often and I use them for quite some time now.
