Is Your Password Hacker Proof? - Comments Page 2

These days, everyone has forgotten the most ultimate of hacker-proof "tools" - a piece of paper and a pen! I create impossible-to-remember, random-character-inclusive, stupidly secure passwords, e.g. "d+5=h1Gz4&pW", for example, then, shock horror, write them down on a piece of paper... ah, you say, but what if the paper is found? Well, I'd be surprised, since it's kept inside an unremarkable old paperback book, which is itself located in a different room from the computer, in amongst hundreds of similar books in a large bookcase, so it would take a dedicated burglar to seek it out! And it's more than a little difficult to access over the Net, no matter HOW good a remote hacker might be! :D

I have lots of passwords, as most people do. One 'trick' that was recommended to me is to use 'false' answers to the standard questions. For instance, 'what is your mother's maiden name' could be answered with "Peter, Paul and Mary," or any other silly thing completely unrelated to the question.

I use a simple password for all the places that really shouldn't require a password anyway, news sites, etc. Then I use something very different for important sites like financial ones.

The keepers of important sites could prevent hacking problems by only allowing a few wrong tries before locking the account for 5 or 10 minutes. Most of the ones I use do this. Why don't they all?

i forget my password

EDITOR'S NOTE: I forgot your password, too.

Mandylion Password Manager - what happens when it's damaged, or lost or stolen? How do you recover your passwords then?

A daft idea, it seems to me.

For many sites that don't require personal info I use a simple password with combination letters; caps and small plus numbers. For sites I want more security I use something ridiculous combination letters, numbers, symbols. For financial sites I use as complicated and ridiculous 25 character password. and I change it often. If I suspect an email acct has been hacked I close/delete it and open a new acct. To keep track of all these sites and passwords I write them in a journal and save them on a thumb drive in the event that I lose the journal. And if I can't readily fin a password I use the recovery and then change to a new password. It is a pain having so many passwords but it is worth it if one site gets hacked like the one recently, linkedin. With that one I changed the password then closed the account. I then changed the email password associated with it. I use a couple of emails for online sites. I have other emails I use for personal and financial accounts. But nothing on the internet is 100% safe or foolproof. I try to keep my personal info to a minimal and I won't allow third parties to access my info just to play a game.

I've been using LastPass for over two years, and I feel more secure. The software will generate passwords of user specified length (mine are 12 characters minimum) and complexity (upper/lower case, numbers, special characters). I read recently that password length is more important than random characters, but with LastPass, this is not an issue. The best part is I only have to remember one password.

If you have to rely on Mandylion, then perhaps you ought not to be surfing the net

about Ralph Bruechert
14 Jun 2012 comment. What if a keylogger gets on his system.? is he still safe?