Does anybody have a feeling they have too many online accounts?

[Mulligan]

I have a 6% cd maturing and thought I would at least get the max $5k in I Bonds that are paying a decent rate now. But then I would have to open up another account and keep track of that. I have a Netflix, Apple, Vanguard, HSA, 3 Banks from too much CD surfing, Brokerage Ira, hotels, ira's, airlines, Turbo tax, cell phone, on and on. I couldn't make myself open up another one. Anybody else feel this way or am I just a dinosaur? I have to keep a notebook with all these things in them to keep track of them.

 

[powerplay]

You can still purchase I-bonds in paper form through 2011 so that is an option if you want to purchase some and not have to create another online account.

 

[donheff]

I just checked Password Safe and see I have 150 online accounts/passwords of various sorts. Some of these are defunct but still...

 

[W2R]

Yes, I know just what you mean about too many accounts! No human being ever born could remember that many passwords, and it seems like they all have to be different from one another.

The world would so much simpler and more pleasant, if everyone was brought up to do the right thing and not steal. But I guess that is in the category of a nice fantasy, and it is getting further removed from reality every day.

 

[Mulligan]

I just checked Password Safe and see I have 150 online accounts/passwords of various sorts. Some of these are defunct but still...

150, wow! I shouldn't be complaining. I assume that is an online account that keeps them accessed for you? So I guess you don't need the paper notebook that has written on the cover "online account passwords" like I do.

 

[Texas Proud]

Try being a controllerin a small company... we have sales taxes in 8 states (and will have about 30+ next year)... 3 different insurance plans, 401(k), various banks...

PLUS all the ones that I have personally.. Amazon, Etrade, Vanguard, a couple of banks, credit cards, ING, hotels and airlines rewards...

I don't know how to check the password vault, but would not be surprised to see 150 ish...


And don't forget ER.org....

 

[donheff]

150, wow! I shouldn't be complaining. I assume that is an online account that keeps them accessed for you? So I guess you don't need the paper notebook that has written on the cover "online account passwords" like I do.

Password Safe is an open source password keeper. It keeps your passwords in an encrypted file accessed through -- what else -- a password. I keep the official copy in of the encrypted file in dropbox and can access it using PS on my phone, laptop, or PC. I suffer from ICRS syndrome (I Can't Remember Sh**).

 

[Nords]

Anybody else feel this way or am I just a dinosaur? I have to keep a notebook with all these things in them to keep track of them.

You just have too many passwords...

 

[Mulligan]

You just have too many passwords...

That 3 rd box is definitely me. Then I go search for my password notebook!

 

[calmloki]

They'll never guess 1,2,3,4,5,6. Well, they'd never expect me to use THE SAME password for everything!

 

[easysurfer]

I've given up on trying to memorize all my userid and passwords for online accounts a long time ago and also have a password manager program. In fact most of my passwords are all randomly generated.

My approach..use a password manager along with a good backup or two of your password file.

 

[fwest]

its a sign of the times..... I let my kid keep track of em for me, lol

 

[KingB]

You just have too many passwords...

Nice thought on simplifying passwords selection.

But, it is not only the passwords that you have to keep track of. There are also the user IDs. And web sites have different requirements - sometimes they need a capitalized letter, at least a number and the number of characters has to be within a certain range.

 

[easysurfer]

Nice thought on simplifying passwords selection.

But, it is not only the passwords that you have to keep track of. There are also the user IDs. And web sites have different requirements - sometimes they need a capitalized letter, at least a number and the number of characters has to be within a certain range.

That's why, back in the days of w*rking, I remember when folks would just keep their highly confidential id's and passwords written down on a sheet of paper neatly tucked in their top desk drawer (unlocked of course, as to keep on locking the drawer was too much of a pain)

 

[donheff]

That's why, back in the days of w*rking, I remember when folks would just keep their highly confidential id's and passwords written down on a sheet of paper neatly tucked in their top desk drawer (unlocked of course, as to keep on locking the drawer was too much of a pain)

Bruce Schneier, a well known IT security expert, carries his password list on paper in his wallet. He views that as quite secure since he hasn't lost his wallet in decades and could quickly change his passwords in the event that he did. The advantage is that they are readily available when needed. Putting them in the desk drawer or anywhere on a PC unencrypted would be a no-no.

 

[Texas Proud]

Nice thought on simplifying passwords selection.

But, it is not only the passwords that you have to keep track of. There are also the user IDs. And web sites have different requirements - sometimes they need a capitalized letter, at least a number and the number of characters has to be within a certain range.

The problem with that is some sites now REQUIRE a capital letter and a number... so when I put in my 3 or 4 standard passwords I now how to do a capital letter and numbers...

Also, I have been on sites that limit the password to 12 or 15 length... 4 random words looks longer than that...

 

[easysurfer]

Bruce Schneier, a well known IT security expert, carries his password list on paper in his wallet. He views that as quite secure since he hasn't lost his wallet in decades and could quickly change his passwords in the event that he did. The advantage is that they are readily available when needed. Putting them in the desk drawer or anywhere on a PC unencrypted would be a no-no.

I wondered how many passwords did he keep in his wallet. More than a handful, and he'd have to write very very small.

One time, when I used to use LOGMEIN to remotely access my home computer, I put the passwords hidden on a plastic card in my wallet. If someone found it, they'd only see oddly strings of characters. But eventually I forgot what password was what so I pretty much stopped using LOGMEIN.

 

[TeeRuh]

That's why, back in the days of w*rking, I remember when folks would just keep their highly confidential id's and passwords written down on a sheet of paper neatly tucked in their top desk drawer (unlocked of course, as to keep on locking the drawer was too much of a pain)

Actually I can remember when it was just a yellow sticky placed on my monitor.

 

[FIREd]

I have about 80 online accounts. I use a password vault program to keep track of them all.
I usually am pretty good at remembering my passwords and rarely need to peak inside the vault. Of course one has to make sure not to forget the master password for the vault itself (my master password is long, complex and difficult to remember, so I keep it on a piece of paper in my wallet. It is encrypted, of course).

 

[grasshopper]

I only use 2 PW's one for sensitive stuff, the other for who cares.

 

[W2R]

Everything I sign up for has different (and often mutually exclusive) requirements for passwords. Some can be covered by my favorite three, but many cannot.

 

[GregLee]

I only use 2 PW's one for sensitive stuff, the other for who cares.

I have a similar system but with 4 security levels, most secure being for computer systems I administer. However, unfortunately, the passwords I originally made up don't always satisfy the requirements of various sign-on systems these days, so I have to make up variations. For a time, I used an application for Firefox called "Lastpass", which keeps all your passwords on a remote system, supposedly encrypted and secure. It worked fine. But I got nervous about someone else having all that information about my online life, so I gave that up.

 

[Nords]

One of the first things we USNA plebes had to memorize was our student ID number. My passwords are all variations on that number.

 

[Ronnieboy]

Another pain are the sites that won't let you reuse the same password you have used in the last 5 or so times.

I had read somewhere about a good technique: have one password that meets the most requirements and then just add the letter of the site you are visiting, so every site has a unique password but easy to remember.

Base password: ronnieboy14
Password for Amazon: Ronnieboy14a (if cap letter is needed)
ER.org: ronnieboy14e
etc.

 

[donheff]

Another pain are the sites that won't let you reuse the same password you have used in the last 5 or so times.

I had read somewhere about a good technique: have one password that meets the most requirements and then just add the letter of the site you are visiting, so every site has a unique password but easy to remember.

Base password: ronnieboy14
Password for Amazon: Ronnieboy14a (if cap letter is needed)
ER.org: ronnieboy14e
etc.

That sounds like a pretty good technique. Just make sure the base password is hard to crack, maybe add a bit of l33t speak to Ronnieboy, e.g., R0nn13b0y. I do something like that using the first letters of a passphrase I can easily remember (e.g. "every good boy deserves favor," but not that one) .