Keeping passwords safe

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayvt You gotta be careful with methods like this. You've got to be able to reliably remember the passwords. I well recall when I was in the hospital for 2 weeks last year....I felt so crappy that I could barely remember what month it was, let alone arcane things like remembering what corver of a sheet of paper tolook at. Also, you've got to make sure that your spouse (or whomever) can find the passwords when/if you are dead or incapacitated. Or lose your memory.

Good point. When I returned to work two months after Katrina (and all the mind-bending evacuation and cleanup and so on that followed), after going through unusually tight security and then climbing up six flights of stairs due to elevators totalled by the storm, and seeing/hugging friends I feared had drowned, I sat down at my computer at work and thought, "OMG - - what if I don't remember the password?" We get three tries and it locks, and I was pretty sure the IT people were swamped with password resetting requests, if they were even on duty. It turned out that I remembered and didn't even have to get out my sheet. But that was just luck.

On the other hand, I have been managing multiple computer passwords for well over 35 years and haven't had any serious problems that couldn't be addressed in a routine manner.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayvt . Also, you've got to make sure that your spouse (or whomever) can find the passwords when/if you are dead or incapacitated. Or lose your memory.

Good point ! That's why I keep mine in a binder in a fire proof safe . I want to make it as easy as possible for my loved ones . Once a year I write my daughter a detailed letter with everything she needs to know and where to find it . Having been in that position you are so crazy with grief that you need all the help you can get .

[Lsbcal]

I guess I don't have to remind you that participation in this thread is a security breach . I keep all my really critical passwords in a physical form off the computer. Important excel files are protected by very strong passwords.

Here is a link to creating strong passwords:Password Strength & Password Security - Microsoft Security

and here is the password checker: Password checker

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg Good point ! That's why I keep mine in a binder in a fire proof safe . I want to make it as easy as possible for my loved ones .

I don't mean to be rude, but what passwords would your loved ones need from the binder, and why? The reason I ask is that I would think that the executor would have to deal with financial institutions directly anyway, to give them the death certificate and such. Maybe I am over-simplifying!

[dixonge]

I used to really struggle over ease of use vs. strength. I finally settled on a 'theme' or system of password selection that makes each and every password I use on the internet completely different, yet I can remember them all without writing them down.

Example: if the domain name is 'goofy.com' I would use a set of numbers (like a pin number, 4-6 digits) and a combination of letters from the domain name. So if my pattern was to use the last two consonants and last two vowels, in reverse order, the password would be 123456fgyo (assuming I count y as a vowel, and assuming 123456 was my pin number)

The slight risk with this system is that if someone gets one of your passwords they might be able to figure out your system. But it seems safer than using the same password on every site, and much easier than using a truly random password generator.

Gina Trapani wrote a great piece on Lifehacker.com about this, and the comments below the article are good reading as well.

Geek to Live: Choose (and remember) great passwords

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire I don't mean to be rude, but what passwords would your loved ones need from the binder, and why? The reason I ask is that I would think that the executor would have to deal with financial institutions directly anyway, to give them the death certificate and such. Maybe I am over-simplifying!

My loved ones will need the password to my money market to pay for funeral expenses . Plus if I am incapacitated they will need my bank account password to pay my bills . Maybe because I've been thru this scenario I realize all the little things that will make life easier for the loved one handling affairs during critical times.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg My loved ones will need the password to my money market to pay for funeral expenses . Plus if I am incapacitated they will need my bank account password to pay my bills . Maybe because I've been thru this scenario I realize all the little things that will make life easier for the loved one handling affairs during critical times.

Hmm.. Thanks. That is certainly something to think about.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg My loved ones will need the password to my money market to pay for funeral expenses . Plus if I am incapacitated they will need my bank account password to pay my bills . Maybe because I've been thru this scenario I realize all the little things that will make life easier for the loved one handling affairs during critical times.

If the owner of the bank account is dead then even if a person has the account details and password and begins withdrawing money then surely this is illegal - fraud - identifying yourself as someone else. Just like writing a check and forging the signature.

I annually send my son and daughter a list of our account numbers and institutions so that they know where to send copies of wills etc.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan If the owner of the bank account is dead then even if a person has the account details and password and begins withdrawing money then surely this is illegal - fraud - identifying yourself as someone else. Just like writing a check and forging the signature. I annually send my son and daughter a list of our account numbers and institutions so that they know where to send copies of wills etc.

That's why I have my daughter's name on my money market . I don't want her to be worrying about paying bills when she is grieving .

[Spanky]

I store the passwords on a couple of USB encrypted flash drives.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg That's why I have my daughter's name on my money market . I don't want her to be worrying about paying bills when she is grieving .

Good forward planning, very good.

[Andy R]

I use RoboForm on PC and 1Password on Mac. RoboForm is better. For some sites I use a generic easy to remember password and on other banking, brokerage, etc I use 8 digit alpha number (including special characters) for security reasons. That way I can easily remember my passwords on less important sites but when it comes to the ones that need the extras security they have it. I really love RoboForm, it can streamline your who internet experience since you can just type in the begining of the passcard file name like "Earl" and it will present Early-Retirment.org, you hit enter and it pulls up the sites and logs you in. It's like having bookmarks that also log you in. It's very safe, the way it's built and keep the password files encrypted.

[boots]

Break it if you can

[myself]

Anybody ever use OpenID?

[JustCurious]

Is it true that if someone knows your username, and they tried to guess your password and log on to a financial site (like Vanguard, or a bank), then access to your account will be frozen after a certain number of attempts? If that is true, what is the typical number of attempts? And if that happens, how is the account thawed?

[JustCurious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan I annually send my son and daughter a list of our account numbers and institutions so that they know where to send copies of wills etc.

Alan, your children will not have to send copies of your will to anyone. If you have designated your son and daughter as beneficiaries of your accounts, then they will receive the proceeds of those accounts upon your death, regardless of what your will says, and regardless of whether they even have your will. All they will need is a copy of your death certificate to prove you are dead, and then the money get transferred according to your beneficiary designations.

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

what passwords would your loved ones need from the binder, and why?

They need the password for this forum, so that they can log on and tell you that I croaked.

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

Quote: Break it if you can Attached Files Passwords.txt.zip (734 Bytes, 3 views)

Well, it took me 10 minutes to get the decrypter, and it ran for 2.4 hours. Here are the results:

Vanguard Boots10 swami1013
GirlsGonewild.com JustBoots whoppee27
NaughtyNurses.com MeDoctor fever87

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustCurious Is it true that if someone knows your username, and they tried to guess your password and log on to a financial site (like Vanguard, or a bank), then access to your account will be frozen after a certain number of attempts? If that is true, what is the typical number of attempts? And if that happens, how is the account thawed?

You get 3 attempts generally. Then you may have to answer some questions only the user should know. Failing this you will have to call them and go through a security check.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl They need the password for this forum, so that they can log on and tell you that I croaked.

Awww, I didn't know you and the forum cared if I croaked or not!

On a fitness forum that I belong to, several of us have posted daily for almost 10 years and have become pretty close (though I have never met any of them IRL). One woman posted about some serious intestinal cancer that she was battling, and then completely disappeared for the past three years. I assumed that she must have croaked, and was ecstatic when she showed up this month! It turned out that she had simply lost interest in her fitness endeavors.