How to keep track of your passwords.

Just wanted to pass along this idea. Sorry if this is old news to everyone.

If you are tired of having to keep track of all your passwords. If you forget them or you know that they aren't secure because you use the same one everywhere.

I would encourage you to try a password safe. The basic idea is that you run a program on your computer that keeps track of all your passwords in a single file that is itself locked by a password. So you only need to remember one password, the one that opens the password file. All the other passwords can be supersecure, incomprehensible jumbles of letters that the program generates for you. When you need to login somewhere you just drag and drop the password from the password safe into the login screen and you're done!

The password file is securely stored on your computer and locked by its own password. You can easily back it up.

I've been using an open source program for several months now and LOVE it! I'm sure there are commercial versions as well. I'm not affiliated with any of them. I just love the simplicity of this solution.

Anyway, the one I use is KeePass http://keepass.sourceforge.net/.

If you hate your passwords, programs like this are one very good solution.

Very neat! Thank you Shack.. will check this out!

bump

I would recommend a password safe that isn't connected to the Internet. I've got a Palm Zire 21 with Keyring as my password safe.

I've got all my passwords stored in a XOR "encrypted" file.

Which is great, because if I ever forget the password to my password file, I can just crack it!

To add further humour to the situation, I'm teaching a computer security class in January. (Why, I don't know)

Random anecdote: Dan Farmer, creator of SATAN (Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks) explained once how his machines routinely get broken into. (I paraphrase, but roughly he said) "I could secure my network.. or I could drink some good wine."

Drinking wine at the same time as performing computer maintenance eases the boredom somewhat.

I'd not like a programme like this to be the sole repository of all my passwords, as I travel so much and I'd not have it in every cyber café I stepped into. Myself, I keep them in the "wallet" of my Nokia 6600.

Floppy Diskette, USB Key ...
Or a Nokia of course, lol...

What I find ironic is the more you try to secure a system, the less secure it could end up. When you make people use bizarre passwords, they write them on post-it notes on their monitors. When you restrict access they share accounts with each other. When you make people combine letters and numbers you get "123" and "11" at the end of their first name.

But back on topic, a password vault is definitely a good idea. If you use a Mac, the Keychain feature works pretty well for this purpose and comes with the OS.

I am simply blown away after reading this thread in it's entirety.

In the last two threads I've read, this has been at the bottom. Can you kindly keep it to yourself?

In the tradition of the great James H Reeve - Ithangyew.

I am simply blown away after reading this post in it's entirety.

For feck's sake, if you're going to post this on every thread, get your punctuation right.

It's "its", not "it's".

You win the forums!

I am simply blown away after reading this info in it's entirety.

Still don't use it though, do you?

dont mess with success

FUCKING LOSER!

I've used Mirek Wójtowicz' PINS Secure Password Manager for a long time. No problems with it and it is open source. Sorry, as far as I know it is Windows only.

http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/pins.html


- T -

Somebody's taking these forums a little too seriously

Or maybe someone's not taking them seriously enough. I don't know.
How seriously are we supposed to take things? And why/why not?

It sounds like you are trying to make a point and you have an axe to grind. Why expend all the energy otherwise? So that sounds pretty serious.

I store all my passwords on individual pieces of paper. Then I encrypt them by ripping them up and swallowing them.

It doesn't take that much energy to post on a forum. I'm just taking it easy today, partying with you guys.

LOL...I just wanted to say that I never used any help to keep my passwords. My head seems to be the best place for it, always with me and available.

hehe.

I'm trying to play along, such as I might be, as an experiment in communication strategy.

I used to do that till my stomach hacked my brain one day. Now I just set the little pieces on fire.

But yeah, though I generally just memorize them all this sometimes leads to "which password did I use on this site?"

I remember all the passwords, just not always which apps/sites use which.