Windows 10: Beware of these "Easy Password" apps

I've used the same basic technique for many years. When I worked at The Travelers we had lots of various ways to protect files and they worked.

 

Well, the reason people store passwords online or in a master key tool is that they dont want to remember like 10 passwords but only one.
That's where my logic is aimed at. To have 10 different strong passwords that are not as hard to remember as those 10 for example: anHBC+gnvh-o
UWtAaXn@li7J
plKGHmdeud(O
o8GE0+AfodIB
wjÄBSSq9Op/k
sY)u2;uhJf6S
VXhlcodä91>6
zU*wEVW;:nYX
qOYvM]Nmp2)n
Oc/pml0/opK5


Your additional security hint of putting a special char at the beginning of a pw can of course be implemented in any password. Be it a master pw or w/e else...

 

Jimbo, had you seen this when you created this thread?

https://blog.lastpass.com/2015/06/la...y-notice.html/

 

Hi there

When people say "Taking additional methods" - that means the ORIGINAL ones were simply not good enough.

It's like any Govt announcement saying "No reason to Panic".... or "There's plenty for everyone so no need to go out buying more..." etc.

Nobody believes those sorts of announcements in a million years -- even Gorilla's in a zoo would be suspicious.

If a Server also goes down which DOES happen (anybody who has ever used any sort of ONLINE banking - even if it's only to get cash out of an ATM) will surely have experienced an outage --even the mighty GOOGLE has had an outage or two --also quite recently -- then any application requiring access to the server will fail.

I still think the Black (or Green or colour of your choice) notebook is still the most secure.

Cheers
jimbo

 

Technically, the most secure is your head only.
Of course. If you dont trust your own memorization capabilities...then you have a problem *chuckle or if you are not able to estimate them...

 

The best way is to change them monthly.. keep in your head or paper.. but change them is the only way to be safe.

 

I was referring to the storing location because it was said earlier in the thread that keeping them on a seperate laptop in a secure location would be the safest, which is not true.

Keeping them only in your head doesnt exclude/prevent the ability to change your password(s) monthly/daily/hourly etc...

 

I think I refereed to storing them in you head.. didn't I?? And I didn't say anything about storing passwords on a separate computer... I use paper. Old school. *Wink

 

jimbo said like 5 posts ago that the safest way is to store passwords on a laptop, and close this laptop away.

i directly quoted him and said that storing passwords in your head only is safer.

then you quoted me and stated something about password expiration times, which doesnt have anything to do with what jimbo and me were debating about (-> password storage locations).

my statement that storing passwords in your head only is 100% correct standing alone as it is.
i didnt mention anything of not letting passwords expire or letting them expire. this is another aspect of password security.
so i was just surprised that your post came along like you wanted to correct me. which you cant, because i wasnt making any statements about password change times at all.

 

No.. I had no intent in contacting you or discussing this with you. I just made a point that frequent password changes is best and for me I like to keep them on paper. But.. YMMV.

Jeff

 

Quoting me in first place then doesn't exactly underline the intention of not wanting to react on my statement.
I was of the opinion that a discussion board actually is the place where replies (especially those with a quote from another user) to topics automatically become part of a discussion. Else you could just talk to yourself, right? But well everyone crafts his own world.

 

I'm not sure I said anything about LAPTOPS -- this is what I actually POSTED. :

I'm of the old school-- a black notebook hidden away in a reasonably inaccessible place seems the best (and "Lowest tech") solution of all.

By NOTEBOOK I meant an old fashioned PAPER notebook -- I see these days words have a habit of changing their meaning or being mis-interpreted -- I suppose a Notebook can mean a PC these days however from the contextual sense of the Post I think it was pretty obvious what I meant. !!!!!!

Cheers
jimbo

 

Haha, yeah well that's a funny ambiguity indeed! Well I really thought you mean laptop by notebook.

Doesn't matter anyways because my statement is still true. Not having any additional media (old school or new school) with your password(s) is the safest thing. Learn to remember them in your head and you have the safest solution because by using an additional storage (sheet of paper, "notebook", laptop, smartphone, etc) you put in one weak link into the chain.

The chain consists best of your brain and the system you enter the password to access it.

To be accurate though. A laptop, as in portable personal computer, with all passwords stored on it in an encrypted vault and then locked away in the "reasonably inaccessible place" you speak of is still safer than a "notebook", as in diary, or sheet of paper with the passwords written on it kept in the same place.

 

On both sides of my family we have Alzheimer's, even if I forgot where the written passwords were, I would eventually find them, not if they get lost in my brain.(Devils Advocate)

 

I think with advancing years (luckily I'm hoping I'm many years away from that point), and certain illnesses, people's memory capability can get worse, so there does need to be a better way for passwords than just trying to remember them.