I have always been proud of the strength of my passwords. In high school I was assigned a random password that I was able to memorize and utilize. A few minor variations, I had an iron-clad security measure. Since then, I have been able to create similar passwords, each a stroke of genius. They hit all the major components:
-Capital and lower case letters
-non-dictionary words
-Numbers
-special characters
-easy to remember
None of my passwords even come close to the popular “lists of common passwords”. But then I saw this xkcd comic.
http://xkcd.com/792
Yes my passwords were immaculate, but the same password connected my email to my twitter, my school account to my pandora account, my internship-supplied work computer to my bank account! If any one of those password databases or accounts were hacked, my digital life could be unraveled!
But I’m not one to freak out. I have blind faith in the systems I use. I don’t use one of those god-awful “master password” add-ons. I change my passwords often enough, and use several at a time. Only my most basic password is known to a few of my personal friends.
unlike some people I know
As long as you are smart and a little creative, you’ll be fine too.
-Andrew Mederos
Part 2 will come soon…maybe…
