Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#1

Post by rscott » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 3:53 PM UTC

I have a confession: I use the same password for pretty much everything, even though I know it's a bad idea and unsafe and all that. The problem is remembering my password at the dozen plus email and web services I use.

Is there a good solution that exists for remembering passwords? I know it's built into Firefox, which is nice, but I need something that can travel with me to use on my iPhone and other computers I might need to use. Ideally, it would magically sync up and password retrieval would be amazingly simple and secure.

So I ask you, HN, how do you create and manage your own passwords?

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#2

Post by yan » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:04 PM UTC

Here is a post from an earlier comment on how I manage my passwords: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=384658

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#3

Post by jmah » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:19 PM UTC

I use 1Password (for OS X and iPhone), which lets me generate random passwords for different sites. It can't auto-fill on the iPhone, so you have to go into the app and write it down somewhere (or remember it) temporarily. It's got syncing and stuff too. http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#4

Post by maneesh » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:22 PM UTC

I use SuperGenPass, which hashes the domain of a website with a Master password, so you only need to remember one password. Then, every time you log in, you just enter in your master password, it automatically hashes it, and you get a new password for logging in like af49AgsdU8

EDIT: here's the link http://www.supergenpass.com/

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#5

Post by mixmax » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:28 PM UTC

I take a layered approach.

One password for all the stuff that isn't really important like sites I visit a few times and then leave.

One password for sites I trust and use on a regular basis, but where a compromised password isn't the end of the world. HN is in this category.

Seperate and strong passwords for stuff that matters, like netbanking, gmail, etc. To remember these I have a system set up so that the passwords are similar in a non-trivial way, like [first words of sentence][number I remember]. One password derived from this could be tqbfjotld!1249057, easily derived from "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog!", and 1249057 which is the serial number for the motor in my boat. This way I only have to remember a phrase and a number I already know for entering secure sites.

Using this system I don't have to rely on potential unsafe software, or writing down passwords that may be compromised.

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#6

Post by markessien » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:43 PM UTC

The system I use is this - I use a fixed combination of letters that never change (4 letters), and then I follow it up with an 8 digit series of numbers, ending up with 12 digit password.

I have a contact on my phone where all the passwords are stored as phone numbers (just the number, not the letters). If I ever forget the password, I just look it up on my phone. If my phone is ever stolen, the thief will never figure out that a particular contact happens to be having my password as their phone number, and even if he does, he does not know the fixed letter combination I tack on.

And I change this passwords every few months, and when I first change it, I use my phone to remember it. Furthermore, I split the passwords into 3 categories - important, not so important and the password I share with family.

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#7

Post by wallflower » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:47 PM UTC

The first or second letters of the words of motivational quotes with a few letter substitutions (e.g. 0 for 'o', 3 for 'e') and some random symbols work well for me as easy to recall and strong passwords. Plus when you type it in, you have to think about the quote and whether you are applying it.

w3tm0mccab1ca$@

hvh1faa0n3tac)&

"What ever the mind of man can concieve and believe, it can achieve" -Napoleon Hill

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#8

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:47 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#9

Post by DaveChild » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:52 PM UTC

I use this: http://www.angel.net/~nic/passwdlet.html

Re: Ask HN: How to you create and manage passwords?

#10

Post by dguido » Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 4:53 PM UTC

http://www.bugmenot.com FTW

If you can't remember all the passwords to the accounts you have, one solution it to create less accounts.