That time a friend showed me his 'unhackable' password method

I was helping my buddy Dave move some boxes into his new apartment last month. He pulled out his phone to check something and I saw him typing some crazy long password with numbers and symbols scattered everywhere. He told me he uses the first line from his favorite song for every site, but then changes a few letters based on the website name. I thought it was genius until he admitted he writes them all down on a sticky note under his keyboard. Has anyone else run into a system that seems clever but falls apart with one bad habit like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

verab285d ago

Sticky notes under keyboards are actually more secure than most people give them credit for. Most break-ins are digital, not physical, so someone would need physical access to your desk to grab that note. The real risk is forgetting to take it with you when you leave the office or losing the paper entirely.

the_dylan5d ago

Yeah @verab28 you actually made me rethink this whole thing. I always thought sticky notes on desks were just asking for trouble, like leaving your front door open. But the part about most threats being digital now, not someone sneaking into the office, that really clicked for me. Physical access is way harder to pull off than just guessing a password or phishing someone online. So yeah, I was being dramatic about it, your point about forgetting to take it home is probably the bigger risk. Still not gonna leave my bank password under my keyboard though, old habits die hard.

-1