How Many Passwords…

By Guy Bunker | October 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment

… Must A Man Write Down? – to paraphrase the great Bob Dylan. There is (yet again) a story of phishing against web based email in order to get passwords. This is not new – what has been picked up on this time (but has always been true) is that people use the same email for their bank as they do for their email and often everything else. So, if one is compromised, then they all are. So how many passwords do you need?

Well, you need to minimize the number – but not down to one. So, I recommend three. You can remember three relatively easily and you shouldn’t have to write them down. One for the bank – and only for the bank, this should be the strongest cryptographically (so some random numbers, letters and other characters). The next one is for things which involve money, so credit cards / on-line shopping sites / email finally one which is used for the rest – for those sites which require you to log on but only so they can track you.

One of the other dangers with email is that once there is access then the cyber-criminal can see who you do business with (including your bank). They can potentially then request a password reset – which would mean all your hard work keeping passwords safe was pointless. Having at least two email accounts can help you keep an eye on those emails which are important (bank, bills etc) and those which are just marketing.

Maintaining your digital information in the Internet Age is hard and requires a certain amount of vigilance. It also needs some common sense as well… so do remember to change your password regularly. Don’t share usernames and passwords with friends or family – and if you are somewhere which is Internet ‘unsafe’, such as a cyber-cafe, don’t log onto those sites which you would be afraid to be compromised. Finally, if anyone ever suggests you email them your username and password – for whatever reason – don’t do it. If you are worried by the contents of the email, make a phone call to clear things up.

Guy Bunker

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