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Had a wild chat with my aunt about her 'unhackable' password system
She told me she writes all her passwords in a notebook she keeps under her keyboard, because 'no one would think to look there.' This was after her email got locked last month in Springfield. It made me realize how many smart people have blind spots with basic stuff. What's the most creative, but actually terrible, password 'tip' you've heard from a family member?
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avery_flores171mo ago
My uncle uses his old car's license plate number for EVERYTHING. He says it's perfect because he'll never forget it, which is true, but also means if you know that one fact about him you can get into his whole life.
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west.richard1mo ago
My dad used the same four digit PIN for 30 years. It was his old army unit number. He thought it was safe because it meant something to him. Then his email got hacked and they drained his bank account. He had used that same number for his online banking security questions.
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robins831mo ago
Wait, so your uncle basically turned his whole life into a "forgot password" reset flow based on one car? I mean, that's kind of genius in a really scary way. Hope he never gets into a fender bender and has to explain his new plates to every website he uses. Sounds like a security nightmare wrapped in a memory trick, @avery_flores17.
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kelly.hannah1mo ago
Actually think @avery_flores17's uncle is onto something with using what you know. The real problem is using the same thing everywhere, not the memory trick itself. A personal system can work if you mix it up a little.
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