Monday, March 19, 2012

Brain freeze: 1 too many passcodes

How many passcodes is enough?

If you're like me, you've got passcodes galore. A passcode for this, a passcode for that, a passcode for this and that. Wow! Where does it all begin and end?

The online passcode trek keeps going and going. My blog has a passcode. My e-mail has a passcode. My 2nd, 3rd and 4th e-mail addresses have passcodes. My online banking has a passcode. I'm signed in to this site and that site, each with a passcode. My website has a passcode. My social media sites have passcodes. My online shopping site has a passcode.

Sign up for an online newsletter - but first sign in; use your passcode.

Experts say each code should be different, unique and unusual, so folks who spend time trying to figure out passcodes can't.

Passcode configurations differ, too. Between 8-12 digits, including one number and a capital letter. Or, a minimum of six digits with 2 numbers.

Brain freeze!!!

What is a password? Based on the worldwide authority on passcodes - Wikipedia, a passcode is a secret word or string of characters used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access a resource. The passcode should be kept secret from those not allowed access.

A forgotten passcode is not as dangerous as a stolen code, but the frustration level is high. You are denied access to your own resource.

The painful part is this - you've got to go back through the process of reestablishing a new code: you get a temporary code and you must re-enter a new code which has to be different from the one you've forgotten, which you set up in the first place because it was easy to remember but you forgot it anyway.

I wish one passcode fits all. But that's no good. If the hackers figure out your one code, you're doomed. The passcodes I regularly use to access sites most important to my, like my banking and e-mail, I remember okay.

I write my passcodes down, too. But sometimes I forget where I put the list.

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