Passwords coming out of my ears

I usually stick em in an encrypted file on my Visor, which I carry with
me at all times.

-----Original Message-----
From: plug-discuss-admin@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
[mailto:plug-discuss-admin@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us] On Behalf Of Ed
Skinner
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 5:57 PM
To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
Subject: Passwords coming out of my ears

     I have accounts, logins and passwords at fifty (50) [exactly!]
systems 
that are either a) here in the office or b) "out there" on the Internet 
somewhere. These include hotmail.com, the company that has the mortgage
on my 
house, amazon.com, jazz-sax.com, sourceforge.net, paypay.com, and so
forth.
     If I were a good doobie, I'd have a different password for each one
of 
these, something not based on a dictionary word, something with letters
and 
numbers, ... you know the drill.
     But fifty passwords? Fifty login names? Fifty system web addresses?
     Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!

     So, what do you do to keep track of all this? Do you:
1) Have the memory of an elephant?
2) Keep the account names, system names and passwords in a [horror!]
clear 
text file you can search when needed?
3) Keep the above data encrypted but, still in a file (and under the 
protection of a single "master" password)?
4) Keep everything on PostIt notes stuck here and there?
5) Use only two or three passwords over and over, a "good" one for
secure 
websites, a "bad" one for unsecure sites that send you the password in 
cleartext Email every now and then, and a "throwaway" in case all else
fails?
6) ... What?

     I'm mostly in category #3 at the moment but uncomfortable having
all my 
goodies protected by a single master key (on a system that is,
theoretically, 
"safe" behind my firewall -- Oh God, now I've thrown down the gauntlet
to the 
crackers in Phoenix!)
     How do you deal with all these accounts, names and passwords?

--
Ed Skinner, ed@flat5.net, http://www.flat5.net/

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