Passwords coming out of my ears

[Ed Skinner]

     I have accounts, logins and passwords at fifty (50) [exactly!] syste=
ms=20
that are either a) here in the office or b) "out there" on the Internet=20
somewhere. These include hotmail.com, the company that has the mortgage o=
n my=20
house, amazon.com, jazz-sax.com, sourceforge.net, paypay.com, and so fort=
h.
     If I were a good doobie, I'd have a different password for each one =
of=20
these, something not based on a dictionary word, something with letters a=
nd=20
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!] clea=
r=20
text file you can search when needed?
3) Keep the above data encrypted but, still in a file (and under the=20
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=
=20
websites, a "bad" one for unsecure sites that send you the password in=20
cleartext Email every now and then, and a "throwaway" in case all else fa=
ils?
6) ... What?

     I'm mostly in category #3 at the moment but uncomfortable having all=
 my=20
goodies protected by a single master key (on a system that is, theoretica=
lly,=20
"safe" behind my firewall -- Oh God, now I've thrown down the gauntlet to=
 the=20
crackers in Phoenix!)
     How do you deal with all these accounts, names and passwords?

--=20
Ed Skinner, ed@flat5.net, http://www.flat5.net/