Protect your passwords
If a password is going to be secure then it needs to be at least 10 characters long with uppercase and lowercase characters and some special characters. But a password which is 24 characters long is much better! But most people simply cannot remember all these complex codes for all the different websites that they use! And you really must not use the same password for all the different websites that you log in to!
One answer is to write all these codes down on a piece of paper or in a book. That is sort of OK, until someone steals the book or you simply lose it! Worse still they might copy the codes without your knowledge.
Managing your passwords
Fortunately there is a type of computer program that does provide an effective way of managing and using all these passwords and codes etc.
The one I want to refer to is completely free to download and to use. The name of this product is Keepass. It is like a bank vault where you put all your papers and treasures on the shelves in the vault and then you go out and shut and double-lock the door! No one can get in.
You only ever have to remember one password ever again! Best of all this password can be a phrase or a memorable sentence. I use a quotation from a well-known classical book as my phrase. It would be impossible for someone to guess which quotation I use!
So when I need a user id or a password, I simply log in to Keepass and double-click the password that I want and paste it into the login form, or wherever it needs to go. I don't even need to remember what the password is and I can copy and paste it without having to type it. My passwords are at least 24 characters long and some are 36 characters long.
Backing up your passwords
A word of caution though. There is no point in having a really secure and easy to use program to keep your passwords safe from people who intend to do you harm if you do not ensure that you have sufficient backup copies of the vault to protect yourself.
If all the copies of your passwords are on a computer, and the computer breaks, then you have a serious problem. You can take as many backups of the Keepass vault as you want (it is important that you do!). You can then copy these backups onto CD backups, memory sticks, store then on websites, email them to your friends, etc. Without the memorable login phrase no one will be able to access the data within the vault.
Are your backups secure?
The only way that you can lose all of your password data is if you do not have up to date copies of your password vault in safe places. Ask yourself the following two questions:
- If the computer breaks or is stolen do I still have up to date copies of the password vault?
- If the house burns down and all the contents are destroyed, do I still have up to date copies of the password vault available?
Some ideas for backing up your password vault
The more copies you have the better.
- Use memory sticks, cd's, external storage devices
- If you have webmail or gmail then simply email copies to yourself! (may not work with some Email clients).
- If you have a website then copy it online to that website.
- Email the password vault to some of your friends
- Use an online data backup service
Checkout the Keepass product at http://keepass.info
Remember that it is totally free, the above is not a sales pitch!
Email me if you want to tell me about other ways of protecting and managing password data.
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