Comments on: That’s Seriously Your PIN?!

By: Honey Mommy

Honey Mommy — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:17:59 +0000

by Honey Daddy of Honey Mommy

For all you easy password people out there, here are some simple info and ways to make then both easy to remember and hard to beat.

Good passwords are much easier than you and your husband think. Longer makes then exponentially harder to crack ( number of characters^number of positions, number of letters is usually 70+) and the more letters/symbols/numbers you use the more complex it gets for someone else.

For easy reference make your password a short sentence (passWORD is deceiving, think pass-PHRASE).

1. Pick something simple that you (don’t) like or have/want (ie. ‘I like cats & dogs.’ ‘ I drive a BUS!’, ‘This bank site SUCKS!’ ) . You’ll always remember what you typed this way

2.USE PROPER PUNCTUATION and spacing, no one says you can’t (most of the time).(All those fancy substitutions just make it hard to type, don’t do a lot of security or your memory) Remember length does more than complexity, simple substitutions are okay just to add a little more complexity, but still make it memorable (something like: ‘I have 5 kids.’ is great)

3. Length limits are usually 256-512 characters (way more than I ever want to type in blind, multiple times a day, but more than most think is acceptable). 8-12 Characters (including spaces and punctuation) is plenty. The requirements are usually for a MINIMUM of 6-7 not MAXIMUM.

Coming up with new pass-words(er… -PHRASES) is easy, just don’t get stuck thinking like a minimalistic computer geek or overly complex nerd.

BONUS: You can actually tell someone else your passwords and due to our Great English language ambiguity they will have a really hard time coming up with what exactly you typed, But you’ll never forget (or at least be able to have some one jog your memory) what your password is.

By: CoconutKate

CoconutKate — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:12:04 +0000

I do the same thing…make words using symbols, numbers, and letters. I got most of it just reading but got stuck on the dance part. Nice to know I’m not the only one out there! :0)

By: Janssen

Janssen — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:33:08 +0000

What an awesome awesome story. I’ve been giggling to myself all afternoon (and practicing wiggling my fingers while punching in my pin).

By: The Wiz

The Wiz — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:18:58 +0000

His pin IS totally 7777 (or whatever it is he typed). He just told you that wiggling around thing to make himself look good. I’m guessing.

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:41:36 +0000

LOL! At least it wasn’t 6666! Then I’d be uber worried!

By: Lacey

Lacey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:11:45 +0000

My husband is the exact same way, except we use password safes to remember all the crazy passwords because they are totally random and generated by the safe.

By: nantiemeg

nantiemeg — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:45:38 +0000

I love Dan. I’m so glad you married him and he gets to be my brother.

By: Donna

Donna — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:37:54 +0000

I would seriously like to know how he wiggles his fingers around to mask what he is typing. That is a serious skill that I would like to develop

By: Keyona

Keyona — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:57:45 +0000

That’s so weird that it’s hilarious! Very very funny!

By: Shalee

Shalee — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:27:07 +0000

Oh man… don’t let Dan near me when I’m using my PIN. He would rake me over the coals.

However, I do have a great password that I use. And since it’s so odd, I can use it for several different accounts I love it when I am starting a new web account and they rate my password as “Awesome and Tight, baby!” Okay, it really says, “Excellent password security”, but I like my interpretation so much better.