Organize Your Passwords

If you use the computer for bill paying, blogging, work networks, email, or really most anything, you’ve likely got some password and user names saved up. Or if you’re online often, you may have hundreds (hangs head). How the flip can you store them safely?

First of all it depends on the account. If we’re talking low-risk (no one wants to hack your MySpace or online local newspaper subscription) feel free to do one of the following:

• Keep a Rolodex of user names and passwords.
• Make a handy chart (use table maker in Word for example) and keep your passwords there. Note – when I do this I add lines in between when adding a new account, so that my table is organized alphabetically.
• Write them in a small notebook that you keep near your desk.

For accounts that you need security for but that won’t ruin your life if people find them (i.e. online shops, or a personal blog) using one of the above methods is still ok, but if you can memorize them, it’d be better.

For accounts that really need protection, like bank accounts or business networks for your company, do not write your passwords anywhere. These you’re going to have to memorize. If you have to jot them down, don’t use your computer or a Rolodex. Use paper and then put your list somewhere tricky.

But I can’t remember stuff!

You can if you have a password method. For mid-security accounts, a good method is to use one bizarre root password that no one would think of and add numbers to each to make them different.

Example: I wouldn’t make my root password anything like “Jennifer, Cedar, or Green,” because these are words people might associate with me. You can flip open a dictionary to a random page and choose a root word if you can’t think of one.

If my root word was elephant, I’d add numbers to the end, like elephant548, elephant20, and so on.

Remembering totally secure passwords:Each password you have for a secure account, such as your bank, needs to be different. You shouldn’t use a root word. To remember these passwords, my best suggestion is to choose a life event, one you remember. For example, if you took a killer trip to Colorado, you can create passwords that you associate with that trip for all your secure accounts – i.e. riverraft, campfire, bluesky, and so fourth. Don’t be so obvious, but you get the idea.

You’ve tried EVERYTHING, and still can’t remember your passwords: This is sort of silly, but I know one person it works for. Grab a book off your bookshelf. Highlight a random word on a random page – one little yellow mark. Also highlight the page number. Use the word and page number as your password for an account. Silly, but most people won’t be looking in your books for highlighted passwords, so I think it’s an odd, but safe method.

How do you organize your passwords?