87,000 different websites want a username and password...keep it simple, just use the same one over and over. None of it is really secure anyway.

I used to have this problem (being a network/security administrator, I've got a shitload of logins/passwords - and I try to keep them all seperate). I discovered a truly awesome tool to help me out:

Password Safe: Free, cryptographically secure, and very easy to use. Now I just remember one or two passwords and leave the usernames & passwords to my couple dozen devices listed in the password safe :)

I tend to use 3 logins and rotate passwords.. always the most secure sites getting the newest password and trickling down the old password as needed so I usually only have 3 to remember

I store all of my passwords in a program that syncs with my palm. SplashID

I use norton's password manager. It records all of your passwords for you as well as autofills your personal information for you. Only need one user id/password for the password manager itself, the rest are all "rememored" by the norton's password manager...

One for internet accounts, one for stuff with financial information, and a floppy disk with and encryption key on it for important stuff. Good luck figuring out which of the 300+ unlabeled disks strewn around my desk isn't really blank.

I stick with 3 grades of password.
1: Forums and online registry. I use the same one for ease of use and identity.

2: Sites and Progams I want a little security on. Usually 1 of 3 different ones or something related to the task. eg: A router support login might be Rout3r1, psw sw1tchOver

3: Secure: My work and email accounts in particular. Banking too.
as these are most important I try and stick with a memorised phrase to remember all the different ones I've had.
eg: Phrase = "Kids like to play..." and the password will finish the phrase.

Much easier to remember. #3 grades like that.

I have three email accounts I use, and the password I use for a site is the password for the email account that I used to sign up for the site. I save all the emails from when I join a site, so I know which pass to use. If the site uses a unique password I save that email. The password I use is usually a sentence where I take the first letters of each word or something similar.

Generally I have three login names and two passwords that I use interchangably. There are a couple of exceptions (such as this site), but on the whole, it doesn't take me very long to figure out which goes where.

My secret. Same password everywhere. Really old password too, from like 8th grade. Something that wouldn't make sense to other people. Just a private joke.

I try to find random numbers containing a few zeros. I use those, but substitute the letter o for the zero from time to time. It's not as complicated as it may seem and you get a lot of passwords that are easy to remember but difficult to guess.
(Typing and correcting this message I just realized how dependent I am on Spellcheck, but that is a topic for another day.)

I usually select a line from a song and create an acronym from the first letter of the words, and terminate the acronym with a bang (!) to create the often required complexity.

For example....my last password at work was an acronym of:

This is the story of a girl

translates to:

titsoag!

I have never forgotten the verse of sentence I needed to remember, and with that info....bang...insta password.

-bear

Use a few different pws and logins, depending on the complexity needed. Usually takes me a few guesses to get em open, but I usually figure it out. ;)

COL SANDURZ: One, two, three, four, five.
SKROOB: One, two, three, four, five? That's amazing. I've got the same combination on my luggage.

:D

my dad... that and its part of my old login name :D

I have to remember 5 or 6 different passwords at work so at home I try to keep them to a minimum. I have basically 4 I use for various levels of security. I try not to do too much on line that would matter if it got hacked.

I come up with a set of 3 different passwords or pin numbers and use them interchanably for everything.I will change the set a couple times a year.It's easier to remember just 3 combo's.

So ok i see most people have 2- 5 usernames and about the same # of passwords that they change about according to there own precautions or fears about the internet security. i fall in the same category i have only read 3 or 4 people that have 1 for everyone different place or use a extremely secure way of protecting there identity. So i have a little different spin on this question. How many of you have had or know someone who has had there identity stolen. I mean stolen not given out by you thru some email scam or being stupid. Someone found out and decrypted your stuff and used it maliciously. Does this really happen? of course we all saw the commercials from citi bank but really do people really come on to the boards or other places choose 1 individual user me or you or troplle or maverick or anyone and say i don’t know this person but ill bet they are dumber than me and therefore i can crack there user id and password to bank one or household or Citibank or union planters (they would also have to guess witch financial institution you use) and just start cracking your stuff..... Suppose someone did do this would they go down the list of 100 trillion websites and try everyone till they milked you absolutely clean of evry resource you have diligently worked to earn. That is my question. I understand the need to have 2 or 3 to keep your spouse in-laws nosey kid’s people that you know out. But do strangers really try to be you?

I use totally different usernames for everything, but my password is usually exactly the same or some variation of that same password that I will remember easily.

I simply use the same password everywhere. In cases there that's not possible I have a password protected spreadsheet that I use to capture them. :thumbsup:

One rule I follow is to also use a combination of letters and special characters + a number to make a word I can easily remember. For Example:

G0R3D$04 = Go Reds with a zero for the letter "O", a 3 for the letter "e" and (obviously) a dollar sign for "S".

Just two user names typically and the password part can be made quite easy. Just use a word you like but insert a meaningful numbr in the middle.

I use the same user and I rotate 4 passwords which I can interconnect, password1+password2...

To keep security tighter I also use a different emailadress. If they get hacked and someone tries to use the password with my emailadress (login, spam, etc) I know which site has been compromised and what information has been compromised...

I have a 20 character passwrd i use for any logins involving money, otherwise i use another one everywhere else.

Well, here's a thought as to why you should use different passwords: The people who get the usernames/passwords for the links board normally get them through proxies/etc. - and so if you're using any of those, and they happen to scoop up a username/password from someone who uses the same combination for everything, it wouldn't take a lot of work for an unscrupulous person to go and check various banks and webmail services with that username/password and see if any work.

I'll gladly take a bit of inconvenience (remembering all of my different passwords or using the Password Safe program I linked to above) over having someone break into one of my accounts. Sure, "I don't have anything important" in there, but it's a peace of mind issue - and I'm a network security professional. :)

For my personal passwords, I've never had a problem remembering them. Usually I just type them over and over, and they become muscle memory. I've got... 4 of them, ranging from things I don't care about to a 16 character random string.
Heh, I just tried to remember that random string, and couldn't until I typed it.

Honestly, I'm surprised my password isn't on that list. :lol: Believe it or not my password for everything before used to just be my name, Zachary. Lol I'm an idiot. :P

I take the initials of a favorite item (movie, song, etc), combine it with a coded representation of the month & date that I made the password, and then add punctuation.

Nice thing is that it's very easy to change passwords periodically, as well as to guess older passwords!!

Try using the same password from site to site that's an easy to remember one.

Or if it's a site that provides the password just copy it from the e-mail or whatever and paste it to the slot each time you feel like logging in. This way you dont even have to waste your time trying to remember the password. :thumbsup: