Passwords and Authentication

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Passwords and authentication in theory and practice, including password quality, password management tools and authentication alternatives.

Creating Good Passwords

This is from a section out of my Hotmail security checklist. I'll review a couple of approaches to passwords and the tools to manage 'em.

Has LastPass had a security breach?

I recommend LastPass because of their transparency and security model: even LastPass cannot recover your login!

How long should a password be?

For years, the standard practice has been to assume that eight-character passwords made up of sufficiently random characters was enough. Not any more.

How strong does my Windows password need to be?

Your Windows password actually gives you less security than you might think, but there are scenarios where a strong Windows password is important.

I forgot my password - can I somehow get my auto-login remembered password?

There are tools to recover most of your 'remembered' password. You can use them if you forgot your 'remembered' password, and so can anyone with access to your machine.

Is a periodic password change a good thing?

Changing passwords periodically is the conventional wisdom. I question it, and then discuss a periodic password change can even happen reliably.

Is it really that easy to get someone's password?

We'll look at some ways that someone else could access your account.

Managing Lots of Passwords

Managing multiple strong passwords can be a pain. I'll discuss a couple of alternatives, including Roboform and Lastpass.

Password Recovery Questions; how do they work and can I make up my own?

Password Recovery Questions are a cornerstone of much internet security. I'll look at what they are, how they fail, and what you can do.

RoboForm Password Manager and more

With lots of accounts on the web, good security says their passwords should all be unique. Your computer can remember them for you with RoboForm.

Two-Factor Authentication

I recently enabled two-factor authentication on my Google account. I'll review what two-factor authentication is and how it works.

Webinar #2: Password Security and more

What's a good password?

Good passwords are hard to crack and hard to remember. As a result, many people don't use really good passwords, even though they should. We'll look at what makes a good password, and some ways to make them easier to remember.

What's a good way to securely keep track of all my passwords?

Why can't I just use one password everywhere?

With so many sites requiring a password it's very tempting to use only a single password everywhere. That's dangerous, and there are alternatives.

Why did I get a password reminder I didn't ask for?

A password reminder that isn't expected can be startling. An unexpected password reminder could be due to many things. The best thing is to ignore it.

Why is it important to have different passwords on different accounts?

Using a different password for every login is an important part of overall security and doesn't have to be difficult.

Why won't services just email me my password instead of making me set a new one?

A service practicing proper security actually doesn't know your password. I'll cover how that works and why it's very important.

Will you help fix my account? My username and password are ...

In a desperate move to resolve account access issues, people are frequently trusting people they shouldn't and providing too much private information.