I generally follow my own advice when it comes to creating somewhat memorable passwords. I have a phrase that I abbreviate to create the base of my passwords then I add a few additional characters based on the system I’m creating the password for. With this system, if I’m unable to remember the specific password I’ve used to log into a particular site, I can probably guess the correct one within one or two attempts.
However, in the past few days I’ve been forced to “integrate” two of my log-ins with the site’s parent company: Yahoo! in the case of Flickr, and Google in the case of Blogger. I already had log-ins for both Yahoo! and Google but those passwords reflected those services. Now my Yahoo! password is my Flickr password and my GMail password is my Blogger password. My system is now broken as those passwords don’t follow my rules.
Maybe I’m complaining a bit too much but I do find it bothersome. Anyone else?
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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