I was just reading about people forgetting passwords etc, so thought I'd share this simple tip.

I keep a couple of cheap notebooks by my PC. One to record passwords and sites that I join, and I use one as a computer diary where I enter the date and items that I download or install that day(makes things a lot easier if something plays up later on).

A very good idea. Keeping passwords and usernames in a separate and secure location makes a great deal of sense, as does having a record of applications, etc. you install (and links to the source should you ever need it later).
Cheers,
John

I should do that
i was just keeping all my passes/usernames in my folder for email

Hello,

I agree, it is better to have some sort of physical record for registrations and such, then to totally rely on your computer for saving the information. I can't stress this enough to people that I help with computer issues.

Personally, I printed out some simple charts, consisting of four columns and about 30 rows on each page, in which I enter data such as the WebSite, Username, Password and eMail address used. I also print out a copy of the confirmation eMail I recieve from each registration, and place it in the same binder along with my charts with the registration entries. This suggestion might be a bit overkill, but it is how I keep organized.

I started using a binder instead of a notepad because my wife and daughter would occasionally grab it while using the phone, and either scribble, color and basically deface it. Because of this, I went and bought a "Hot Pink" 3 ring binder, and a hole punch, and it hasn't been touched since.


I have a friend that takes a screenshot of confirmation pages for each site that shows the information, and fits as many of the screenshots as possible on to a sheet of paper, and prints them out. It actually works out pretty nice, but each to his own, as I will probobly continue my method .


nos

Hi La Chica.

Welcome. Keep browsing around and I'm sure you will find heaps of useful stuff here at BC. I know i've had a great time in the last few months. Cheers

thaxs for the welcome

i think i will find tips that r very useful to me later

I've been keeping info like that in some notebooks and it was fine until today. I have a grand-daughter,only 13 yrs old, That has been on sites such as: MySpace, Bebo, and Skype. All stuff she shouldn't be on. I used the prental control and locked her off of the sites so while I was at work and my wife was taking a nap, the little sneak went thru my stuff and found my password. She got on the sites using my account. Now I need to figure out how to change my password and if changing the pw will effect anything on the computer.

socom 004 maybe you should get a diary
you could keep the key to the lock on your keychain with all the other keys (car, house, etc.)

I guess I need to do that as soon as I figure out the sequence of changing the password. I never thought she would snoop thru my stuff but these kids are desperate to get on these sites. I found out that as soon as someone signs on to the bebo.com it pours your whole address book into their system. Talk about spam...I get all kinds of it now.

socom 004,
Since she evidently doesn't respect your rules, you could ban her from using your computer, by password protecting it.
If your afraid she'll find it, you can always pull the power cord and take it with you.

Good idea...I'll take it with me and blame her for taking it(lol).

I have a bulletin board next to my computer desk and it is full of post-it notes with usernames and passwords. This way when I need to know what they are I don't have to open a book or look through my emails to try and find it, I just glance to my left!

I actually have a tablet of graph paper that I record all of my administration passwords and information on for my router, firewall, server etc. But other than that I usually just remember them in my head. I actually organize my passwordsi nto a sort of hierarchy. For example...

Level 1:
-Passwords to things I don't really care about such as a free online gaming account.
-4-6 characters in length, and 1 password for all instances.

Level 2:
-Things that are of a medium level of importance to me. Forums, or my aim / msn / xfire accounts.
-6-8 characters in length, and 1 password for all instances.

Level 3:
-Things I need to keep relatively secure. My email and any administrator level accounts for webhosting etc.
-10-14 characters in length including numbers, and capitol and lowercase letters.
-A different password for each unique instance.

Like I said earlier, I remember all of these passwords in my head but I do have them written down incase I suffer from amnesia one day. I not only write them down and hide the notebook but I keep them stored on other electronic devices that never leave my side. Such as my cell phone. I never do that with the equivalent of my level 3 passwords though just b/c something about it seems insecure to me. lol

Hope my crazy password tip helped you. Oh and I actually have more than 3 levels (I beleive I have 16 passwords total) but I was just giving you 3 levels as an example. Enjoy!

-Arcxotek-

ummm now that u remind me i forgot my computer's password but i dont need it to log in i just forgot it since i never needed to put it in. I hope i put a hint.

Hello,

This thread gave me an idea, and now I have found my new method of manageing my password.

I now have a background image on my Desktop, listing in alphabetical order, all my login and password information. So, if I need a password, I press the Windows Key+D and I can see the information I need, Quickly.


Those who are not using a sandalone system may not want to use this method, unless you are willing to put in the extra effort to conciel your Background image from the rest of the users.

It is really easy to update to. No harder than grabbing a pen and writing it down. I use Photoshop, and I can actually print out the list as text, which is a must.

I also made a little Flash 8 tool, that is the size of a thumbnail on my desktop, but on rollover it reveals a copy of my passwords for view, and with the addition of an icon in my quick launch bar, I just click that if I don't feel like pushing WinKey+D.



nos

Good ideas, they're right up there as being almost as crazy as mine. I don't think I would have ever thought of that though.

All of these posts have indeed been good reading, b/c of my limited computer expertise I'll have to settle for the Binder as I was using a notepad as well and it would become a dog toy for our snauzer who is about 10 months old and loves ripping paper. We are on our 6th phone book and my password notepads are found shredded under the sofa, arm chair etc.

Tomorrow I am definitely going to buy a binder as I am setting up my new notebook tomorrow.

Thx for such a great discussion!

I suggest buying an inexpensive USB key and store your passwords on that....keep it on your keyring, beltclip, around your neck or hide it somewhere...depending on your needs security requirements etc.

I dont think its very secure to keep a password list on your computer, if you must, name the file something uninteresting like dog registration details or recipe.

Hints;

dont use your name...try first line of a song and numbers you know eg; "Alltheleaveavesarebrown1969", or a poem or book title thats stuck in your brain eg "MidsummerNightsDream999"

After typing any lists of passwords on your computer be sure to delete them after printing or transferring.

Dont think cellphone is a good idea if lost or stolen your infos out there.

Cant afford USB then print your list ..place inside and/or behind photoframe, paste it underneath drawer, in the freezer, oldpants pocket in the closet etc.

If its in your computer or laptop , then whenever stolen, borrowed, used by others with or without consent, keylogged or hacked ...your identity and resources are compromised.

USE VPN ; then you only need one password.....I believe this is crucial these days for financial dealings.

I believe Ipig offers a free VPN service


Heres a link about usb bracelet from Andy at www.cyberwalker.com/newsletters/newsletter3.html

"9) Imation Flash Wristband

The new floppy disk is something called a USB key, a thumb-sized storage device. However they have a tendency to get lost in bottomless purses and backpacks. So why not wear it on your wrist? That’s Imation’s thinking and it’s a fabulous idea. These new wristbands have a 256 MB capacity and come in baby blue or black. Pink drives for Paris Hilton wannabes will have to wait. But at $34.99, it won’t be long before Imation produces the techie wristbands in all the styling colors. More info at www.imation.com. "


This is my first tip post
hope its helpful

goodluck
Hartwise

w/e happened to just remembering your passwords or writing them down O_O.

Some good ideas although some of them would leave me with sleepless nights wondering who has got my passwords. I use Roboform for my top ten frequently used websites.

Like other members I print out the registration docs and insert them in pvc sleeves and then put them in a folder. I started doing this since Windows 98 but since WindowsXP I have never had a problem with my PC (or laptop) (touch wood) so rarely, if ever, have to refer to them but gives me peace of mind if I ever do require them

I use Belarc Advisor to profile my PC and it lists every programme on my PC and where it is located and last accessed. After printing out this list I put an email address that I used to register the product so if need be I can request my password or other details.

Another tip is never use your current ISP address for any site you are going to sign up with(save it for friends and family only, preferably nobody under 21). As an additional option I use hotpop.com and can configure it to send(most other email programs you cannot do this with) and receive emails. If that email address is compromised just register another. eBay is a major problem in this respect I find I have to change my registered email address every 9 months after the spoof 'eBay' and 'Paypal' emails start arriving.

Beware of signing guest books on sites, 'spiders' patrol these, get your email address, start sending you high quality phishing emails and before you know it you've inadvertently clicked on a link and off go all your details. I use a programme called Spoofstick that tells me exactly what site I am on at all times.

With regards PC address books I never use one. I have never used Outlook preferring Incredimail if I put the first letter into the 'to' line it will bring up all the email addresses starting with that letter, no chance of a bogus program downloading my address book if it doesn't exist. I also understand(although correct me if I'm wrong) most of the virus email software is directed at Outlook not other companies.

Kids can be a pain once they start downloading all sorts of junk, a trick I played on my daughter once was to take a screenshot of my desktop set it as background, select not to show items on my desktop and hide the task bar, no matter what she clicked on nothing worked as she was just clicking on a picture of my old desktop icons.

(Kids can be a pain once they start downloading all sorts of junk, a trick I played on my daughter once was to take a screenshot of my desktop set it as background, select not to show items on my desktop and hide the task bar, no matter what she clicked on nothing worked as she was just clicking on a picture of my old desktop icons.)

That is priceless marcooni. I love it.

Cheers

USE ROBOFORM I USE IT ITS MAD SIMPLE AND EASY! JUST GO TO www.downloads.com and look roboform up under the search thing!

Hello all:)

Yes that is a great suggestion, cheers mate.
That way hackers isn't allowed to hack into personal stuff and I have all my PW's stored in my browsers

Roboform To Go can be placed on a USB flash drive or memory stick and automates your passwords giving you secure passwords and when you click on them automatically takes you to the urls you have associated with them and signs you in.

It stores nothing on the computer, so when you remove the USB flash drive it all goes with you, it's encripted, and password protected too if you want it to be so you only need to remember one password for access to all your high security passwords.

I believe you can install Firefox on the Flash Drive as well, so if you are using a public computer it leaves no record on it.

You can do email, banking, etc, without worry.

Roboform to go gives you unlimited accounts but it is a paid version.

I have an excellent idea which comes from the guy with the 12 y/o girl that goes through his things. This could work for anyone. Someone like myself, could make a program, that encodes passwords say the password is "future" it will scramble it and mix it up and come out like "34j8d2dg42". So you write down "34j8d2dg42" in your notebook your post it, binder whatever. When you need to know your password you type "34j8d2dg42" into the program and it gives you the actual password. If you wanted to really get "jiggy wit it" you could password protect the program and just make it something you know you will remember. If you dont want to use the program idea thing. Code the password you write down. Say the password once again is "future" add other things to it that you won't mix up "F$3U9T#%U3R3E" If you have only numbers use letters into it, if you have both letters and numbers use only characters. Simple as that nomore scammy little kids rummaging through adult things.

Roboform will create high security passwords for you and all you need to remember is one simple password to open roboform.

You can also get a Google mail account and store your passwords there.

Hi there,

Bobbi Fleckmann introduced me to Password Corral. Several profiles possible, enter username and master password and you can save and create your very own passwords there.

http://www.cygnusproductions.com/ another discussion with several different tools i stumbled over: http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7810-0.html?f...ssageID=1243325

regards,

Yourhighness

I myself use my yahoo e-mail account. I just make a draft and leave it alone. Ad to it as needed. Its always there and I can get it from anyplace. I use the draft folder to save lots information I find useful. I use yahoo bookmarks to back up all my bookmarks and just add to it as needed.

I personally went ahead and bought a Microsoft Fingerprint Scanner that will read my finger prints for my admin login and my website login

Also the scrambling password program would'nt be tha thard to make heck i might try it would you guys want it if i made it

I'm not too sure about this, but for my windows xp laptop, at the point where you enter your password, supposedly, I think it was the
ctrl+alt+delete where you can delete accounts without being signed in....can someone tell me if this is true?

password picker tool +)
you will need to remember only 1 password to enter the program and copy all your paswerd there. its very handy when you got hundreds of accounts...

What I did before I got RoboForm was to keep an Excel spreadsheet with all the info for each site-
User name, passwowd, email etc. but the password was "encoded".

I have several different passwords that I used depending on the security level
but I never actually wrote them down anywhere!

For example: password is party
my spreadsheet would say 'usual'
password is 19ParTy72, I would write 'YYUsuAlYY' (I did have to remember the year, but that wasn't hard)
For longer names, use something like your dog's full nickname, and write it as PuppYdOg or whatever.
You get the idea.

That way snooping children or others can't access anything even if they find your list!

Best to all,
Betrock

If any of you are really concerned, you can PM or e-mail me all your passwords. I will keep them very safe. You can also give me all your bank and credit card details to keep safe. I promise I wont be naughty.

And now on a serious note.

If you write your passwords down you still run the risk of them being found, so why not add a easy to remember change to them, then when your little prince's or princess's find them the still wont be able to use them.

Example.

1. Add a random character to the begining and end of your password, then all you have to rember is to take the first and last character off. I know it not the most secure method, but it should stop most prying eyes.

Password: asdfghj
becomes : 1asdfghjl

Or add 2 random characters anywhere in the password, ie 3rd and 5th character become nonsense, so all you have to rember is remove 3+5.

asdfghj
becomes:as4d!fghj

2. For your bank cash machine (ATM), pick a number to add to your PIN number, ex. 8

PIN= 1234
Modified PIN = 1242

Then when your bank account get emptied by someone you can honestly say you havnt written your PIN number down anywhere.

Very simple cryptology.

Also password keeper programs are brilliant, but what about when (and it will) your computer crashes and you loose everything, with no paper back-up you will be pretty #####. So always a good idea to have a paper copy encrypted somehow as a backup. This I learned from a tough life lesson of NOT keeping a paper backup and relying solely on a software password keeper. Then when my PC died, so did all my passwords.

Hope that you might take this advice and use it to keep your written down passwords just a little bit more secure.

Or use Roboform.

I use the same username/password on all forums and websites I join.

But I do have my password recorded in a notepad.

~Sp0nge

I use Firefox to keep track of my passwords and user names - it's built into the browser and it's handy to use.