Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Password Security: Apparently We've Heard of It.
Posted by Jonathon Watkins in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 05:00 PM
"Americans are just as blasé about password security as the Brits, according to a new survey. Two out three three people (180 of 272) approached in a downtown San Francisco street by researchers were happy to provide their password in exchange for a coffee gift card. . . Of all respondents, 57 per cent reported having four or more passwords, and 79 per cent reported using the same password for multiple websites or applications, a practice that means one stolen password could jeopardise multiple accounts. The survey also found that some people continue to store passwords on Post-it notes. Other popular locations for passwords include the contacts folder of email applications, on PDAs and in the notes function of a mobile phone."
PDAs are popular locations for password storage? Fancy that! With the number of passwords we have to remember these days, is there any better way than having them encrypted into your Pocket PC? The question is, did people really give out their real password to the researchers? We all know that people can be a bit lax with their security details, but giving out your password for a gift card seems to be taking the biscuit. (It probably goes well with the coffee ;-)) So how many separate passwords are you guys keeping track of at the moment?
PDAs are popular locations for password storage? Fancy that! With the number of passwords we have to remember these days, is there any better way than having them encrypted into your Pocket PC? The question is, did people really give out their real password to the researchers? We all know that people can be a bit lax with their security details, but giving out your password for a gift card seems to be taking the biscuit. (It probably goes well with the coffee ;-)) So how many separate passwords are you guys keeping track of at the moment?