Work Smart: A Single Trick for Remembering Countless Passwords
  By: Gina Trapani April 19, 2010



One of the most annoying things about computing today is having 
to keep track of
dozens of passwords.  You've got passwords to Web sites, 
computers, networks, and
the ATM, and every time you create a new password it's easy to 
use one you've
used before and make it something easy to remember, like your 
birthday, your
kid's name, or your first phone number.  The problem is this: 
Many passwords that
>every easy for you to remember are also easy for an identity 
thief to guess.  Plus,
using the same password for everything is like having the same 
key for your
house, your car, and your office.  Once someone steals one key, 
they can get into
everything.
  What you want is a different, complex password for each 
situation.  The trick to
remembering all those different passwords? Create them all based 
on a single
PATTERN.  Here's how it works.  Pick a keyword or phrase that 
never changes, then
combine it with something specific to the service you're logging 
into.
  For example, say your keyword is robot.  A simple pattern might 
be the keyword
plus the first three letters of a service name.  If you're 
setting a password for
Amazonddcom, it would be robotama.  If you're setting a password 
for PayPalddcom
with that pattern, it would be robotpay.  That way, every single 
password you
have is different, but all you have to remember is a single 
pattern.
  When you choose your pattern, make sure it creates passwords 
that are at least
eight characters, and includes letters and numbers--even a symbol 
for good
measure.  For example, you could substitute the O's in robot with 
zeroes, or put
an asterisk at the beginning of your keyword.  You can create 
some seriously
complex passwords that are impossible to crack with simple 
patterns based on a
single key word or phrase.
  For example, my friend Matt Haughey likes to use the chorus of 
classic songs to
create his passwords.  He used the first letter of each word in 
the phrase "One
is the loneliest number" to create a password: 1itln.  When Matt 
forgot the
password, he'd just sing the song to himself.
  My friend Eric likes to interleave two words one character at a 
time to create a
memorable password.  For example, if you chose the words blue and 
123,
interleaving them you'd get b1ful2u3ence.  All you have to 
remember is blue 123 and
the pattern of one character from each at a time.
  Finally, you can use a tactile pattern, and choose letters and 
numbers based on
their location and proximity on the keyboard.  This saves you 
time when you type
the password: if you choose letters that are next to one another, 
like asdf, or
qwerty, your fingers don't have to move as much reaching across 
the keyboard
every time you enter the password.
  There might be times when your password pattern doesn't always 
work--like on
some corporate networks, you have to change your password every 
few months; or
someone else sets a password for you.  The safest place to store 
passwords is in
your head, but if you absolutely must write down your passwords 
so you don't
forget them, don't do it on paper.  I recommend KeePass Password 
Safe, a free
program for Mac and Windows that stores your passwords in a 
secure, encrypted
database.  You can download it from wwwddkeepassddinfo.
  A good password is unique, easy for you to remember and hard 
for others to
guess.  Keep track of an unlimited number of unique passwords by 
using a single
pattern.
  Gina Trapani is the author of Upgrade Your Life and founding 
editor of
Lifehackerddcom.  Work Smart appears every week on 
FastCompanyddcom.


Copyright Ággc) 2010 Mansueto Ventures LLC.  All rights reserved.


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