Internet passwords...

Internet security is a hot topic among most people. Keeping things private while being on the world wide web can be tricky. Some people take it very seriously and others, like me, may not take it serious enough. Though I am very careful with what I share on the internet, I have to admit that when it comes to passwords for various sites I'm not always the most creative or the most secure.

When I first entered the web, I was good at creating passwords that only I would know or could remember through a series of personal questions. But over the years, after the sites want new and updated passwords, I discovered that I tend to forget whatever the password was and also I've lost my creativity. Any combo of numbers and letters would suffice but the more complicated it is, the less likely I am to remember it at all. So I end up with passwords on sticky notes on my desk and that is hardly secure! Case in point, to get into my blog today I had to rest my password having forgot the last one I made up. Now I've written it down but know I will probably forget this one too. And I hate those sites that tell you whatever you made up is too weak and won't let you use it. I mean, it's a blog...not a case of national security! Just accept my weak attempt and let me in already!

Worse yet are the sites that require a combination of upper and lower case and at least one number. Seriously people! Oh, and the new password cannot be something you've used before ever...in your lifetime. There are only so many clever one word ideas I can have. I'm running out of ideas here!

At work, for some reason, our networks asks us to change our password more frequently that some people change their minds. It's maddening. I almost see it as a challenge when I get the pop up that says "You have 14 days before your password expires. Do you want to change it now?" I let it go to the final hour. I hate that pop up.

Now I do understand the benefits of keeping my personal information secure so I'm not eschewing the idea altogether. I'm just saying that for me, a perpetual password forgetter, it gets rather tedious to keep changing them all the time. If I could come up with a method of remembering I might not complain so much. But until then, I'll rely on my security questions and as long as I recall my mother's maiden name, where I went to high school and where I want to live when I retire, everything should be okay.