Geek Tested:

One Third of People use One Password for Every Site They Visit

Posted 03/13/09 at 09:15:46 AM by Paul Lilly

Password. Letmein. Asdf. Blahblah. Monkey. 1234. These are just some of the most commonly used passwords being used around the web, but even worse than using a boneheaded password is using the same one for every registered website. Nothing new, right?

Apparently it is, at least for one-third of respondents who participated in an online survey conducted by security outfit Sophos. According to Sophos, only 19 percent of respondents said they never use the same password for multiple websites. Almost half admitted to using a few different passwords, and 33 percent fessed up to using the same password all the time.

To state the obvious, using a single password for multiple websites makes it easy for hackers to wreak more havoc should the password become compromised. But obvious as basic security may seem, it's not being practiced by many. Recent examples include high profile Twitter account hijackings, including the ones belonging to President Barack Obama, Britney Spears, and Fox News, and the discovery that the population at large continues to use unimaginative passwords, such as selecting their first name.

COMMENTS:11

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COMMENTS

Try Mitto!
Submitted by Mitto on Wed, 08/12/2009 - 12:08pm

Hey Paul!

Great article! It's just difficult trying to
remember 10 or 15 different passwords for all of the various sites that
we have out there. Creating separate, strong passwords for all of your
sites is doable if you use a secure password manager like Mitto.
(http://mitto.com). Some of the key benefits to using Mitto include
having
automatic one-click logins, secure access to your passwords from any
computer, unlimited password storage, and
knowing that you will never have to forget your passwords again!

I hope you get a chance to check it out.

Thanks!

Elgin Stafford
Mitto--Your Safe and Secure Password Manager
http://mitto.com
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mittoapp

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BTW on my way to work today
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Sat, 03/14/2009 - 3:56pm

BTW on my way to work today I heard Smokey Bear on the AM radio talking about how 99% of all forest fires are caused by humans. This means that at least 1% of all forest fires are caused by careless smoking bears and other forest dwelling animals.

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You mean there are 2 thirds
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Sat, 03/14/2009 - 3:54pm

You mean there are 2 thirds of everyone that don't use the same password for everything? Freaks... I can't believe there are that many freaks out there. Man... Thanks for the info.

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Too many passwords
Submitted by ez223 on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 3:25pm

Yes the sheer number of usernames and passwords has become insane. For anyone who spends much time online or who frequents many different types of websites, it's feasible to have dozens of usernames and passwords. Using a different username and password for every login is pretty daunting for most.

I split up the sites I use with logins and passwords by how important the information they contain may be. I guess basically I have them divided up into five groups:

1. Financial such as banking

2. Non-financial site but with bill pay information

3. Forums

4. Online game accounts

5. Email

I don't change my passwords as often as I should but I generally change them at least once a year. I also do use a password manager or Firefox's built in one. These help greatly with most sites.

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Hey guys!
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 2:34pm

MaxPC doesn't let your password be seen! Check it out! **********

:D I actually fell for that playing Runescape years ago.

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HEY EVERYONE PAUL'S PASSWORD
Submitted by nedwards on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 11:32am

HEY EVERYONE PAUL'S PASSWORD IS ••••••••••••!

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Encrypted password file on a
Submitted by horzo on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 9:38am

Encrypted password file on a USB key. Don't leave home without it.

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Passwords
Submitted by DePat on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 8:14am

Too many websites, Too many passwords. Keeping up with all the passwords is a job in itself. I admit that I use the same password and username for all websites a hacker cannot use to harm me "financially". For all others I use different usernames and passwords. For example this site cannot be use to harm me financially while ebay website can. So I use my common user name and password for this site while I have a different username and password for my ebay, differents ones for my banks and so on. I do the same for my e-mail addresses (Thanks google!)

DePat

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