How to Manually Manage Your Passwords

Managing passwords is a daunting feat, even in this day and age of one-click password programs. And, especially in this day, where every site or service wants you to create an account with a user name and password. That is why I have used the following password maintenance plan for the last 20 years, and still believe it to be beneficial today.

Start by creating five tiers for password usage. Number 5 is the highest level and hardest, most secure password. Number 1 is the easiest to remember password that is used on the least secure situations. Never write any of these passwords down. The point is to make them easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess.

Computer username and password, is your highest level security and should be a minimum of 8 to 15 alpha-numeric characters with some caps. Do not use real words in and of themselves, or numeric sequences. One way to make this password or any other password would be to open the dictionary or the phonebook and blindly pick a listing. You might come out with "lawnmower" either on page 944, or with 944 in phone number.

Now change characters in the word to something similar to "L4wNm0w3R944", or "L4wN944m0w3R".  I now have two different passwords that can be used in any of the top tiers of my security system. The first makes the second easier to remember and visa versa. (please note that this is only an example and you should create your own passwords). In order to make some passwords easier to remember, start with the highest level and then pare down to use for a less secure level.

Also, make up different usernames for each level of security. This will not only make it easier to remember the individual passwords, but makes it more difficult for a hacker to break into your accounts, since they will have to decrypt the user name and password.

5.   Highest level of security is reserved for your computer name and password. You and only you know this password and it is never written down or given to ANY other person. It could be one of the two passwords similar to the example above. It should be changed or twice a year or more frequently.

4.  Second highest level for use on Company business account and/or your email account. Never write this password down, or give it away. It should be changed once or twice a year.

3.  This is the password used to log into other hardware in your home, such as a router or a server. This password should be changed at least once a year. Levels three an four might be reversed for some users, as they may feel that the router is more important than email. This is up to the individual.

2. Third highest level is the password used for most social networking site(s). If you allow your browser to save passwords, then this password should be changed very frequently.

1.  Lowest level of security, should be a minimum of 6 to 8 alpha-numeric characters, and is nothing similar to any of the other security level passwords. This is your throw away password. This is the password used when registering on websites, etc, in which you may only need to log on once, in order to redeem some special discount, etc.

I also use a throw away user name and password below number 1. I have no worries about having this account compromised. I have a made up name and password that I use when I am unsure of a websites, authenticity and or spam policies. If I start getting unsolicited mail, etc. directed to this username, I know that one of those sites has given it out, and I throw it away and make up another.

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