A unique password for every service you use is certainly a good practice but how are you going to keep it all straight. Some people opt for a password manager others develop a system. Personally I prefer a password system, as I end up logging into my accounts on a variety of devices from numerous locations.

What is a password system

When developing a system you will come up with a <<CORE>> password and a <<VARIABLE>>. Pick the service that has the most complex password requirements with regards to number of characters and or special characters. Then build your system.

The <<CORE>> is simply something that every one of your passwords contains. eg. P@ssW0rd

Then the <<VARIABLE> is something you add on to each core password to have a unique password for each service. This could be the first 3 letters, the last three letters, every other letter etc. It could be all caps or lowercase, you get the point. So if we decide our variable is going to be the first 3 letters of the service with the middle letter in caps then our Netflix variable is “nEt”

This means our password for Netflix is P@ssW0rdnEt

our password for Amazon is P@ssW0rdaMa

our password for Outlook is P@ssW0rdoUt

A thought on password hints.

What was your first car?

What was your kindergarten teacher’s name?

What is your siblings middle name?

When setting answers to the above questions make yourself a rule. Always use CAPS, always use lowercase, or always capitalize the first letter. Whatever you choose stick with it. So your answers are easy remember, also try to avoid picking questions that could have a hyphen in the answer or are multiple words if possible.

Using different passwords is a crucial security practice for several reasons:

  1. Protection against brute force attacks: If you use the same password for multiple accounts, a hacker who gains access to one account can easily compromise your other accounts. Using different passwords makes it more difficult for attackers to access all of your accounts.
  2. Minimizes damage: If one of your accounts is compromised, using different passwords ensures that the damage is limited to that account only. This prevents attackers from gaining access to your other accounts, which may contain sensitive information.
  3. Phishing attacks: Using different passwords reduces the risk of falling victim to phishing attacks. If you use the same password for multiple accounts, a phishing attack on one account could lead to the attacker gaining access to all of your accounts.
  4. Data breaches: If a company you have an account with suffers a data breach, using different passwords ensures that your other accounts remain secure.
  5. Password reuse: Reusing passwords makes it easier for attackers to guess your password, as they can use information from one account to try and access other accounts. Using different passwords makes it more difficult for attackers to guess your passwords.

In summary, using different passwords is a vital security practice that helps to protect your accounts and personal information from being compromised. If someone can help me explain this to my wife, that would be great.