Passwords

Passwords
Mac Tip#56/22-May-2002

It’s not that long ago that passwords were the realm of spy novels, but ever since we’ve been connecting to Bulletin Boards and the Internet passwords have been proliferating in the world of computers.

We all need so many passwords

Now I need a password for dialing up my ISP, a password for email, a password for each of various websites I visit which ask me to register, such as assorted news services.

Then I have a PIN number for my cash card, a username and password for checking each bank account online.

Then there’s Apple’s iTools, the password for connecting to the other Macs on the network, and having upgraded to OS X a password to log on to my machine and to install software on it.

That’s dozens of different usernames and passwords, just for me. I also do various jobs for clients which mean I have to track those passwords too.

Features of passwords

The first thing to know about usernames and passwords is that they are almost always case sensitive.

That means that capital letters are different from lower case letters. You also need to be clear about distinguishing letters from numbers: 0 is different from o which is different from O; 1 is different from i which is different from l and from I.

Since you’re receiving this message by email you will at the very least have an email password, and you probably have a logon username and password too which was issued by your ISP. You are almost certain to need to know these at some time, even if your computer has them stored at the moment.

Rules for passwords

1. Keep a copy of all your usernames and passwords in a safe place. If it’s an electronic copy (eg in an AppleWorks document) keep some backups and encrypt the files. [Update: use 1Password to store all your passwords ands confidential information. It's worth every cent. ]
2. When you write down or type a username or password take care with capitals and lower case and make a special note if you need to differentiate between such things as i, I (lower case L), l (upper case i) and 1.
3. Don’t put your passwords in public places such as a sticky note on your computer screen.

Suggestion: I often need to provide a password for silly things such as a news website or before I can join a discussion on a bulletin board. I have one password which I use for all of these and which is different from my important passwords such as those for collecting my email. Don’t add unnecessary passwords to your list — use one common password for such trivial purposes.