Have you ever lost a password?

webecedarian · 27 Sep 2024, 11:21 AM

Funny, I was experimenting with Cyberfear. They don't keep passwords. But, hey, shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty good at keeping track.

I don't use the same passwords for different things, but I use the same types of word. For this, I actually kept track when I created it. But it doesn't work. I think I made the notes for myself going in with a chosen password, but once I started the registration, it required something longer ... and I didn't amend my notes. I've gone through the half-dozen logical possibilities I was most likely to use - but no luck. Hugely frustrating because I used this account for a bunch of forums when I was researching computers. Now I can't get into any of it!

I suppose the surprising thing is that this doesn't happen to me more often.

TenFour · 27 Sep 2024, 10:01 PM

Yes! I have lost passwords before, and usually when I was first setting up an account and entered something only to learn fairly quickly that apparently I didn't enter what I thought I did. One way this has happened to me a few times is I used a password manager to generate a password, and I thought I copied and pasted it into the new site but instead I pasted something else in. Another way has been with old sites that I logged into for many years and somehow the entry in my password manager got deleted by accident. Another thing that can happen is that the password manager extension in your browser can occasionally paste the wrong thing into the password field. Since I use long and random passwords generated by the password manager I have no clue what the password might be. Password managers aren't foolproof and the fools that use them (myself included) prove that every day. But, they are the best option we have for not losing passwords.

dryoldlime · 28 Sep 2024, 02:09 AM

@TenFour says it. Same as I find. You cannot always just trust a password manager. Often they will give the wrong password for a username. In what I have experienced, this usually means simply doing a couple more clicks to reach the password I want.

Make written record of each password.
Amend your written record as soon as you change the password.

Using a systematic way to choose or formulate each password can be helpful for using YOUR BRAIN'S MEMORY. Just be careful who you share that system with.

**CyberSmurf** · 28 Sep 2024, 11:44 AM

One time, years ago, I forgot a password and I was prompted with the password reminder. I couldn't figure what I was trying to say with the password reminder. Later I remembered my password, and the password reminder now made sense.

So, I had a password reminder that only made sense if I knew the password.

This was when a program would allow you to use real words as part of the password.

janusz · 28 Sep 2024, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dryoldlime

.Make written record of each password.
Amend your written record as soon as you change the password.

And remember where you keep the written record...

chrisretusn · 28 Sep 2024, 08:09 PM

I'm sure I have, just cannot recall when or how long ago. I've been using a password manager for years. I have backups available just in case.

A while back, I used a key file in addition to a password to access the password manager. Like a dummy I didn't make enough copies, only two. I somehow corrupted the key file and could not find the backup. Lesson learned have multiple backups and know where they are stored. I was lucky that I had an old non key file protected database so I able to recover most of my passwords.

I use my password manager to create or change passwords, so that makes sure I add the new service or password change.

hadaso · 28 Sep 2024, 08:33 PM

I once lost the password to my bank account. I was quite appalled at how easy it was to create a new password. They required an enormous amount of data about me: my personal history, ID number, credit card number and bank account number. However, ny business where I paid once with a check and once with the credit card issued through my bank potentially has the ID and financial details, and the rest can be found through social media, genealogy databases and compromised databases (the country's complete resident registry database that was compromised in the 1990's and posted on the web).

TenFour · 28 Sep 2024, 10:19 PM

Quote:

I was quite appalled at how easy it was to create a new password.

A lot of sites just ask you for the email address on the account and they send an email with a password reset link. That's one reason I use a different email address than the one I have on my phone that receives the emails. I don't want to have my phone lost or stolen with my password reset email readily available on it if someone can figure out how to unlock the phone. By the way, that's also a reason I'm not wild about keeping the phone unlocked in trusted locations. If my phone was stolen in my house it could possibly be unlocked, or if the thief could learn where I lived. I have family members who routinely lose their passwords, and it is usually appalling how easy and trivial it is to reset the password.

hadaso · 28 Sep 2024, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour

.... I don't want to have my phone lost or stolen with my password reset email readily available on it if someone can figure out how to unlock the phone. ...

I had my phone stolen: it was in my car that I stopped near my home, and I carried something from the car inside and left the car unattended for perhaps 30 seconds. Whoever took it haven't managed to unlock the phone. They smashed the camera and threw the phone into the bushes in a park abut half a mile from my home. A couple of hours later I found it using Google's service that locates the phone (you can use it to find approximately where the phone is and to have it ring at maximum volume when you get close to the place).

TenFour · 29 Sep 2024, 12:01 AM

Quote:

I had my phone stolen: it was in my car that I stopped near my home, and I carried something from the car inside and left the car unattended for perhaps 30 seconds.

Apparently it's a thing some places to be forced to unlock your phone at gunpoint. I have mine setup in such a way that it doesn't provide access to any important accounts with money in them.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...ktown-chicago/

hadaso · 29 Sep 2024, 01:33 AM

AFAIK my bank limits the value of transactions that can be performed via the app or website without confirmation. And the credit cards are insured (when my credit card number was stolen 20 years ago I got every penny back, and some interest on the time it took to restore my balance). Of course it is all of us that indirectly pay the premium for the insurance.

27 Sep 2024, 11:21 AM	#1
webecedarian Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 505	Have you ever lost a password? Funny, I was experimenting with Cyberfear. They don't keep passwords. But, hey, shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty good at keeping track. I don't use the same passwords for different things, but I use the same types of word. For this, I actually kept track when I created it. But it doesn't work. I think I made the notes for myself going in with a chosen password, but once I started the registration, it required something longer ... and I didn't amend my notes. I've gone through the half-dozen logical possibilities I was most likely to use - but no luck. Hugely frustrating because I used this account for a bunch of forums when I was researching computers. Now I can't get into any of it! I suppose the surprising thing is that this doesn't happen to me more often.

27 Sep 2024, 10:01 PM	#2
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,840	Yes! I have lost passwords before, and usually when I was first setting up an account and entered something only to learn fairly quickly that apparently I didn't enter what I thought I did. One way this has happened to me a few times is I used a password manager to generate a password, and I thought I copied and pasted it into the new site but instead I pasted something else in. Another way has been with old sites that I logged into for many years and somehow the entry in my password manager got deleted by accident. Another thing that can happen is that the password manager extension in your browser can occasionally paste the wrong thing into the password field. Since I use long and random passwords generated by the password manager I have no clue what the password might be. Password managers aren't foolproof and the fools that use them (myself included) prove that every day. But, they are the best option we have for not losing passwords.

28 Sep 2024, 02:09 AM	#3
dryoldlime Member Join Date: Aug 2023 Posts: 94	@TenFour says it. Same as I find. You cannot always just trust a password manager. Often they will give the wrong password for a username. In what I have experienced, this usually means simply doing a couple more clicks to reach the password I want. Make written record of each password. Amend your written record as soon as you change the password. Using a systematic way to choose or formulate each password can be helpful for using YOUR BRAIN'S MEMORY. Just be careful who you share that system with.

28 Sep 2024, 11:44 AM	#4
CyberSmurf Moderator Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: British Columbia Posts: 4,030	One time, years ago, I forgot a password and I was prompted with the password reminder. I couldn't figure what I was trying to say with the password reminder. Later I remembered my password, and the password reminder now made sense. So, I had a password reminder that only made sense if I knew the password. This was when a program would allow you to use real words as part of the password.

28 Sep 2024, 08:09 PM	#6
chrisretusn Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 879	I'm sure I have, just cannot recall when or how long ago. I've been using a password manager for years. I have backups available just in case. A while back, I used a key file in addition to a password to access the password manager. Like a dummy I didn't make enough copies, only two. I somehow corrupted the key file and could not find the backup. Lesson learned have multiple backups and know where they are stored. I was lucky that I had an old non key file protected database so I able to recover most of my passwords. I use my password manager to create or change passwords, so that makes sure I add the new service or password change.

28 Sep 2024, 08:33 PM	#7
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,963	I once lost the password to my bank account. I was quite appalled at how easy it was to create a new password. They required an enormous amount of data about me: my personal history, ID number, credit card number and bank account number. However, ny business where I paid once with a check and once with the credit card issued through my bank potentially has the ID and financial details, and the rest can be found through social media, genealogy databases and compromised databases (the country's complete resident registry database that was compromised in the 1990's and posted on the web).

29 Sep 2024, 01:33 AM	#11
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,963	AFAIK my bank limits the value of transactions that can be performed via the app or website without confirmation. And the credit cards are insured (when my credit card number was stolen 20 years ago I got every penny back, and some interest on the time it took to restore my balance). Of course it is all of us that indirectly pay the premium for the insurance.