Open Thread Update: Password Fatigue
Remember when “Password” was just a game show?
“Password fatigue” is an epidemic – not as serious as Covid-19, but wildly prevalent nonetheless, with almost 300 people responding to our poll (you can still take part, below). Thanks to all the readers who offered their own solutions, from writing them down (39 percent), to apps (9 percent) to using their devices’ systems (7 percent). I can sympathize with the 14 percent of readers who didn’t subscribe to websites or go to events because of password hassle…and most of all with the 31 percent of respondents who admitted they have trouble with passwords no matter what.
To recap, if you want to delegate password management, here’s a good roundup. At last count I have 20+ passwords and one more just joined the count. Are we having fun yet?
And a special thanks to the people who wrote in and shared their nominees for Most Frustrating Password Experience; insurance companies, telecom companies and the IRS got special mentions. Let us know in the comments if you’d like to share your nominees for Most Annoying Password Situation and we’ll do a follow up Open Thread on the biggest offenders.
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send your suggestions for Open Threads to her at editor@seniorplanet.org.
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Comments
So true terribly frustrated by having to remember all the passwords nothing work for me not Dashlane even writing it down I forget where I put the book then is there some easier way of doing this
How about members receiving a comment reply from anyone you have replied to, should they comment on your post?
I frequently make purchases at Amazon.com, but misplaced (lost, or forgot)
The password.
Sometimes I get onto the site “somehow” and lots of times I quit after many attempts. Frustrating is putting it mildly!
Brilliant. Good to see humour amongst our frustrations. Well done.
I know it is not a good idea to use one password for all sites. However, it becomes difficult to remember all the different passwords I have for different sites. In addition each site has different requirements for the password. To make things even worse many sites require you to change your password every couple of months. I wish Senior Planet could help by directing us to safe programs which will manage our passwords with safety. This program should allow us to enter a master password and the program will enter the proper password for the site we are at. Thank you for your help in this matter.
My experience is similar to previous replies. I write my passwords (and also security questions & answers, if any) down in a small address book. I also keep a list in the computer in a file with a boring name. It’s a table document that runs to 8 pages when printed (double spaced!). I also need to indicate which email account I use for each website, because I use 4 different email addresses, each one for different purposes.
The worst websites to use are Verizon and Aetna, as they require me to change the password every 3-6 months. Verizon even requires that you pick a visual icon as part of your identity. Several websites don’t accept my password or username if I haven’t visited in a while, even though I have typed them correctly. This requires contacting the website to ask WTF, then re-registering and creating new usernames and passwords.
I don’t mind the password creation requirements, but I do mind the extra layers of “security” some websites are larding on. It’s NOT for MY security, it’s for them to cover their own behinds! Then, there are the websites that don’t accept my password, even though I have typed it correctly, many times! I attribute these sign-in problems to the website having internal problems, probably an incompetent webmaster!