   Managing passwords?
  How do you manage all your passwords to online sites? I have almost 50 different accounts on online forums/games/services, and I don't just sign up for every little thing I encounter. Some of you here probably have hundreds of passwords that you have to manage. How do you do it?Do you use some online service to remember them? An application like KeePass?I read on LifeHacker awhile back, and this seems to be a popular idea, that some people use an 'Algorithm' for creating passwords, involving keywords you know, and the abbreviated name of the website. For example, I might go like this:1.2.3[myName~siteName]4.5.6Which, for GameDev.net could be:1.2.3[sotl~gamedev]4.5.6Would you trust some application or web service for passwords to important things like your online banking passwords? I'm looking for a solution that would work for all different levels of security, whether just online games I'm playing, or forum accounts, or even eventually banking accounts.I don't have a bank account yet, so that's just future worry, but I am a developer with a small group making a 2D MMORPG, that has a small fanbase (It's almost reached the double digits! We're drowning in our popularity!), and I certainly don't want a player to steal my forum password and get access to admin the forums, or to view our private sub-forums, with our development info. Nor do I want a player to figure out my in-game password, and get moderating powers and access to unreleased areas.So, again, what do you do? What would you recommend I do?   
  I don't see how that algorithm approach is any better than using the same password everywhere.If someone finds out one of your passwords, it's very likely he'll figure out the pattern and will be able to generate equivalent passwords for other sites (just like he would be able to use the password elsewhere if you used same pws everywhere).Or am I missing something.   ;  Yeah, I meant to mention that that was why I wasn't using the algorithm approach, but got distracted. Some admin on a small time browser game could see my password and from that be able to figure out any other password to any other site I go to.Unless the algorithm mixes up the password enough that you can no longer notice the individual components, but too complex and it's likely that I'd have to mentally 'run' the algorithm several times in my head after I mess up one char and the password gets rejected. I'd also have to try several times to figure out what the abbreviation for the site is. Is GameDev.net abreviated GDN? gamedev? gdev? gdnet?;  Have a look at LastPass and there firefox addon.   ;Quote:Original post by shurcoolIf someone finds out one of your passwords, it's very likely he'll figure out the pattern and will be able to generate equivalent passwords for other sites (just like he would be able to use the password elsewhere if you used same pws everywhere).The pattern SotL suggested isn't very good, because it doesn't obfuscate the pattern enough. But if my gamedev password is 38FbwH73, it's not clear that there's a pattern at work at all. You'd have to also know that my slashdot password was 38FbuT73 to see that there was a pattern.   ;  I just have about 5 passwords that I use for everything. If I can't remember which one I used for a site, i just go down the list [wink]   ;Quote:Original post by zer0wolfI just have about 5 passwords that I use for everything. If I can't remember which one I used for a site, i just go down the list [wink]Same here.  Every once in a while I generate myself a new password, learn it, and start using it whenever I sign up for something.Also, I hate it when a site rejects my password because it's either too long or contains unallowed characters.   ;Quote:Original post by OxydAlso, I hate it when a site rejects my password because it's either too long or contains unallowed characters.Could be worse.;Quote:Original post by zer0wolfI just have about 5 passwords that I use for everything. If I can't remember which one I used for a site, i just go down the list [wink]That's what I currently do. I have 6 or 7 passwords I use, but I use them all over the place. I can usually figure out the password to a site in one or two tries; but I'm worried about security, because I don't want the development info or mod powers compromised by a malicious player on a game I'm a part of. I'm also thinking about the inevitable future expansion of the number of accounts I have, since I currently have 45 accounts; about 10-15 which I actively use. I'm currently storing all my passwords in .txt files in a folder. [looksaround] That LastPass program looks really cool; thanks dmail. I also like that they intend to add Chrome support eventually.   ;  I have 7 levels of passwords. Top being mail/banking then it goes down to small online games and such. I've rotated the passwords down before since a lot of my friends knew my weakest password so I created a new strong password and pushed the rest down. It's so odd when I go to a site and I have an account there and I don't even remember registering.   