This morning I can’t for the life of me remember my university web-services password.
This seems to be a fairly common occurrence. Every couple of days I set up a new online account for something or other, leaving my mind saturated with broken bits of passwords that aren’t really words, include assorted numbers, random punctuation, and (gasp) capital letters. Even if I were to attempt to use the same password for everything, it would quickly evolve into something new and more complicated based on the requirements of each individual web-service.
In short, my brain is saturated with these miserable tidbits. And at 8am on a Monday morning I am completely useless.
I used to be able to remember the pattern that my hands made on the keyboard (or number pad, when I only had one card with a passcode to enter), but that strategy is now long gone. You never know when someone is peeking over your shoulder while you’re typing, and if it’s something memorable, they’re almost certain to catch it too. After-all, it’s impossible to miss the old QWERTYUIOP password.
I can’t even think of any helpful tips for password memorization – not without the eerie feeling that I’m giving out too much information. And I would link to some websites, but without that original password, I’m blocked from internet access until I can track down an ethernet cable. Sigh.
I could write my passwords down, but then I’d risk everyone whose ever in contact with me finding the piece of paper. I’d lose the password-filled paper to boot. And yes, I could let my computer keep track them, but after knowing a number of people in university who had their laptops stolen I feel nervous about the idea of someone getting their hands on everything.
No, this is one of those times where I am going to have to rely on my brain to keep track of these things. Even on Monday morning. :/
It would almost make sense to get children to practice remembering useless series of numbers and letters – just to get them in the habit. Maybe someone can create an app for this. I might be able to remember the password to open my phone to use it…