@j_opdenakker I have never found one that was easy and fast to use that played well with my ADHD. Modern UX is a huge barrier for me; the old-style menu tree navigation of yore has been replaced with Ribbons and Sidebars and Gestures. Raised buttons that used to be labeled with words replaced with flat symbols that aren't consistent across applications (or even screens within the same application!) and have no dividers to indicate their edges. Learning any new application is a huge time and energy investment for me now, so I have to be very sure that I want to use it for the foreseeable future.
Most password managers feel confusing, look cheaply made from some UX template, and so don't inspire confidence. I've kept a paper password book for years...it's worked--I have never even once lost my Pw to a critical site or account--and so it's hard to change, even though I know I probably should. Also, a book doesn't require power or internet access to work, and someone has to physically take it to see what's in it. And I can arrange what I write in it any way I see fit.
I do use a password *generator* to reset or otherwise make new passwords...but as for managing/storing them, a paper log is all I've used since I was a teenager in the 90s.
@j_opdenakker I started using passwords before password managers existed, and never changed my habits. Also across multiple devices such as computers, phones, TVs, etc, I'd have to install the manager everywhere.
I tend to use very obscure passwords, such as initials of phrases that only mean something to me and, more recently, much longer passwords that are chains of words (correct horse battery staple).
I also reuse passwords regularly, which I know a lot of people frown on.
@j_opdenakker I don't understand how it doesn't make passwords significantly less secure?
You now have one point of weakness, the password manager, which would reveal ALL your other passwords, no?
@Minihood @j_opdenakker
Consider a pen and paper log:
•that video camera in your room is still a risk, but now it's a risk when you aren't in the room, and it's a risk each time you log into the site going forward
These are all still risks:
•your operating system
•all running software on your computer
•your browser
•any add-ons for your browser
@Minihood @j_opdenakker browser and operating system vendors invest a lot of time and resources into finding, fixing, and delivering fixes for their bugs because their reputation is really important to them.
Browser vendors will kick out evil or suspect add-ons for the same reason. OS vendors will to some extent, although depending on the OS you might supplement with anti-malware (Malwarebytes?).
@Minihood @j_opdenakker A single point of failure for all of a person's passwords would make it a higher priority target, I assume.
Once upon a time, a little black book of passwords was seen as a foolish move, second only to the post-it note or bit of card stuck to the side of the monitor. Oh my, how times have changed :-)
@j_opdenakker Password managers are a single point of failure, all of which have experienced some sort of major vulnerability or compromise. While I've used them in *very limited* contexts, I consider them a generally bad idea, and actively encourage the security industry to stop recommending them.
A cloud-synced password manager can be attacked by anyone on the planet, the post-it note on my monitor can be attacked by people who can see into my office. The latter is vastly more secure.
@j_opdenakker "No" because I tried a couple many years ago, and they were too clunky, but also because every app and every database will leak if you wait long enough. The meltdown I'd have if I had to change every PW in one day after a leak is too much to imagine.
"Who cares" accounts have "who cares" passwords and the important ones (bank, e-mail I use for recovering passwords) have strong passwords I wrote down (using a code I can do in my head).
All my users - and most people I know - never think about it because browsers made it "easy" for them.
They're all horrified when I ask them for a password, they proudly tell me they don't remember it as it's saved in the browser and not written down, and then I show them.
Work all use a password manager now.
(We use Keepass, not a cloud service)
@j_opdenakker Yes, largely a lack of trust. I'm an old millennial. I have seen many services come and go.
Can't imagine the PITA if my password manager's company went under one day. Hard pass.
@j_opdenakker yes, LastPass, but not necessarily for the usual reasons.
I’ve also convinced some family to use and join my family account; the ability to safely share passwords and entire accounts on death is a huge stress relief.
As morbid as it sounds, cracking a deceased relatives PC a day after their funeral so their widow can access household services is not an experience I want to replicate.
I handle the household tech; if I’m hit by a bus I want to ensure my kids have access to the family backups. Like a lot of folks, we have relatively few physical photo albums to pass down the generations.
@j_opdenakker I once described a password manager as "a nice basket to put all your eggs in."
My issues being:
1. it introduces a single point of failure that would potentially give an attacker access to everything.
2. it sets the passwords to something difficult for me to remember, if I know them at all. Which means if I don't have access to the password manager, then I don't have access to anything.
@j_opdenakker
Yes. I use a Enpass and utilize my Nextcloud to sync the data. Works great and my data is not transferred to any foreign servers (hopefully).
Is using a password mamanger a good or a bad thing from an Infosec perspective? It could also be a single point of failure…