Password Protected

It seems as though every time I come up the stairs lately, there is a kid standing there - arms outstretched - saying "What's the password?"  I happily reply "password" and the doors open and they allow me to go by. So simple and fun.

The other day, my sister sent me a copy of a note her daughter had written outlining her efforts to 'crack the code' of the family computer. I especially like the "Note to Self: Keep in mind, this is so freaking hard!!" because it basically sums up my experience with passwords.

I am hopeless when it comes to passwords - well - I should clarify - I am great at coming up with good passwords, I just suck rocks at remembering them.

It doesn't help that every website/agency/bank has different requirements for their passwords. Must have a capital letter, number, be more than 8 characters, be less than 8 characters - holy crap - it's no wonder I get confused. 

I even suck at password hints. I'll choose a question like "what was the name of your first pet" (I only ever had one so it should be easy, right?). Of course, 2 years later when I go back to log in to that account, and three or four invalid passwords later, I will click on the hint. Hmmm . . . first pet . . . and suddenly I can remember the dog, chicken, and kittens that were part of my childhood. I start entering names without success. Next thing you know I am locked out of the account, and required to call the help desk.

So I call the help desk. The first thing they ask is for my four digit verification code. I go through the last four digits of every single phone number I have ever had. Nope. I ask for a hint. They give me one and I still get it wrong. Sigh.

In an effort to 'help myself out' with this, I decided to create a "Password List" document so I could easily reference those secret keys for unlocking websites. It was genius I tell you. Every single password for every single website - including a link to the sign in page. Brilliant! 

I just wish I hadn't password protected it. Son of a . . .