why "good passwords" are irrelevant

[kimfabey]

Okay y'all, I just have to say something on the topic of choosing "good" passwords. I've seen a lot of tips regarding password security lately, and it really annoys me, because having a good password is nearly irrelevant for anything that actually matters, because it only protects against brute force attacks. There are a lot of accounts getting

Comments

[fancci]

I <3 you and wish everyone would read this entry and adopt it as gospel, especially those websites with ridiculous requirements for my password, which is sixteen characters at minimum and QUITE STRONG ENOUGH for a brute-force attack, thank you!

<3

[kimfabey]

Ugh yes. FUCK THOSE WEBSITES. It should not take 15 minutes to carefully construct a password that meets all of their bizarre requirements. Even worse is when it's my university and they require me to then change it every 3 months!

[fancci]

When websites require me to do ridicuous stuff like change my password every three months, I seriously start doubting how secure my data is. I think they're trying to make me feel safe by being "proactive", but they seem to fail to grasp that being proactive is something THEY do, not something obnoxious they make ME do!

[zapthatmonster]

Yeah, dude. Everyone thinks I'm super weird for my wifi network password. YOU GUYS DON'T UNDERSTAND IT IS SECURE AS FUCK. Thanks for the reminder that it's time for me to go through my other passwords and change them... Haven't done that in agggeess.

[zapthatmonster]

Relevant post on tumblr this week: "Sorry, your password must contain the entire alphabet, your left foot, a theme song to a television show, and the blood of your enemies."

[kimfabey]

And also at least one non-alphanumeric character.