Are you guilty of using the same user name and password on all sites where you have an account? If so then you should really not be doing this.
Consider the following scenario:
You create a new account at SiteXYZ.com using your typical user name and password. SiteXYZ.com has implemented its user and password storage in the database to save this data as plain (unhashed) text.
Now suppose SiteXYZ.com gets hacked with the attacker able to get access to the user and password information (which is stored in plain text) or the owner of SiteXYZ.com is an unscrupulous individual who is simply harvesting login information from people creating accounts.
The person who now has the user and password information starts trying it on common sites (such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and on online banking sites.
So in the above situation, if you had your Facebook account using the same user and password as SiteXYZ.com, your account is now compromised. Worse yet, think about what could happen if that person was able to get into your online banking site…
Of course, some accounts are more important than others but at the very least you should make sure your most important accounts have a unique password.
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I used to. After having getting my Gmail account hacked, then a month later, my Twitter account hacked, I’m in the process of changing all of my passwords. I’ve changed all of the ones that I really cared for (email primarily) and am changing the others as I find myself visiting those sites. I can’t complain, the password I used has served me for 20 years. If I get another 20 years out of my new password system, I’ll be surprised.
i used to too, long time ago, very stupid thing to do as if they get it, they have access to many things. A good password manager really helps though, feel free to check out my blog for my recommendation.
Got me to tinking and I guess that this is why I do no eletronic banking, I still write checks or use credit cards. I don’t know the password for my credit cards only use them when I need them and never take a cash advance. Have 3 blogs and 2 email accounts friendster facebook and twitter a few minor web sites. That is a lot of passwords to remember.
Think that I will have to change my passwords again
Great reasons to vary passwords and never duplicate them. Also, having multiple email addresses is a good idea, as they are free. Link your favorite blogs and social networking to one, and have a separate account that is the only one tied to your online banking accounts.
Hey I am guilty of this. Now I am going to change my usernames for now on.
Thanks,
Sam H.
http://www.printingintegrations.com
Yes, that’s a big mistake! I got scammed a few times for using the same password on two different websites.
Just recently I read an article on PCMech about LastPass. I really like it a lot and it lets you “safely” use a single master password on all site logins even thought the user/pw info is different for every one of them. It’s free too so no worries.