Managing Your Online Identity

Having a hard time remembering your passwords? I know I do. I've got close to fifty to keep track of. From a security perspective you're not supposed to write them down anywhere, certainly not in your pda, like I have. But how else can you manage so many identities?

One strategy is to use the same password for all of your low-risk websites or applications, such as news services. Even if someone figures out your password there is not much damage they can do with your access.

For higher risk applications, like your online bank account, you want to use a stronger password. Stronger passwords contain some special characters, numbers and capital letters. They are also at least 8 characters in length. Although there are mnemonic strategies for building strong passwords, each one should still be unique. In this scenario, even a small number of passwords are difficult to remember.

Despite the constant harping from security experts that you should not write down your passwords, I recommend you write them on a small slip of paper and keep it safely in your wallet or purse. Now they are securely stored with all the other things used to identify you.

Another option is to store your identities in an application like KeePass. It stores an encrypted password that you can paste into your login form, instead of writing it down or storing it in clear text. The coolest thing about KeePass is it is so lightweight. And it's free. I guess that's two things. ;)

I put it on my usb drive and can open it anywhere. Of course it's password protected. There are some additional features to promote stronger passwords. Overall, a very useful tool.