Passwords Can Sit on Hard Disks for Years

CygnusXII writes ""As people spend more time on the web and hackers become more sophisticated, the dangers of storing personal information on computers are growing by the day, security experts say. There are some obvious safeguards, such as never allowing your computer to store your passwords. But even that is no guarantee of security." "

No Guarantee of Security?!?!

[Paulrothrock]

Run for the hills! There's no guarantee of security! Everyone stop using your computers right now!

Yikes!

[mogrinz]

I've got to stop using c:\windows as my password!

Hehe

[mgs1000]

It looks like some reporter just discovered the page file. :)

Safe passwords?

[belgar]

Computers not secure? What a relief all my passwords are on stickies stuck to my monitor. I'm set!

Ultimate solution

[desplesda]

Let's just do a brain scan of everyone. I mean, you can forge fingerprints, voice prints, etc, but you can't beat a mind probe!

Untrue

[frs_rbl]

Passwords don't sit on hard disks. It's more like under mouse pads

talk about hacker sophistication...

Sir?

[The Ultimate Fartkno]

I'd really like to sell you my old computer since this is a yard sale and all, but I see that you're wearing a mask, carrying a saber, and have a black hat on that says "l33t h4x0r!" I can't help but think that you might somehow be up to some nefarious shenanigans!

I've got no problems....

[Anonymous Coward]

with that, all my passwords are automatically filled in by Gator.....

Re:No Guarantee of Security?!?!

[Three Headed Man]

I was going to say! My computer is perfectly safe! I unplug it from the internet between pageloads.

Self-Expiring Password Hardware

[Nuclear Elephant]

Store all your passwords on a burned CD, that way they'll have a shelf-life of 3-5 years tops.

Whew

[thedillybar]

And everyone laughed at me when I put 2GB of RAM in my computer, allocated 1GB as a RAM disk, and pulled the harddrive out. None of those security issues here!

Re:in an effort to stop this....

[mgs1000]

Be careful, passwords can sit on paper for decades!

Re:Passwords can sit anywhere for years

[palndrumm]

You've got a three year old post-it stuck to your monitor? That's impressive - I have trouble getting mine to stay there for 3 days...

Re:Hackers?

[mrtroy]

"...and hackers become more sophisticated..." ...and WHO become more sophisticated?

Dude, they dont just rollerblade around with laptops going to phone booths anymore...

They have moved up to segways and wireless!

Sophisti-mication

Re:Well, we can always do like in MacGyver

[paiste404]

dont question the macgyver. this is the same man who once picked an electronic lock with half-full wine glasses and a canary. you will accept the macgyver and you'll like it.

Re:Yikes!

[kunudo]

Yes, change it to c:/windows... Then no one will be able to guess it.

Passwords can sit on hard disks for years

[mcgroarty]

And sometimes, they just sit on the front page of Slashdot [slashdot.org].

Passwords don't sit on disks

[spidergoat2]

Passwords are written on little yellow sticky paper, then they sit on the side of the monitor.

Re:Well, we can always do like in MacGyver

[leenoble_uk]

Of course he wouldn't.
He'd fashion something out of whatever was to hand.
Why by merely warming over some plastic explosive, a hairpin could be used to read and write data to the soft squidgy platter and MacGuyver could create the zeroes and ones of the password cracking software by simply modifying his vocal tones utilising the glottoral stop to write the machine code.

Piece of piss- we've all done it.

My Security Tips

[Waffle Iron]

Here are a few security tips that I use to help keep my passwords secure:

• Don't impress your passwords into soft clay tablets then bake them and leave them in the ruins of your civilization.
• Never glaze your passwords onto pottery. Even breaking the pottery into shards is not a secure way to dispose of them.
• Do not write your passwords onto parchment then leave them rolled up in caves in a desert environment.
• Remember, security through obscurity doesn't work. Even if you keep your passwords in a totally hidden chamber under thousands of tons of stone, determined hackers will still be able to find them.

Re:Hackers?

[cuzality]

"...and hackers become more sophisticated..."

...and WHO become more sophisticated?

FAR more sophisticated in my estimation -- haven't you read where they even order their pizza [beigerecords.com] and have it sent right to their parents' basement without ever having left the comfort of the '#'?

Next they'll be relieving themselves by HTTP POST transaction...

Even the fathers [hackernetwork.com] never saw these days...

Re:of course, I've used the same password for year

[Anonymous Coward]

it's really easy to remember because it's pronouncable.

I tried a dozen times and didn't find a pronouncable one. Then again, English is my first language, not jibberish.