This morning I received an e mail inviting me to make a 30% return on my investment. All I needed to do was click on a link and then enter both my e mail address and e mail password. Duh!!
The scary thing is; the e mail came from a friend (you know who you are 🙂 ) and therefore a trusted e mail address.
I bounced a message to my friend to let her know that her account might have been hacked; I then sat pondering how safe my accounts are.
Every so often I become paranoid regarding internet security and my passwords. I log onto my e mail accounts, bank accounts, amazon, facebook, wordpress oh the list goes on and on and change my passwords with some new and devious password made up of upper-case letters sprinkled with a few numbers and the odd Ὧ©ⅎ. The passwords become utterly unbreakable, even by me.
I then spend the next 3 weeks filling out the “have you lost your password again, stupid boy,” just so that I can log into my internet life.
Twit form
I have used passwords centred around the names of my children, wife and next doors extremely fat but short legged sausage dog. I have even tried dates of birth, marriage & birthdays, but boy did it get me into trouble when I asked Mrs Sensible the date we married.
In the end I have decided to simplify this password nonsense. I have decided to use the same password and phrase on all my accounts , one I won’t forget in a hurry. New password: Yourintroubleagain21
Englishman in Italy 
I need some advice Pecora Nera. Following your suggestion, I have tried to make my passwords more secure on all my accounts. Trouble is: 1) I don’t have any children and 2)I don’t have a wife 3) I don’t have a next door short-legged sausage dog and (last by not least) 4) I don’t have a Mrs Sensible marriage certificate to hand…. gosh no wonder I got hacked.. 😉
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I wasn’t going to name you. 🙂
Listen why don’t you use the same pass word as me. Then if you forget it you can e mail me and I will tell you and if I forget it, I can contact you. Password Yourintroubleagin21
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oh I get it, OK let me log onto my bank account as well
password changed to Yourintroubleagin21
great! thanks Pecora Nera!
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Always here to help. 🙂
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I write mine down – I just checked – I have 35 differerent passwords. 35. If I lost that file my life would probably be…..much better actually come to think of it.
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When I was in the UK I used the same pin number for all my bank cards. Here in Italy I can’t or maybe don’t know how to change them. So not only do I have lot’s of different internet passwords. I have umpteen pin numbers to remember..
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I’m the same, I write them down all over the place then lose the paper I wrote it on. Try P.F’s handy hint for not forgetting your wedding anniversary: use it as your photocopier code. That way he thinks of me every time he hits “copy”. Romantic, huh?
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aaawwwww!!!!!
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He still forgets our wedding anniversary, though, otherwise it wouldn’t be fun.
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Funny you should say that.. my wedding anniversary is coming up soon. We married in the UK and it was hot and sunny so that must narrow it down to a couple of days in either July or August. I will ask Mrs Sensible
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It gets out of hand SO easily! What about changing up the languages…that usually helps us.
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Changing up the language?? As in use Italian words in the password, I only know 6
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How bout French then? LeFrancaisPassword Or Spanish! LosPantalones (the only Spanish I know!)
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One of the few German words I know “Ausfahrt” I thought it was a really big city, as lots of the motorway signs pointed to it. But it means Exit
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Yes, I remember the first time I stayed in Germany, carefully memorising that I was staying in Einbahnstrasse. Then I noticed there were loads of streets in town called Einbahnstrasse. Then I found out it means One Way Street.
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I read somewhere that hackers immmediately try, in this order, “password”, birthdays, anniversaries, close relatives’ names, and pet’s names.
I always use foul swear words as passwords. Apparenty most hackers are primary school children these days, so probably don’t know this vocabulary yet.
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Love it… Especially if you use Sicilian swear words
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I hear this one works well: 1 2 3 4 .
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Ha Ha Ha.
I use that on my mobile. The kind people at vodafone pre set it for me
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I think journalists in the UK must have had some success with that password.
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I am always ticking the ‘have you forgotten your password’ box too! I have a sort of a system to help me remember passwords, but it doesn’t always work. The other thing i have trouble with is all the different pin numbers and code numbers I seem to need these days. Pin numbers for bank cards, entry codes on doors at work, alarm codes at home, padlock combinations…. 😦
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It is a nightmare, and the older I become the worse it gets,
😦
I have even phoned Mrs Sensible before now asking for my pin number while a queue of shoppers look on.
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