Too Many Passwords

[Ed Hurst]

Today I uninstalled the encrypted SMS service I had been using. They wanted a code and I couldn't remember it any more. I've got way too many passwords and codes (over two dozen) and every different service wants me to memorize another. Yes, I know I could have recovered it, but I've reached the point where I can't keep track of them any more, and it would happen again and again. Worse, no two services use the same routine for recovery. I'm looking for a way to reduce my exposure to such things. I can't afford to be locked out of a service for something like that.

[jaybreak]

I wonder what the average cognitive limit is for remembering passwords. There have to have been studies done on that.

[Ed Hurst]

Here's something funny: I can recall every password I ever came up with. The problem is that I can't recall where I used them. It's not the passwords themselves, but the matching of which password goes where that forms the limit for me.