Neil Thatcher

Sussex

IT Manager

I feel that I lead a fairly average life as far as my need for passwords and pin numbers goes. A quick tot-up of the number of passwords and pin numbers that I use on a daily basis gave me a total of 12. There are probably another half dozen which I use occasionally

If I follow the advice these must all be a sequence of random numbers and letters, I must not use any one password for more than one log-in and I am not allowed to write these passwords down.

In the unlikely event that I could remember over a dozen random letter and number sequences the chances of me remembering which sequence I should use for which log-in are nil.

Of course people use easy to remember passwords and use the same password for more than one function. A password is of no use if it can't be remembered.

Perhaps your story should not have focussed on people being so stupid that they use passwords that they can actually remember but rather on the underlying problem of the reliance on such a basic technology as passwords for security in a society that now demands secure access for such a variety of activities.