passwords

Just like a passive-aggressive family member would

With more major brands getting hacked on Twitter, the social network offers up password security advice. But it's not enough.

It's hard to imagine an idea more inane than passwords. Their only redeeming value, from my perspective as a security professional, is that our reliance on them guarantees my children a decent college education.

A password made up of a phrase or short sentence may be more secure than a carefully constructed long one, countering the recommendations of some security experts.

Google engineers say they have been experimenting with hardware that would act as a master key for online services.

At the risk of repeating myself (see “What you don’t know about passwords might hurt you”), the best way to ensure that you never forget your passwords is to offload the task of remembering to a password manager such as 1Password (; $40). For most passwords, most people, and most of the time, that’s the only trick you’ll need. However, no matter what tools you use, you’ll have to memorize at least a few passwords. Because those are among your most important, you don’t want to trade security for memorability. Here a few tips that can help you make sure your brain doesn’t betray you.

I don’t mean to alarm you, but -- well, actually I do. Your password strategy, if you have one at all, might be seriously out of date.

2godballdaglory asked the Answer Line forum how he can boot an old PC with a password he no longer remembers.

Three decades into the digital revolution, passwords are still complicated, ineffective and a drain on IT's resources. What gives?

In early August, Wired reporter Mat Honan had his most precious passwords hacked via a complex series of social engineering exploits. The breach made headlines because it exposed security flaws in Apple and Amazon customer service policies; but let’s not forget that the Honan saga capped a long summer full of server invasions that exposed millions of user passwords en masse.

Fear of losing your mobile device is just one of a number of new phobias that the rapid pace of technological advance has birthed

Having your Web browser remember your passwords and/or credit card details can be convenient, but it poses some security risks. How much of a risk depends on which browser you’re using, whether you sync with other devices, and whether you’re using any of the browser's extra security features. Here are the main vulnerabilities in some of the most popular browsers—Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox—and ways you can protect against those weak spots.