Where Do You Keep Your List of Passwords?

If you are one of those who store your passwords on an online password manager or in a file on your computer you probably can skip this but if you use paper to store your passwords then you need to read this.

On too many occasions (and 1 is too many) I have seen clients leave their passwords on a piece of paper or papers that would be easily accessible to anyone without difficulty. Passwords left on a desk in the living room, taped onto a computer, etc.  A few weeks ago I was in Forest Hills and a client had the passwords taped on her desk. I mentioned that anyone passing buy can easily get her passwords. She said that she trusts her children, boyfriend, housekeeper, etc.  It is a delicate subject to mention but if you are a victim of identity theft there is a good chance that the relative you trusted could be the one doing it. What if you are having furniture delivered and one of the deliverymen takes out his smartphone camera to take a picture of your password list? I think you get my point.

Bottom line. If you have your list of your passwords on paper, store that paper in a secure place. There are better ways to store that paper then I noted above. If you have a safe with a lock consider putting it there. I have recommended this to some clients and they said it was too much of a hassle to walk to it. Could the safe be moved?  Could you get a smaller safe to keep closer to your computer? A storage area that looks like a book or a soda can perhaps?  Nothing is perfect but to use the football analogy you want to move the chains.  Be careful of where you store that list of passwords.  Keep it in a relatively secure place. Some of those password lists that I saw contained password information for accessing bank accounts.  I will go one step further here. Someone who obtains your login information also would get access to your security questions. This would leave you open to someone opening credit cards, bank accounts etc in your name and stealing your identity. So please leave those papers containing your login information in a safe place.

So where do you store your list of passwords?  If it is in plain sight will you now move it to somewhere safe? All comments are welcome. And by the way, my client in Forest Hills has since moved her passwords to a much safer spot. I look forward to not seeing them the next time I go there.

If you want to know more about how you can be more secure when using your computer or other technology issues, I can be contacted at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .

Feel free to join the conversation and post comments and questions on my Facebook page at Computer Concierge NY LLC . There also are tips there to better use your computer, smartphone, iPad and other technology you may have or are thinking of buying.