Avoid password fatigue with a password storage system
Password Management
Keeping track of all your passwords can be tricky. Kurt says: Keep your friends close and your passwords closer.
While I was writing this article, I ran across a great phrase so perfect for this month’s topic that I have to share it with you: “password fatigue” [1]. Because we all have multiple accounts with different usernames, passwords, security questions, PIN numbers, and whatnot, we end up with way too many passwords.
Often you can’t use the same username (e.g., because your name has already been taken or the system assigns a name), and you definitely should not use the same password (a compromise of one system would then let the attacker into all your accounts). As for security questions, you should never use “real” information (like your zip code), because this information is easily discovered and used to reset or recover your password from the service provider. To be safe, you need to choose a good strong password – different for each site you use. I personally have around 350 passwords, security questions, and so on, of which I probably use 50-100 on a regular basis. And it drives me nuts.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.