Pre- mobiles and internet time, question for those who knew it

[Tim Hall]

That's what strikes me about any system that stores all of your private data - if somebody manages to hack that system then you have lost everything in one hit!

A bit like losing a little note book you've got your phone numbers in you mean?

 

[classic33]

Who stores their numbers on their handset only then?

 

[ColinJ]

A bit like losing a little note book you've got your phone numbers in you mean?

I think it is a bit more likely that the security of a big website will be cracked by international hackers than a burglar breaking into my house and finding the scraps of paper containing cryptic reminders of my passwords, and then working out what they mean!

 

[SteveF]

What you needed was a Telephone Table in the hall. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/491192651/entryway-bench-gossip-table-mid-century?ref=market

My MiL still has one of those......

 

[ufkacbln]

Last year we were on Snowdon

Couple desperately trying to get on the train down

They had decided to walk up... classically ill prepare with trainers, a fold up waterproof and with the weather closing in, the company reallly had no choice

Then we found out that they had thought it would only be a couple of hours, but as they were navigating by phone they got totally lost until another group of walkers picked them up

They had assumed that there would be signal wherever they went because it was a tourist area!

 

[raleighnut]

Last year we were on Snowdon

Couple desperately trying to get on the train down

They had decided to walk up... classically ill prepare with trainers, a fold up waterproof and with the weather closing in, the company reallly had no choice

Then we found out that they had thought it would only be a couple of hours, but as they were navigating by phone they got totally lost until another group of walkers picked them up

They had assumed that there would be signal wherever they went because it was a tourist area!

It took Pam and me 3 attempts to get to the top, twice the weather 'dropped' on us (visibility down to 10yds) so safer to get off it sharpish.

 

[jefmcg]

That's what strikes me about any system that stores all of your private data - if somebody manages to hack that system then you have lost everything in one hit!

They'd have to still have (or guess) my password, as it's all encrypted on the site. If not, they'd be stuck with brute force attack which would take roughly a year of super computer time, so I would have time to change all my passwords before that.

I have literally hundreds of accounts (oh, turns out it's 550!?), all with a different email addresses, so keeping paper record would be unwieldy. Using a service protects me from phishing (it won't offer to fill in the password if the URL isn't correct). They are also proactive in reporting any security issues with any sites I have accounts with to alert me to change the password, as well as alerting if they notice any suspicious activity on their servers. They provide an onscreen keyboard if I am somewhere (like an internet cafe) where I might be worried about keystroke loggers.

I did seriously think about it before committing to it, but decided it was overall safer to use such a service than not. The biggest risk is me becoming careless with that one password, so I keep that close to my chest.

What no one should ever do is use the same password at multiple sites. Hackers who get a list of passwords and email addresses will immediately try them on every site they might be able to steal money from (eg ebay and paypal).