For general website useage I use the same word.
For computer and email I have stuck with the system we were forced to use from my previous employer which was 8 letters, mix of lower and uppercase, numbers and non alphanumeric.
I just settled on mixing a mix of names with random words in spanish and substituting 5 ! 1 0 @ ( for S I O A and C
cheers
With very few exceptions, I use medical diagnoses. There are no end of them, and they’re usually things people don’t think of. (when was the last time the word “blepharoptosis” popped into your head?) If a number’s required, I add the numeric code designated to that diagnosis.
1234?
My passwords range somewhat, but they tend to be one of two things:
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A combination of initials and bithdate.
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Personal interests.
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tends to be used with material that I am the only one likely to access, while 2) tends to be used whenever someone else might be able to get at it.
This is probably a stupid question, but, as a former co-worker once opined, “There are no stupid questions, only stupid questioners.”
So, where does the alpha numeric code become designated to a given diagnosis? Something like the DSM-IV for general practice medicine?
I used to use a generic number and letter combo for most of my “unimportant” passwords where there’s really no personal information stored. I then tried to get a little more creative with the sites that had to be more secure. It got so ridiculous I ended up with a word document that had them all in it, which was fine since I was the only one who had access to the computer. OK, if someone was going to steal the desktop out of my home, yup, they’d have it, but that would only be one of a host of problems 
I then came across Any Password, and I’ve used it ever since. It’s free, can create any sort of password scheme you need, can be organized to your heart’s content, and can be password protected itself so you really only need to remember one password.
Thank you for reminding me it’s time to back it up onto a floppy (yes, some of us still use those :D)
It’s called an ICD9 code (stands for International Classification of Diseases). It’s a 3-5 digit numeric code, and they’re updated on an annual basis.
Lookout Google, here I come!
Close. 1234… well, I’m not telling you the rest.
I’ve got a couple of methods. One, which I first came across in an Isaac Asimov story, involves memorizing lines of verse, Shakespeare etc. and using the first letters of the words in a given line to make the password. Add numbers, extra characters etc. as required (easy if there are numbers or punctuation in the lines you memorized). When you have to change the password (as my workplace requires every 90 days), move to the next line. This works especially well if you have a capacious memory for such stuff anyway. If you’re annoyed at having to change your password often, use the lyrics of a rude song or satirical verse.
For online shopping and such, I avoid creating an account if it can be avoided, simply so I won’t have another damn password to remember. When I have to, I can’t remember where I read about this method, but it works: Memorize a “stem” of four or five characters, then customize it for each site by adding some (or all) of the site name. If your stem is 1234#, then your passwords can be 1234#amaz for Amazon.com, 1234#sdmb for a certain message board, and so on.
Not sure if you’ve found it yet, but here’s the online index.
I usually do the same as ultrafilter - take first first letter out of every word in a sentence that I made up, with capital letters/numbers/special characters as needed.
Either that, or take a word (of the appropriate length if the number of characters is a requirement) is l33t-ify it, with a mix of caps and small letters.
Mine’s easy. A series of letters that form what sounds like a (usually 2 syllable) “word” (something I can remember as a word, but doesn’t appear in the dictionary) followed by either the year or the full date of a historical/memorable event.
I used to use fantasy/science fiction names as the letter portion, now they’re just usually something that sounds like it could be such a name, but made up by me instead of a published author. As far as I know, I haven’t repeated a password yet, although sometimes I’ll reuse a previously-used “word” with a different number if I can’t think of anything right away (I always change the password the first time the computer tells me to).
i use the answer to a question i missed on a certification test i took not long ago.
i’ll not miss that one next time!
Last name of a baseball player combined with the number of a completely different player who plays the same position. I have yet to forget a password, and I have to change them every 3 months.
This is close to what I do. Everybody knows a couple of lines to one song or another. Use the first letter of each word. For example the first two lines of the Star Spangled Banner is
Oh say can you see
By the dawn’s early light
Becomes:
OscysBtdel
If I need a number I could add 1814, the year it was written.
OscysBtdel1814.
The best part is I can leave a sticky in plain sight that says Key-year to remind me.
For non-secure sights, I use one of three passwords.
So the OP has “<happy-face> and the world <happy-face> with you” and “<sad-face> and you <sad-face> alone”.
Where I have to change passwords regularly I use the 17 factions from Britannia (the board-game) and substitute numerals for one or more letters. That gives me a set of passwords to rotate through, which generally gets me around the business about reusing old passwords. But Internet’s another matter.
That’s nice on your home puter. It does not survive security in a shop that requires a change every 30 days (and will not let you repeat a password within 10 iterations).
Most of my passwords are on either a 30, 45, or 90 day required change cycle. Thankfully, the 45 and 90 day cycles have always permitted me to change them after 30 days, so whatever cycles I am on, whenever I need to change one password, I change them all. (Yeah, yeah, the security guys want you to use a different password on every system, but the systems are generally so disparate that no one breaking into one system will either have the access or the interest to go after another system and if the security guys knew what they were doing, we would have one-entry access, anyway.)
So I have a list of ten passwords, with dates, that I simply port around with me. That way, if I am out of a shop and my password expires before I return, I can simply enter the correct password from the last time I was there in order to trigger the “You need to change your expired password” message, at which point I put in the appropriate current password.
Of course, reading my list is not going to do anyone much good. All the list shows is the mnemonic to tell me what the word might be. Suppose I used Shakespearian names, (I don’t; I use a different set of words), I might have
batchelor
spinster
partygoer
twit
that would give me
benedick (or b3n3d1ck)
katherine (k4th3r1n3)
falstaff (f41st4ff)
polonius (p010n1us).
Nothing on the list says “Shakespeare,” so there is nothing to connect any name to any password. (For example, I would never use “moneylender” giving “shylock” as that might provide a key to the rest.)
There is nothing wonderful or sexy about this method, (although being able to port passwords into different environments while keeping a historical record has proven handy), but it is functional.
I change my password every 6 months or so, though on a little bit of a staggered schedule. My laptop password is always the first to change, followed by websites being changed as I visit them.
When choosing a password, I tend to either pick a random word that has no specific connection to me, an obscure term that few people are likely to know in the first place or a phrase I like that I can turn into an acronym for use as a password. Like many people, I usually just add 1 to the end if a number is required.
Like tomndebb, I have multiple systems which require frequent changes. I have been able to synchronize them to a 30 day schedule. Unfortunately, I am supposed to have different words for each of the 5 systems (and their “playback” schedule differs, too).
My method involves a map on my cubicle wall. I trace out (in my mind, not with a marker) some type of driving trip I have taken or would like to take. I use the towns along the way with an even number of letters, and apply a sort of hash (a fold, actually) to each half of the word and insert a special character exactly in the middle. Example: “amarillo” becomes amar - rillo, which then becomes rama - ollir and finally rama&ollir. This way I can move along the map in segments, pick out 5 likely town names and switch all 5 unique passwords at once. I also have some passwords which are only numeric :rolleyes: and I use the phone keypad to make up some easily remembered word. (ie. “Kaylee” gives me 529533, etc.)