nordVPN

[Radio Fixer]

Thanks to everybody and especially Nick who has given me good advice and that I'm doing most things right. I need to buy the Cross Cut shredder as the one we have only does strips.

Very careful about e-mails and if I dont recognise them then they get deleted before opening. Mostly the PC is off which must help as well.

Like Adrian I dont have need for a Smart Phone, just an oldies, cheap clam shell so thats something else not to bother about.

Gary

[Diabolical Artificer]

Regarding passwords, Nick says use a different one on each site but this means having to remember dozens of passwords. Often recommended are passwords with random letters and symbols but remembering them is impossible, I usually use test gear for mine EG HP3903b!£ but still have a book stuffed full of passwords and user names .I often have no idea what username i've used in the past, nevermind about the password, as i often have to get creative to come up with a different unique one; my mind can jump to some odd places, so am often gobsmacked at the weird and wonderfull names I've come up with in the past.

Some sites ask for your birthdate, I often get emails saying for example "Happy Birthday Algernon Precipice" from The Brotherhood of Compound Steam Engine Fanciers on random dates having put in any old date into a site form years ago. Security questions are another source of confusion, most are straight forward and easy to remember like birthplace but as I get older am often stumped when asked questions like "what was your mothers uncle Neds favourite cat?" which is a head scratcher.

Andy.

[Nick]

Regarding passwords, Nick says use a different one on each site but this means having to remember dozens of passwords....

Not at all - I use a password manager - I rarely know the password to a site - no need. The only passwords I have to remember are the master passwords - I have a few critical ones (banking, email etc.) which are never written down or stored electronically. The rest (100s of them) are handled by LastPass.

[Radio Fixer]

How is a Password manager any better than my way? I use a Word file that I encrypt / decrypt as needed to see the plain text.

Has search, copy paste etc.

thanks Gary

[Nick]

How is a Password manager any better than my way?  I use a Word file that I encrypt / decrypt as needed to see the plain text.

Has search, copy paste etc.

thanks  Gary

Because cloud-based services work anywhere and on any device. It might not be an issue for everyone, but I have many devices I use - both iPad & Android tablets, several PCs, laptop, some systems running MacOS, smart phone etc. I also have many IoT devices, some of which have administrator logins (ESP32s with web-based admin), plus a lot of other equipment (Ubiquiti networking kit, smart PDU strips, Liebert UPS systems, many RPis, even some nixie clocks...) that have logins too.

Wherever I am and whatever I'm using, the passwords are available.

[ppppenguin]

What happens if the PW manager gets hacked? Then the intruders have all your passwords. Nothing is 100% bug free.

This article seems like a decent assessment: https://cybernews.com/best-password-mana...gers-safe/

[Nick]

What happens if the PW manager gets hacked? Then the intruders have all your passwords. Nothing is 100% bug free.

This article seems like a decent assessment: https://cybernews.com/best-password-mana...gers-safe/

It depends whether the service provider has access to your passwords. In the case of LastPass and other decent providers, no they don't, so even if LastPass is hacked, your passwords are safe as they are never available in plain text in the cloud.

So, no, if LastPass is hacked the intruders do not have any of your passwords.

If you read the article you referenced, they even say this - cloud based password managers like LastPass are safe. If your master password is sufficiently complex and you never write it down or store it anywhere else, you're OK.

[Radio Fixer]

So only having a PC, by preference, my way should be safe enough.

thanks Gary

[ppppenguin]

If you read the article you referenced, they even say this - cloud based password managers like LastPass are safe. If your master password is sufficiently complex and you never write it down or store it anywhere else, you're OK.

I still worry about having all the eggs in one basket. Yes, it's safe enough out there in the cloud but if you get malware on your PC etc that does key logging, it gets your master PW and hence all your PWs.

Having said that, my own methods (not to be revealed here) are probably rather less secure than a decent PW manager.