Create secure passwords you don't have to remember

Create secure passwords you don't have to remember

Serdar Yegulalp, Contributor
Are passwords doomed? The unanimous lament among security experts is how most people don't use strong passwords. They either use personally identifiable information or else horribly weak passwords that won't survive a dictionary attack. Furthermore, Microsoft is talking about allowing people to almost entirely do away with passwords in Internet Explorer 7.

It's a Catch-22 situation: People rarely use strong passwords because they are impossible to remember, and yet they've been told time and again never to write them down, which only makes them harder to memorize.

There's got to be a better way, you say. Well, to a degree, there already is. Programmer Chris Zarate has created an online password generator application that functions in a way I've never seen before. It actually works witha user's bad memory rather than against it.

The premise is simple. You supply a single master password -- it doesn't matter what it is, and it doesn't have to be secure -- and the application generates a bookmarklet that takes the domain name of the site you're visiting and creates a password to use in that domain by hashing it against your master password. The bookmarklet is not a program; it's simply a bookmark that, when selected, pops up a text window (via JavaScript) that contains the password to use for that domain.

Bookmarklets

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

    By submitting your registration information to SearchWindowsServer.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchWindowsServer.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

can be generated for Firefox and IE and are created via the secure MD5 algorithm, which makes them impossible to reverse-engineer. No information of any kind is transmitted to an outside server to create the bookmarklet or generate the password. You can also create a bookmarklet with the master password hard-coded into it (if you're reasonably certain you'll be the only one accessing the computer) or one that prompts you for the master password each time. The script can even automatically populate password fields in the current page as needed.

This is a creative and powerful solution to a problem that isn't going to go away soon.

Serdar Yegulalp is editor of the Windows Power Users Newsletter. Check it out for the latest advice and musings on the world of Windows network administrators -- and please share your thoughts as well!

More information from SearchWinSystems.com


This was first published in March 2006

Join the conversationComment

Share
Comments

    Results

    Contribute to the conversation

    All fields are required. Comments will appear at the bottom of the article.

    Disclaimer: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.

    Back to top