Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/05/09

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Password
From: lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)
Date: Wed May 9 07:37:29 2007
References: <200705090548.l495m6R6040158@server1.waverley.reid.org>

On May 9, 2007, at 1:48 AM, Don wrote:

> Frank,
> Try this one I got while talking to someone who would have to kill  
> me...
> Take a one dollar bill from your wallet, use the serial number on  
> the bill
> which will satisfy the randomness test, alphanumeric, and length
> requirements.  Also, there will be no tie in to personal  
> information.  Last,
> you can keep the bill to remember and there is no way that a bill  
> in your
> wallet will tip off anyone to your password, it's just money.


An old trick, but very effective. Our university required users to  
change passwords every month. The easiest way was to pull a dollar  
bill out of your pocket and use the serial number as your new  
password. If you were really affluent, you could use a $100 bill. It  
was, as you suggest, reasonably random, alphanumeric, and conveyed no  
personal information. In the jargon of spooks, it is a "one time pad"  
technique, the most secure of encryption methods. One serious problem  
emerged. People tended to forget that their money was their password.  
If you spent the bill, you were locked out of your computer until the  
site administrator issued you a temporary password.

Larry Z


Replies: Reply from kennybod at mac.com (Kenneth Frazier) ([Leica] Re: Password)