On Pins

To get to this point I had to enter a PIN for my computer and password to get to this site, I also had to enter a PIN for my phone as well (though that's not related to this). When I was at Littlewoods in 1980 we had to use a swipe card and enter a pin. These days it's often just a swipe card, even for payments, so if someone picks up your card they can use it.

I still maintain that the only safe place for a pass key is in your head. People extol the virtues of password keeper systems, but come on , would you give your house keys to a nameless entity, and what if someone cracks the password you use for that.

Then there's fingerprints and retinal scans, a friend of mine emailed work telling he'd sanded off his fingerprints so couldn't get into his iPhone , so what could he do. I think there was a work round but again corporations are always supposedly saying they are increasing security by making things less secure. How often do websites and Google suggest them remembering your password? So if someone walks up to your computer and you are not logged out they then have full access.

Also too complex passwords are no good because people write them down, I see so many people go into notepads to get their password for whatever they are accessing , so I know where THEY keep their passwords.

The other thing is more that four passwords, is a security risk, because people start to write them down.

My passwords are variations on unmemorable phrases like say fishandchips or kilburnandthehighroads , though needless to say mine are nothing like that.

As I mentioned Kilburn and The High Roads (Ian Dury's old band)  , I found this live take of "Vidiot" for you to enjoy, though it was only ever performed live, I have been unable to find a recorded version.

Your Password

There is so much idiocy about security. Banks tell us to hide our PIN, enter it under a cover so you can't see what you are typing, treat everyone as a potential thief and then make your cards contactless, no ID required (apart from odd random PIN requests).

I've always believed that much more than four passwords becomes a security risk, because people start writing them down. The only secure place for a password is in your head and it has to be something that you can remember, maybe a phrase with a smattering of numbers and other characters.

When I worked for Littlewoods on their IT systems the backspace was considered a valid character for a password, so if you made a mistake you had to completely start again with your log in.

There are systems that won't allow sequences, repetitions, numbers, special characters and these again generate security risks because people end up writing down passwords.

There are even software packages that remember your passwords for you. Think about that. You are entrusting all your logins to a piece of software, that is the digital equivalent of your notebook that you give to someone else for safekeeping. I was also amazed to see the number of password notebooks for sale on Amazon, it's like people want to give away their information, although if you think of your Tesco and Boots clubcards that track all your purchases, and Facebook where you publicly share so much personal information.

Facebook, Google and Paypal always ask me if I want to stay logged in, now how insecure is that. You enter a system securely and when you are finished you log out. The really annoying thing is that they use cookies to remember your preferences. Cookies are by their nature transient, and I always clear my web cache because I do web work and want a clean browser cache, which means all the particular site starts asking me for all sorts of things. To log into Facebook or this blog I am asked three times if I want to save my password.

Though again this blog is me sharing my thoughts with you.

I have had many arguments about IT security over the years, and it seems to me, often people do things because they can or it gives them control, rather than it's a good idea.

Fingerprints , Face Recognition and Retina scanning are more security options but my friend Nic managed to lock himself out of his iPhone when he accidentally sanded off his fingerprints.

So what else to play but "Security" by The Saints.