Comments (15)

1. November 2, 2012
   Cal

   I see that so often.

2. November 2, 2012
   cobra

   When a user isn’t at their desk and I need to log in as them…I usually…

   A) I look under the keyboard, sometimes taped there… (most common)
   B) I look at their desk and for pictures of their kids or pictures the kids drew and try their names (a few times this has worked which is sad)
   C) I ask one of their coworkers, most of them know the password (not safe at all)
   D) I try the month and year (almost every single time it works)
   E) Last resort is to reset their password

3. November 2, 2012
   Jrau18

   Now, isn’t it GREAT password security if that’s there, and they’re fake? Personally, I’d hide fake passwords all over. Eventually, the hacker will stop trusting me.

4. November 2, 2012
   Rabo

   I have the same PC. And people think that 12345 is a strong password for some reason. A friend of mine’s used to be 12345678987654321. That as one of the worst…took maybe 2 minutes to cack

5. November 2, 2012
   Matt

   Rabo:

   Add a couple of zeroes into that password and it would be uncrackable.

6. November 3, 2012
   VF

   I work for an old IT manager who doesnt believe in security…. ALL user passwords follow the following layout

   if you name is Harry, you password will be H4rry123. The first vowel is replace by a number. When I started working there, I told him its a bit dangerous. He replied with, they done know each others passwords….

   Also, ADSL modems, switches, etc passwords are….. 654321.

   Luckily I leave for other employment end of the year.

7. November 3, 2012
   paulc

   Hey who cracked my password?

8. November 3, 2012
   paulc

   Going to put a complaint in to Howtogeek!

9. November 3, 2012
   mintakastar

   it is totally obvious the insecurity!!!

   they use Windows Vista!

10. November 3, 2012
    david

    As far as windows goes, can’t say there’s much you can do. Konboot took care of that. Can’t say mac fared much better, as they usually go down first in pwn2own.

    At my college, I can’t tell you how many staff members had the password as abcd@1234 or had it written next to there computer somewhere. However, since you had to change your password every 6 months, most people gave up on being creative. I think having the flashdrive key for the bios and a bios password is the way to go, but if you don’t encrypt the hdd then unless you go macintosh and solder it in, you can still be compromised.

11. November 3, 2012
    Dic

    Talking about passwords, one of my Win7 m/cs has been hacked. From time to time, the hack asked me for my ‘master password’, presumably for KeyPass. Since I intend doing a clean install Win8, from DVD, I wondered if I could safely move KeyPass to a flash drive, i.e. without taking the hack with it, and then copy it to the new installation.

    I haven’t entered my KeyPass password since I discovered the hack, but wondered if copying and pasting it from a flash drive might be a secure way of accessing my KeyPass. Alternatively, I wondered if using KeyScrambler might be a safe way of accessing my KeyPass?

    Any ideas, you clever people?

    Incidentally, since running CCleaner, MalwareBytes and Windows Security Essentials scans, I have had no further requests for ‘master password’; but I’m taking no chances, in case the hack is ‘playing possum’.

12. November 3, 2012
    Asian Angel

    @Dic – The best place to ask for help with your question is on our friendly forums (which you can find here):

    http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/

13. November 3, 2012
    Dic

    Excuse me, everyone, and thanks for the direction, Asian Angel.

14. November 4, 2012
    Asian Angel

    @Dic – No worries and you are most welcome. ^_^

15. November 6, 2012
    Tech Ninja

    Dell 620 Laptop. Oh God I need a day off…