Re: Password aging

[Gary Flynn <flynngn () JMU EDU>]

Jim Moore wrote:


> Go ahead and Write it down
> Effective passwords may initially be harder to remember, especially over a holiday break. Go ahead and write it down 
> and store it with your money or your credit cards and other ³valuables.²  Just don¹t put your new password on a post-it 
> or calendar near your computer while you¹re away. Starting in 2004, everyone will be required to change their password 
> about once per quarter (every 120 days).


Thank you! One of the most overused objections to strong
passwords and changing passwords is people writing them down.
Sure, a post-it note on a publicly accessible computer is risky.
But anyone with any reasonable sense of responsibility, common
sense, and/or awareness would put it in a safe place...a wallet,
a locked office, etc.

What presents more risk, an easy to guess password on an
Internet exposed service or a post-it note in a locked
office or wallet?

--
Gary Flynn
Security Engineer - Technical Services
James Madison University

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