So the combination is... one, two, three, four, five?

SplashData recently released a list of the most commonly used passwords on the Internet. (Based on published lists of stolen passwords.)

(Geek challenge! Name the movie and the TV show that are the source of two of the passwords on the list.)

So, in the interests of doing my part to halt the usage of easily hacked passwords, I thought I would share my password system. And some links, if you want to try it, too.

The tools you'll need:

• KeePass
  
• Dropbox
  
• Optional: Google Chrome
  

KeePass is the key (ahem) of the whole system. This open source password manager fits my needs perfectly, as it works in Windows, Linux, and Android. (Also Mac and iOS.)

KeePass in action.
KeePass will generate random passwords, includes keyboard shortcuts to copy passwords (and then clear the clipboard after a set amount of time), and stores everything in an encrypted file using one- or two- factor authentication. Whenever I create an account on a website, I fire up KeePass and generate a random password for it. (Sample password: Egz0B2GC4pZf2u5VBVYi)

So now I've got an encrypted file, accessible only via the KeePass application using my master password (and/or a keyfile). But I want to access that file from anywhere! Enter ... the Dropbox.

It's a box. For dropping.

Dropbox has added some policy updates of late that have made me a little nervous, but I'm still OK using their service to store encrypted data. Simply place your encrypted file in your free Dropbox folder, and now you can access it from any computer, phone, tablet, or computerized llama you use. (Note: Dropbox may not yet be compatible with computerized llamas.)

Finally, for the lazy (like myself), Google Chrome can help with your all new fully random and completely nonsensical passwords. (You know, the ones you'll never, ever remember.) Chrome will remember passwords just like most modern browsers, but, in a twist, will also let you sync that data across all your Chrome installations.

Score! Your information is encrypted on Google's servers, too!

Before and after time! Before, I was using one or two passwords on every site. And frequently the same username. These passwords, while not dictionary words, were also not the most secure. I did this primarily because 1) I needed passwords I could remember because 2) writing them down is a Pretty Bad Idea^TM.

Now, every account I have has a different password (though usually still the same username), but I only have to remember two - my KeePass file's master password and my Dropbox password. The second is not strictly necessary, unless you ever want to access your password file from a computer that is not your own. (Bonus protip: throw the KeePass installer in there, too. It's small.)

Yes, using a password store takes just a little more time and effort, but, with the number of security leaks in the news, and the lists of accounts available in the seedier parts of the Internet, it may well be worth it to keep your accounts secure. Added comedy trope bonus: tell people your password is so secure, you don't even know it.

Security vs. Usability, SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

Forewarned: I talk about the issue of non-usable web security, but this is one of those cases where I don't really have an opinion about how things could change for the better. But I do think it's something to think about.

Web security is a Big Deal. One of the biggest, in fact. No major website today can get away without paying very special consideration to security. Unfortunately, security and usability are pretty much the oil and vinegar of the web application world. After all, from a usability standpoint, we want to get out of the user's way and present the information as quickly and cleanly as possible. On the other hand, security-wise, we want to take every precaution and ensure that the person viewing the information is, in fact, the person they claim to be. And, because most users will agree that it's more important to keep their information secure that it is for them to have easy access to that data, security usually takes precedent.

Unfortunately, a lot of modern security methods don't just get in the way of usability, they outright prevent it. Consider the modern-day gatekeeper to all data financial - the security question. Most online banking, financial planning, and portfolio management sites use security questions to verify who you are. Some of these sites ask these questions randomly during your visit, others only use them to verify identity when changing passwords. And, for the most part, they're pretty secure. After all, who but me is going to remember that my first pet was a collie named *REDACTED*, or that I grew up in *REDACTED*.

Of course, my life is a fairly simple one, and I remember the answers to these "simple" questions. Except that my first pet was actually a cat named "Mama Cat", and I actually grew up in a tiny town named Francisco, which is just outside the town I tell everyone I grew up in. Depending on the day, I answer these questions differently. So it's less a game of "This is Your Life" and more "What's My Line?".

In Lore Sjöberg's "Test Your Brain with Trivial Security Questions", this very phenomenon is addressed, with the winner of Lore's fictional game show being the person who circumvented the security altogether. In short, this person made the page more usable by sacrificing some of that well-thought-out security. And this happens a lot. Passwords get written down on sticky notes and "hidden" under keyboards or behind monitors. (Or, worse, in one case I've seen, sticky noted to the front of a monitor. For everyone to see. In a public area. At a hospital.) Maybe all the answers to your security questions get jotted down in a text file six directories deep and named "Completely Uninteresting Innocuous File.txt".

This is not to say that security is bad. It's not, not at all. But I think that usability is actually more important that most users let on. So if anyone out there is working on a usable security method, the world may soon be beating a path to your door. Just so you know.

P.S. My personal favorite security circumvention: my bank uses biometric typing data to identify whether or not it is actually me typing in my password. How I type varies dramatically from day to day (I don't touch type. At all.), so this method always fails. My new way to check my balances is to skip the password box altogether, hit the "Forgot my password" link, answer the security questions and just change my password every time. Bonus side effect though: I now know the answers to those security questions without even thinking. So that's nice.