PSA: I stopped using a password manager for a year and my security got better

Everyone says you must use a password manager, but after mine got hit in a breach last year, I went old school. I started making long, unique passwords based on song lyrics I remember and writing hints in a physical notebook. My accounts have been clean for 12 months now, and I don't have a single point of failure anymore. Has anyone else moved away from digital managers after a scare?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyr9627d ago

Absolutely, my notebook method has been bulletproof. I use movie quotes and add a few wrong letters to throw off anyone who finds it. The peace of mind is way better than any app.

jake_martin1614d ago

Wait, but what happens if you forget which letters you swapped?

markm2727d ago

That "single point of failure" idea is a bit off. Your notebook is now a single point of failure too, it's just a physical one. If it gets lost or damaged in a fire, you're locked out of everything. I like @abbyr96's trick with wrong letters, but a good password manager with a strong master password and two-factor auth is still way safer from most real world threats, like remote hackers. The breach you had sounds awful, but ditching the tool completely throws out a lot of good protection for the wrong reason.