This is why I’ve generated random passphrases for every security question I’ve answered in the last decade, stored alongside 2FA data (not in my password manager).
The best part is you usually can’t use special chars in security question fields, so I just max out the field length. This makes them functionally the same, and as secure, as any recovery code.
It wasn’t fun however when one of the companies I transact with required me to answer one of the questions over the phone as a means of authentication.
I could tell the customer service guy was just as tired when I finally finished responding. :)
I’ve told them “I just entered a bunch of random nonsense” and he’s like “aha, yeah, I can see that” and proceeded to help me. Makes me want to just create some fake-but-real-looking information for those questions instead…
Pass phrases. “Where did you go to school?” “The gratuitous fax machine yellows mayonnaise tablets”. Still long, easy to copy & paste, easy to say on the phone.
This is why I use passphrases instead of password. Not worth worrying about phonetic ease though, as I’ve never had to use them since using a password manager. The key is to always set/update passwords by copying FROM the password manager… Same reason you should restore a cryptocurrency wallet from the seed immediately after creation — to ensure your backup works and the info has been stored accurately.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !protonprivacy@lemmy.world
Empowering you to choose a better internet where privacy is the default. Protect yourself online with
Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive. Proton Pass and SimpleLogin.
Proton Mail is the world’s largest secure email provider. Swiss, end-to-end encrypted, private, and free.
Proton VPN is the world’s only open-source, publicly audited, unlimited and free VPN. Swiss-based, no-ads, and no-logs.
Proton Calendar is the world’s first end-to-end encrypted calendar that allows you to keep your life private.
Proton Drive is a free end-to-end encrypted cloud storage that allows you to securely backup and share your files. It’s open source, publicly audited, and Swiss-based.
Proton Pass Proton Pass is a free and open-source password manager which brings a higher level of security with rigorous end-to-end encryption of all data (including usernames, URLs, notes, and more) and email alias support.
SimpleLogin lets you send and receive emails anonymously via easily-generated unique email aliases.
just use them as secondary or tertiary passwords and use a password manager to generate a 512 character long password
Why are we calling account backdoors “security questions”?
They question your security
This is why I’ve generated random passphrases for every security question I’ve answered in the last decade, stored alongside 2FA data (not in my password manager).
The best part is you usually can’t use special chars in security question fields, so I just max out the field length. This makes them functionally the same, and as secure, as any recovery code.
I also do this.
It wasn’t fun however when one of the companies I transact with required me to answer one of the questions over the phone as a means of authentication.
I could tell the customer service guy was just as tired when I finally finished responding. :)
I’ve told them “I just entered a bunch of random nonsense” and he’s like “aha, yeah, I can see that” and proceeded to help me. Makes me want to just create some fake-but-real-looking information for those questions instead…
Pass phrases. “Where did you go to school?” “The gratuitous fax machine yellows mayonnaise tablets”. Still long, easy to copy & paste, easy to say on the phone.
This is why I use passphrases instead of password. Not worth worrying about phonetic ease though, as I’ve never had to use them since using a password manager. The key is to always set/update passwords by copying FROM the password manager… Same reason you should restore a cryptocurrency wallet from the seed immediately after creation — to ensure your backup works and the info has been stored accurately.
Back in the day we would get people’s emails from kingdom of loathing, add them on MSN messenger and get the answers to their emails secret questions.
We’d then reset the password get in their account take all their shit and set it all back.
lol wat
That’s nearly eleventy thousand. Terrible breach.
That breach went to 11.