Ask Leo! #594 – Getting Old is Getting Old, Different Passwords, Backing Up Multiple Disks, and more…

I enjoyed your video on age.

I'm learning every day. Maybe I'm not learning as quickly as I used to but nevertheless, I'm still learning. My body is slowing down and so is my processing of information but I do "get there". I don't take everything at "face value". That is something learned and that takes time to develop a critical way of looking at things and you only get that by living.

Touch screens are not for me. Whatever it is in my "chemistry" the icons sometimes just don't work for me neither do other touch devices like lamps. I also like a pristine screen. A screen filled with finger prints just doesn't cut it. That isn't a product of age for sure. I've always been that way.

I'm 69 and still kicking.

Great article! I spend a lot of time assisting seniors with their computer problems. Quite often more time is spent convincing them "they can - and often already know how to do it," rather than on the problem itself. I'm too old is often said but doesn't apply.

I'm definitely not hiding behind my 84 years. I am, technically speaking, an experimenter. I love to try new things and programs. At the present I have 5 computers set up in my computer room, with different OS on them because I still build and repair computers for others, sometimes long distance. I have helped others in 4 continents repair their ailing computers.

I volunteer in a rehab facility three days a week, sing in my church choir, sing solos, and teach a bible class. You are only as old as you feel, and I tell everyone that I still feel with both hands.

"There is something that one should be aware of concerning cloudy password managers like LastPass." - Non-cloudy password managers are not necessarily immune from attack either:

http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/11/hacking-tool-swipes-encrypted-credentials-from-password-manager/

Passwords mainly get compromised in one of three ways:

1. Credential database theft;

2. Phishing.

3. Guessed or otherwise discovered by a dishonest friend/family member/co-worker.

A strong password provides absolutely zero protection against #1 or #2, but does, to a point, provide protection against #3 - however, so would a basic style passphrase like xkcd's CorrectHorseBatteryStaple (see link above), so long as it's random enough not to be guessed by that dishonest friend/family member/co-worker.

Given the current threat landscape, strong passwords really aren't as important as many people believe them to be. That said, the threat landscape can change markedly and suddenly - a practice that may not be particularly risky today, could be exceptionally risky tomorrow - and, consequently, it does make sense to use a unique strong/complex password to protect each important account.

Should you use a password manager to remember those strong passwords? I don't think it's a clear yes or no answer. While the most secure option is to rely on your memory rather than a password manager, it's also much less convenient. In fact, if it weren't for the convenience that password managers provide, there would probably be even more people who use "password" as their password.

My strategy is to use a standard passphrase that I customize slightly on a per-site basis - CorrectHorseBatteryStapleBank or CorrectHorseBatteryStapleCreditCard, say - for each of my half dozen or so important accounts, and these are stored only in memory (my memory, that is - not my computer's!). Passwords for other accounts are stored in a password manager and are also strong and unique - not because they need to be strong and unique, but simply because the password manager makes it easy to do.