I finally changed my password! A first step towards organisational skil


Recommended Posts

Finally,I found the courage to change the usual password to my most important accounts

It needed to done because I have reused the same password on so many different sites over the last 10+ years

I just had to take the plunge after putting it off for so long, a small step in the right direction towards account security. I'm starting to get things under control with LastPass, so hopefully I can get everything secure with strong passwords in the next 10 years. The problem is working out which accounts I have everywhere (I think I have found most accounts and put them into LastPass).

This is part of my efforts to get organised in general (Starting with Passwords). Hopefully I can post another achievement when I have all my paperwork actually in a particular order (Any ideas on how this should be organised in a filing cabinet?) and another when I have all my computer files organised in the same place in a coherent folder structure (Any ideas on this one too? At the moment it is spread across Dropbox & External HDD. I do backup my External HDD so I have already conquered this step) and emails (again, I have no idea how I will structure this, help?).

It is pretty hard to do when you have never been organised before in your whole life and suddenly you have all sorts of papers built up in no order at all when you realise that you need to do something about it. Basically it is like starting from scratch with 10 tons of paperwork, emails, passwords, computer documents waiting to be filed.

I'm in the middle of a similar project - get rid of unused website accounts, clean up and lock down others (Facebook for one). What prompted me to do it? Certain individuals I thought I could trust speculating too much about my private life (which I only found out about by reading IRC log files).

After two separate services got hacked and my passwords leaked, I bit the bullet and spent about half a day going through all of the websites I had accounts for, updating the passwords to a unique 20-digit random password. Everything is stored in 1Password and backed up to multiple places. I'm really liking the workflow!

Kinda hard to say how to file paper documents without knowing what they are. But, separate them into categories i.e.

Bank documents

Vehicle Documents

Mortgage/Property Lease documents

Utility Services Documents

and so on. Then, it would probably be best to file them(in a separate file per category) in date order, with the oldest ones at the back of the file (as you probably won't need access to these to often).

Although you may want the oldest ones at the front of the file, it's really your choice. I work in document management and have seen every kind of filing imaginable, some good, some not so good, which is why they send them to us to scan to CD.

I've locked things down with 2-factor authentication on Lastpass & Google Account. Used every possible security setting on Facebook (including App passwords) and removing unwanted apps. My new password is not very different to my old one but it is not an obvious change, this will let me get used to having a different password and then I will make a really good one as xkcd suggests when I am used to not having the same password.

Keep the tips coming for Document Management, I have to tackle this soon or the tax man will be after me.

I would love to do something similar but seeing so many big corporates being hacked and authentication credentials leaked I'm very sceptical about using any sort of password manager or anything similar.

What would be the recommendation for such a product?

I would love to do something similar but seeing so many big corporates being hacked and authentication credentials leaked I'm very sceptical about using any sort of password manager or anything similar.

What would be the recommendation for such a product?

I weighed KeePass vs. LastPass and I would say that KeePass is more secure because it is completely offline, but a pain to sync and backup everytime you add/change a password. LastPass is hosted online (so don't use if you don't trust "The Cloud") but it has the convenience factor which makes it actually practical to use. They also promise it is secure blah blah blah but for me it is the difference between having everything unmanaged with weak/reused passwords (definitely insecure) or trusting LastPass (more secure than Option A). I don't think that I could handle Keepass because I would not be able to access it remotely without some very complex setup, making it practically useless as I need to access my stuff remotely all the time.

I've been using lastpass for a long time, no problems at all, and imo more secure being online due to theft or loss of a machine / laptop, if your passwords are all stored offline your in trouble, with lastpass you change your master password and all machines now have no access to any passwords until the new master password is entered

Also

11.PNG

and

22.PNG

And there are a couple other authentication settings you can enable such as Grid Authentication etc

I had a reality check a few years ago, when I realised I was using the same password for all my stuff. It was amazing how many times I used the same one and where I used it.

I immediately started using Keepass, and I've never looked back. I sync the database using Dropbox, which I have installed on all my devices. Anytime I reformat my pc or have to reset the phone I only have to remember to note down the keepass password and I'm good to go.

One thing that drew me towards it was it is free, except fro some strange reason using it via the iPad, go figure.

Ive read about the two products some time ago and had some doubts about it...

Keepass seems more Windows oriented product...they dont offer support (or dont take responsability if you like) for contributed projects, like android/iphone...if they did that I would just point the database to a dropbox instalation folder and be done with it.

Lastpass being more cloud oriented has advantages being "always online" and can use Google authenticator but no support for applications passwords yet...

I dont know, I think I will use LastPass for some of my less important sites and see how it goes..

I had a reality check a few years ago, when I realised I was using the same password for all my stuff. It was amazing how many times I used the same one and where I used it.

I immediately started using Keepass, and I've never looked back. I sync the database using Dropbox, which I have installed on all my devices. Anytime I reformat my pc or have to reset the phone I only have to remember to note down the keepass password and I'm good to go.

One thing that drew me towards it was it is free, except fro some strange reason using it via the iPad, go figure.

Doesn't that mean that all your passwords are now only as strong as your dropbox password, essentially meaning you still only have 1 password for everything ?

Ive read about the two products some time ago and had some doubts about it...

Keepass seems more Windows oriented product...they dont offer support (or dont take responsability if you like) for contributed projects, like android/iphone...if they did that I would just point the database to a dropbox instalation folder and be done with it.

Lastpass being more cloud oriented has advantages being "always online" and can use Google authenticator but no support for applications passwords yet...

I dont know, I think I will use LastPass for some of my less important sites and see how it goes..

Yea the best practise is to use things like this for places / passwords that would be a pain to lose but not threaten anything like banking etc

Keep those important passwords in your head only imo

no support for applications passwords yet

Applications don't access LastPass directly (only the actual LastPass Chrome/Firefox extension etc.) so not really needed. For instance, your Facebook login doesn't authenticate to LastPass directly, Lastpass just saves the password for Facebook and pre-fills the password form with the Facebook password, so Facebook has no access to your LastPass account whatsoever.

It also includes a tool to automatically generate secure passwords (as well as being able to manually choose or use the existing password), so you can make a different secure password for each website/application.

Doesn't that mean that all your passwords are now only as strong as your dropbox password, essentially meaning you still only have 1 password for everything ?

I think you can password protect the keepass file and if you are paranoid you could true-crypt the file as well.

Doesn't that mean that all your passwords are now only as strong as your dropbox password, essentially meaning you still only have 1 password for everything ?

I can see what your saying, my Dropbox password was created by the password generator built into keepass it's self, I don't even know what it is So I have to make sure that, is the only password I have to make sure is stored securely else where, and I have access to it at anytime, trust me I've got stuck without access to it a few time when I'm on the move. It's a bit of a vicious circle really. My memory isn't that great so it's the best I can come up with. It's not ideal and some would say its got some flaws but it works. Rather than have one password used everywhere.

I can see what your saying, my Dropbox password was created by the password generator built into keepass it's self, I don't even know what it is So I have to make sure that, is the only password I have to make sure is stored securely else where, and I have access to it at anytime, trust me I've got stuck without access to it a few time when I'm on the move. It's a bit of a vicious circle really. My memory isn't that great so it's the best I can come up with. It's not ideal and some would say its got some flaws but it works. Rather than have one password used everywhere.

My memory is not so good either, but I can remember my lastpass password, so if I get caught out forgetting a site password I can always install lastpass somewhere and use that, and with it being a dedicated password protection / storage / encryption server I would rather rely on that than dropbox :)

I'm using LastPass and put there some credentials now...its a shame that the applications part is a premium feature and a part of another program...even if no autologin is provided I would like to use a more "clean" way of saving those than just making a generic note on the site...lets see how it goes.

I'm using LastPass and put there some credentials now...its a shame that the applications part is a premium feature and a part of another program...even if no autologin is provided I would like to use a more "clean" way of saving those than just making a generic note on the site...lets see how it goes.

Which browser are you using? Integrates with Chrome just fine for free

Which browser are you using? Integrates with Chrome just fine for free

Im using Firefox and it works perfectly.

Im talking about this feature: http://helpdesk.lastpass.com/upgrading-to-premium/lastpass-for-applications/

Even if no autologin was provided I would like to be able to save application passwords in a "cleaner" way than just generic notes, that an PIN's

I recently generated new passwords for all my accounts using lastpass. It's slightly unnerving having no idea what your password is for sites, and I haven't read too much into last pass's security methods but I'm glad I did it

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Ummmm that is what is it supposed to do. Just turn if off in settings if you do not want it analyzing your open tabs. Chrome does the same thing with Gemini. Sarfari will do the samething after Apple's AI and even more so with the release of their 27 versions that is now powered by Googles LLM/ML models. Understanding why it is doing it and how it can help you vs jumping to some conspiracy theroy is a much better approach. As long as it can be turned off, all is good. Yes the default should be off but the a lot of people would never discover these features.
    • Just another reason (aside from many others) not to use Edge. Firefox 153.0b5 DEx64 has a similar feature added recently in prior builds that I will turn off at some point when I get around to it. It's the new "Something looks suspicious" page that pops up here and there. It cleverly hides itself between web pages that I've actually visited; as a result, you know, of selecting a web page and telling the browser where to go. The interesting thing is that it does not produce these warnings from pages that I, as the only intelligent user of the browser in my system, have ever directed the browser to open! What seems to be happening is that the browser looks at all the goofy ad links on a web page I do actually open and selects one that "looks suspicious" and then creates the "something looks suspicious" web page, which is neatly inserted, as mentioned, between web pages my RB ("real brain") has directed the browser to load in a session. The thing is, I usually look at links I am considering to follow before I ask the browser to load them, and in cases I have noticed where the link does indeed look suspicious, most of the time I will choose to not follow the link at all. Doesn't everyone do this or something similar? I am picky about what I voluntarily load... (I don't like links that start off fine, with a site designaiton that seems normal enough but then is followed by indecipherable alphanumeric strings many, many lines long, etc. I tend to reject those because they look suspicious. They may not be, but I don't care... I'll stay with Firefox, of course, if for no other reason than they usually let you turn off the junk you don't like. And because it isn't Edge... But at some point Microsoft will come to realize that putting your bookmarks on the left side is a Good Thing for a lot of people, just as Microsoft discovered when it had the bright idea of nailing the Windows taskbar to the bottom of the screen, when for decades Microsoft browsers had left that placement up to the user. They have finally reversed the obscenity of that decision. Finally.
    • Google was using the old CATPCHAs data to train their LLMs. What is the say they won't use this camera data of users to train their LLM? these companies need some strict regulations!
    • Depends on what you need. Might be a bit clearer on what you plan to do with it. Sort of a waste if you get the newest and greatest, but don't know how to use it.
    • NTLite 2026.06.11200 by Razvan Serea NTLite is a Windows configuration tool that allows you to modify your existing Windows install or an image yet to be deployed, remove Windows components, configure and integrate, speed up the Windows deployment process. Reduce Windows footprint on your RAM and storage drive memory. Remove components of your choice, guarded by compatibility safety mechanisms, which speed up finding that sweet spot. Windows Unattended feature support, providing many commonly used options on a single page for easy setup. Easily integrate a single or multiple drivers, update or language packages. Package integration features smart sorting, enabling you to seamlessly add packages for integration and the tool will apply them in the appropriate order, keeping hotfix compatibility in check. One of the important new features of NTLite (compared to its predecessors) is the ability to modify an already installed the operating system, by removing unnecessary components. Supports Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 7, x86 and x64, live and image. Server editions of the same versions, excluding support for component removals and feature configuration. ARM64 image support in the alpha stage. Does not support Checked/Debug, Embedded, IoT editions, nor Vista or XP. NTLite 2026.06.11200 changelog: New Secure Boot Migration support: Verification, certificate staging, and boot-manager/sector update across the Image, Updates, Apply, and Create-ISO pages (2023 CA migration, optional 2011 revocation, Anti-rollback, Boot sector choice etc) Secure Boot Host Readiness: Live host Secure Boot migration monitor and Servicing-task control Option under Image page - C:\Windows row, or load the host as the target - Updates - Secure Boot Image: 'Sort mounted images first' option for the image list in Menu-Settings UI: Hover description card for Components and Unattended pages, selectable text and quick access to Compatibility options Command line: Relay commands into the already-running instance Enables controlling already running NTLite via ntlite.exe Use /NewInstance to launch an additional instance using CLI operations (premium) UI: 'New instance' option via main menu instead of a secondary ntlite.exe prompt Apply: Hide individual Apply-page notes with a per-note dismiss (X), critical excluded Settings: 'Unsigned RDP file launch warnings' tweak (RDP client), bypassing the April 2026 security-update prompt on RDP connections Upgrade Image: Live OS and deployed image editing now unlocked on free/test licenses, same licensing as images Image: 'Recompress' option in manual dialog Remove Editions to shrink the WIM in one session Image: SWM part size set inline on the Apply page and image dialogs, split-size popup retired Image: Relative 'Last change' dates; editions grouped by build time to reduce noise Image: 'Forget - Missing' on the Edit-cache menu to mass drop entries whose folder is gone Components: Root groups reorganized - user-facing groups first, system/critical last Components: Show filter options to view components by Template or App-type, since Apps are now merged into groups Presets: Delete confirmation now lists the multi-selected preset names UI: Design update propagated to the rest of the tool UI: Filter and search match words in any order and partially, better results filtering Components Unattended: Input-locale language derives from the user locale, with an independent keyboard picker, enables combinations previously unavailable Unattended: Input-locale now allows for a user value override Unattended: Localization OOBE WinPE now can be copied with the new WinPE Copy OOBE localization toggle, enter locale settings once for both stages Updates: Downloader greys and locks updates the image already carries (hotfix and MSIX) Updates: Resume interrupted update downloads Command line: Many upgrades, see /?, now prints help to the console or redirected output UI-Translation: Finnish language added, also thanks for Chinese Traditional (Matt), French (tistou77), Italian (clarensio), Russian (RDS), Swedish (1FF), Vietnamese (Vu Anh Vu) Fix Components: Containers removal breaking Apps deployment Components: Microsoft Account had leftovers when Easy Migrate is kept Image: Export to an existing WIM improvements, Append renamed to Merge Image: Improved 26H1 live removal support Image: No more 'X:\ not accessible' popup for certain drives during image scan Presets: Manual image refresh picks up presets added/removed outside the app Tweaks: Disabled visual-effect animations no longer return after first logon on a new profile Tweaks: Live Visual Effects toggles (animations, drag full windows, font smoothing) now apply correctly Download: NTLite 2026.06.11200 | 20.5 MB (Free, paid upgrade available) Link: NTLite Home Page | NTLite Features | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post
    • First Post
      carols23 earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      Tom Willson earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      504
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      257
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      151
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      94
    5. 5
      macoman
      67
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!