Are Your Passwords Stored Safely?

We ask the Improbable Question every weekday morning. On Monday, the question was “Where do 22 percent of people say is their go-to place to keep their passwords?” Many people had some great guesses with “behind a picture in a frame,” and “under the mattress.” Surprisingly, the answer was “on a Post-It note on their computer screen.”

I don’t have to work in IT to tell you that is a terrible idea. The whole point of a password is to serve as a line of defense against others who want to hack into your account and steal information. If you leave your passwords right there out in the open, you might as well just send everything to the hacker directly. Send an Edible Arrangement wrapped in a bow while you’re at it. I’m glad only 22 percent of you do this.

If you are one of the 22 percent, may I suggest using a password notebook to store your login information? Sure, this seems like a simple solution and it would really stink if you ever lost it, but I think it could be useful as long as you take care of it and never leave it hanging around somewhere for others to find. Of course, the discretionary value of this only works if the notebook isn’t clearly labeled “Passwords,” so keep that in mind.

Here are a few examples: