TIL my old password system was a total joke | Cybersecurity Tips

Gavin Thomas · 2026-03-13T01:05:06.989116+00:00

A friend who works in IT looked at my password list last year and said, 'Dude, you're one data breach away from losing everything.' I was using the same base word with different numbers for every site. I switched to a password manager and started making totally random 12-character strings for each account. It felt like a hassle at first, but now I can't imagine going back. Anyone else have a moment that finally pushed them to get serious about passwords?

rubys297mo ago

Honestly, password managers just seem like a single point of failure to me.

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terrys376mo ago

Yeah but that locked box is still a target. If someone gets that one password, they get everything. At least with my old way, they'd only get one site at a time.

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wright.nina7mo ago

Ever think about the human error factor? @rubys29 is right to worry about a single point of failure, but my messy handwritten list was way worse. I left it on my desk, my kid could have drawn on it, I could have lost it. A good password manager is locked behind one strong password I only have to remember. It feels less like a target and more like a locked box where I used to leave everything on the kitchen table.

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