====== Remembering Passwords ======

| **Field** | ITC, Online Identiy |
| **Went Obsolete** | 2007 |
| **Made Obsolete By** | Online Password Managers & [[OpenID%3Faction=edit.html|OpenID]][[OpenID%3Faction=edit.html|?]] |
| **Knowledge Assumed** | You can fill out a web form |
| **When useful** | When you have less than three passwords to remember |

Remembering passwords is a viable (secure) solution for:

1. People with less than three passwords (usually not Internet users) 2. People with more than three passwords and a fantastic memory

Remembering passwords is NOT a viable (secure) solution for:

3. People who use the same passwords for everything 4. People who use some sort of nifty and (supposedly) fail-safe formula

Sorry to disappoint you, but those are the *very* people that need a password manager - and pronto!

Also [[OpenID%3Faction=edit.html|OpenID]][[OpenID%3Faction=edit.html|?]] is looking to alleviate the same problem by removing the need for passwords in a large portion of the web.

I work in IT. I probably have 20 or more passwords I need to memorize as I need them all the time. This does not count my personal at home ones.