A friend told me my password habits were basically public info

We were talking about a data breach at a big store last month, and I mentioned I just add a '1' to my old passwords when a site makes me change them. He straight up said, 'Dude, that's the first thing a script checks for.' I felt pretty dumb, honestly. So for the past three weeks, I've been using a password manager (Bitwarden, it's free) and letting it make totally random 16-character strings for every account. It's a bit of a pain to set up, but now I don't have to remember any of them except the one master password. Has anyone else made a switch like this and found a good way to handle logins on your phone?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanelee2mo ago

Bitwarden's mobile app makes phone logins a breeze too!

fiona9852mo ago

Totally thought password managers were a hassle until I tried one on my phone. Now unlocking stuff feels like magic, just a quick tap or a face scan. It saves me from typing those crazy long passwords on a tiny keyboard. Honestly can't imagine going back to doing it all by hand.

barbarah192mo ago

Wait, your friend said scripts actually check for adding a '1' first? That's wild, I figured they'd try dictionary words or common phrases. Makes me wonder what other simple patterns they look for right away.