What Do Your Passwords Reveal About You?

by Ct Kingston · View Comments

ChristinaKingston_Password

If you’re the type to use the same password for every site, I hope it’s a difficult one.
Something super hard to figure out, like: QRTxxxv2569286v~!*
That’d make people think you were deep, complicated and had a memory of steel.

Or, um, is it more like: Your First Name + Birth Year? – Sue1985 or Fred1946 – perhaps?
That would leave everyone imagining you were a simpleton, but a dolt with nothing to hide.

I hear quite a few people use the formula: First Pet’s Name + The First Street You Grew Up On
to decide a password, and that’s a bit safer. Or maybe that’s only a password used for peeking into Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s bedroom.

Here’s the question, if, God forbid, you decided to abandon your current life and disappear into a country with no extradition treaty… thus leaving unsuspecting relatives behind to clean up or take over your social networking sites, how would your chosen passwords reflect upon your legacy?

With that in mind I decided to change all passwords from things like: Ihate9876people,
to something more friendly, like: PeepsBeSoCoolMeLoveYouAll69, as well as smart stuff like: Nietzsche~#1.

I also granted certain social network account passwords to specific dear ones in my last begotten Will.
It’ll be doled out as follows:

My mother gets the Facebook because she’s older and that’s a comfortable place for the elderly. Just sayin.

My brother gets the Myspace because there are a lot of naked girls and he’s into that sort of thing.

I leave my Twitter to Ashton Kutcher because I figure, every once in awhile, he’d love to be an unknown, rarely followed, often blocked tweeter.

And last but not least, I bestow my Gmail to the Pentagon. I bet they could finally find the WMDs they seek after reading a few of my sent emails TO Ex-BFs from over the years.

->YO<-
Who would you leave your social network accounts to?
Your Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube… to whom, who scores which of these? WHY?
* What are the passwords for these particular accounts?
Have you ever seen the Pam Anderson, Tommy Lee video? I heard it was a big, huge,
very large deal, a long, lengthily long time ago.


*Oops, Asterisks, sorry, this question was only for new cyberspace users.
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  • My passwords would reflect that i'm self indulgent haha
  • CT,

    New to the blog, and you've got a new subscriber. Thanks for making me laugh on a Sunday night. Where was I? Oh yeah passwords. I also love the people that have the same disorder for e-mail address creating as they do for password making. Seeing resumes come in for management positions that have a contact e-mail of 'dungeonmaster69@whatever.com' or 'sexymike@whatever.com' don't increase their chances of getting that position...

    Great post again. Wishing you a great 2010!
  • laineyd7
    Ct, you are a genius - people are still talking about this password thing! I have no doubt that Wolf Blitzer will take notice . . .
  • krinhoh
    So we parents are stupid ass adults. Easiest passwords? Our kids. Yeah. True story. I have one. One perfect girl. How many ways can I butcher her name in ways that I can actually recall this information when needed? Time to move on to more intellectual, creative, and possibly horndoggy passwords For SURE!
  • Since I have no childrens, I'm at a loss. I could use my pets, but Bunny Bun Bun and Sweet Little Henry... too easy. Thus, I envy you ... well, not on your kidlet password front. Forget I said 'THUS"... I just envy you having the brood :-) Get your horndoggy passwords in order for 2010.

    Start with
    WolfBlitzer_DoMe_69
    !!!!!
  • This is a particularly interesting topic to me, especially right at this moment, as Disqus is not accepting my password. Quite the ironic turn of events.

    Despite your asterisk and my non-conforming to the explanation of said asterisk, I am tempted, Tina, to provide you with the passwords to my accounts. I could use the action.

    Love the post. Love your writing. Love your site.

    Chris
  • So Disqus has done you dirty? Lately i've had trouble with Disqus but I can't shake how beautiful the layout is... the feng shui of this comment form rocks my booty.

    Please ignore the asterisks and give me everything. All of it. The passwords I mean. heh

    Thank you Chris! Great to see you dancing a comment dance. Come back soon. [or you're in big trouble, buddy}
  • paulakelley
    My passwords are pretty obscure to other people, but things that are everyday for me. You'd think I'd remember them, then, right? WRONG! I'm a SERIAL PASSWORD FORGETTER! It's awful. It's like, is it that word with an 8 on the end? Or two 8s? Or did I put the 8 in the middle? OR TWO 8S AND A +???? FUCK MEEEEEE!!!!
    Sometimes it gets to the point where I have to start a new account, and then I CAN'T because all my emails already have accounts because I've forgotten my password on that site so many goddamn times. On occasion, I hate being me.
  • Obscurity is bestes. But when you meet your soul mate, soul mate will instinctually know all passwords. UH-OH be careful.

    And then he too will forget all of them because you do too! So, oops, no worries.

    "Sometimes it gets to the point where I have to start a new account, and then I CAN'T because all my emails already have accounts because I've forgotten my password on that site so many goddamn times. On occasion, I hate being me."

    WOW, maybe it is me who is your soul mate?
    hahaha... me too girl, I do that. me too.
  • Great post, you knocked it out of the park & I have forwarded it to my dad. Unfortunately though my dad is dead so I can't be sure when he'll get it.

    In the meantime why not visit my site for all your Bolivian cheap meds and to read about how you won 198 Billion pesos in the Paraguay state lottery my beloved dearest.

    What time is it?
  • I just realized that no one will know what we are talking about. Then again, who the hell is reading comments anyway?

    BTW I forwarded your comment to my father.
  • Uproarious! You must know people in high places Tim. Imagine these words they give you... imagine them as gifts of love ;-)
  • I don't use passwords. I use word passes.
  • very funny denny, very funny...
  • Hehehe.. you accessed my Twitter account?.. Sweet!..
    Enjoying your blog a lot. Fun and interesting. Love it! xx
  • I had to access your Twitter account so I could find out what it was you ALMOST did while in Seattle a few weeks ago. -Oh My, was I shocked... Oh Sunny... Oh Sunny... shameful ;-)
  • A big YES. My password says my thought.. hehehe.. : )
  • I know all of your passwords. Your main one is: SMILE_HappiNESS_funFUns
    I accessed your Twitter account with that one yesterday. I love your DMs.
    You're so cool, Miss Sunshine! x
  • landice
    All of my passwords sadly pertain to an actress I adore, different ones. For a time it was 'ladybird' a la Ladybird Johnson, whom Patti LuPone played in a movie once. Then for a while, in the spirit of my Twitter-name sake it was 'ohtallu.' I suppose I change passwords with the mood. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want my passwords to stay in my family. I'd leave my facebook to my friend Emuhli, a Facebook addict, my livejournal to my friend Krissy, because she knows everyone involved and already has the password, and my Twitter to my friend Jessica (@artcrawl).
  • You do realize, don't you, that this blog comment area functions as an actual, OFFICIAL document.
    I hope you've chosen your social network site beneficiaries wisely! :)
    Cheers Landice... hey have you ever used B R I T N E Y as a password?
  • I take whatever randomly assigned password that the system I'm signing up to allocates to me, like say, "xY37hND0b8" and then I memorise it. I don't like to mess with their system. They may WANT me to have that password.
  • HAAAA no you DO NOT! That's epic. Love it!
  • While these are good principles, it's worth noting that a lot of systems truncate passwords down to the first 8 characters, often without telling the user. Frankly I think that's a really dumb thing to do, and it won't be long before available computing power makes that utterly insufficient.

    Still, great post. :)
  • I hate that truncate thing. Sometimes I love to have long passwords. Many accounts still allow for the obscenely long, ridiculous password. Phew...

    Thanks for stopping in Michael. Come back soon and leave your passwords, if you have time.
  • Sage.
  • Hellz Yes!
  • Oy -- I used to follow a specific pattern, can't disclose here as it'd make each of my accounts entirely too accessible but it ensured I almost never forgot a password.

    As far as inheriting the accounts -- oy. The Cog accounts should be burned and the earth salted so nothing can grow there again. Many secrets, many skeletons. The 'real' accounts -- boring, no one wants 'em. I'm clear all around. ;)

    Great post tho -- I look into automatic emailing services whenever I have to take a flight -- so someone knows who to contact in case we need attendees at The Final Meetup (erm, funeral).
  • At first I too followed a specific pattern. I was so young and tender and unaware of the wicked world.
    Was that you too? heh

    I do feel that my accounts should be burned too. My email and DMs are so scandalous. I don't want people in there mucking about. But then again, if I'm under ground rotting worm food, who cares.
    Um, actually I do care. Noooooooooooo...

    The Final Meetup ;-)
    Let's consider our first one, which looks soon, to be a fresh beginning.
    No cremation please.
  • I use medical terminology, things like "hemoptysis53269" (spitting of blood derived from the lungs or bronchial tubes as a result of a pulmonary or bronchial hemorrhage) or maybe "paradrosis462892" (any derangement of perspiration). It makes me feel smart and important, like a really egotistical doctor. Yes, I just offended doctors, but I'm qualified to do so... I used to be a medical transcriptionist... or as one Dr. Poopy Pants called me, "a glorified secretary." He fired me for calling him on making up big words and embarrassing him. Sorry, I thought I was writing on @smashadv's Stream Of Consciousness blog... oh yes, passwords... that's what we were talking about. Passwords are good. I like passwords. In my will, I will leave all my passwords to @CTK1 and @booksbelow. She'll love them, and he needs fresh ones to shake up his life.
  • NUTS "hemoptysis53269" NUTS "paradrosis462892" NUTS
    I'd be scared to log in to any of my accounts faced with a password like that!

    Haha, funny story Jeanne. And thanks for leaving me your passwords. It might be too much for Roger though... he only has 3 pairs of shoes, ya know? *ROLOS*

    "I thought I was writing on @smashadv's Stream Of Consciousness blog... " (hehhehehe)
  • Jeanne!
    BRING IT
  • joelsk
    I'm only commenting to win stuff.

    Actually I had the same password for years. But unfortunately when i got hitched i decided to share everything with my partner and told her all my passwords. After the demise of our relationship I had to get a new password and change all my password on all of my multiple accounts on friggen everything. Twasn't a good move.

    If anyone knew me well enough they would be able to quite easily guess my password. My passwords would reveal that i am crap at remembering complex passwords as I sometime dont even trust my own brain. There have been several times where i have found myself staring blanky at the keypad of an ATM..... WTF is my pin number again?? My passwords would also reveal that I am having difficulty growing up. No its not "boobs". It's pre-boobs. I dont really try to hard to protect my online stuff. I'm not that fussed about my privacy :P
  • You have won stuff! All the stuff! Well, not all, but most of the stuff.
    Some of the stuff is located in a storage facility 100 miles away.
    Actually you can have that stuff too, if you want it.
    Do you want that stuff? Is all of the stuff, what you'd like to have?

    Sharing passwords with a spouse... OMG, that should be it's own blog post.
    I've never shared any passwords with a lover/mate...WOAH!
    I can imagine you scrambling around super fast to remedy that mess!
    Did anything untoward happen? Did she cause damage at all? hahaha...

    I like your simple password motto... I just checked your Twitter account w/password "BoobsRock" and
    tadam. I'm reading all of our funny Dms right now. I hope you don't mind if I send out a few DMs
    to your following list? I'm doing it tight now.
  • joelsk
    What!?!? Shit shit shit <deletes DM's frantically>.
    You're doing it tight now..... <walks away> i'm gunan leave that one alone.
    How did yo know it was "boobsrock"? dammit!! shit shit. Now i have to change it all AGAIN!!

    FREE STUFF!! AWESOME!!! 100 miles huh. I'm gunna need some new shoes for this hike. All of the stuff is what i would like to have. Stuff of all. All suffy. Stuff all. Stuffy McStuff Stuff.

    Yeah it wasn't a smart idea to share my password with my spose but at the time it seemed like a good idea. It was an exercise in trust. She didnt cause havock on my profiles or anything, but did go through all my messages and get jealous if a girl wrote to me. So yeah, it just wasnt a good idea. I think its important to always have someone kept private and to yourself. We all need our own things no matter how attached you get to someone.

    Boobs do rock.
  • I called the storage facility and told them to expect a visit! The STUFF is YOURS! All that stuff!
    Code Words: Gimmee, Mine, Mine

    The um... "tight" thing... oof... yeah let's leave that one alone. Loose lips sink ships, right? heh

    Seriously though, I agree it's best to keep somethings exclusively private. Don't want to lose our identities just because we've fallen like fools head over heels in love.

    Boobs are cool.
  • I have set passwords for different types of accounts. I won't leave them to anyone. If the want to know my life they should have taken an interest when I was alive or in the country. Also, I have not seen the video but am willing to watch.
  • Hahaha, go girl girl! Tell them bastards what's up!
  • bethwarren
    you are hilarious. and fun.
  • Oh yeah.... I know you are, but what am I? Thank you Beth, thank you much much!
    Love seeing you here. x
  • Nsedef
    My brain doesn't want to devote any space to pwords. Don't have much choice in the matter. If I ever got creative about them, I'd spend an hour or two every day re-setting them. So I keep it simple, and use variations on the theme. Sometimes use my mom's name just to switch it up (b/c good luck guessing that one). Very negligent on FB, so don't think it's of value to anyone. Have weird assemblage of peeps & personalities on Twitter; ditto on lack of usefulness. Thx CTK for making me think. P'raps way too hard about this.
  • The thought of you resetting your passwords, daily, spending an hour or two... I'm laughing. I'm thinking up a short story and all that happens is character changes passwords. Maybe character has a roommate and asks the roommate what he/she thinks of each new password but then, dammit, the roomie knows the password so it's got to be changed, and fast.

    FB? Oh, I darted over there real fast to snatch you. Got you.

    Hey, um, what is your password?
  • jonikennedy
    There you go again , makin' me laugh! My passwords are the names of old pets. If I try anything trickier I end up forgetting them. I'd leave my Twitter account to Gerard Butler for no reason whatsoever other than I think he's sexy as hell and my facebook account ? my dog bcuz he's get about as much use out of it as I do:) love you!
  • If I have ever made you laugh, I apologize. Please forgive me my rudeness! Joni baby, hello love!
    I don't want you to leave your twitter account to anyone but if Gerard will be over there steaming up the place, hmmm, that might be sorta cool. Let me know!

    Also I'll be looking for posts on my FB wall written by your dog. THAT would FINALLY improve FB!
  • Another funny post on a real problem! My memory is pretty poor, so I have endless variations on a theme, often I have to try several times before I can get into accounts, and often times am shut out temporarily. But strangely enough, having been on the Internet since the beginning, I don't think my passwords have ever been compromised.
  • Ha, I recall you mentioning this to me before. I'm told there's an app or some sort of thing that can handle all the passwords and have one universal ps as an over ride (or something like that.) I think Danny Brown told me about it a year ago. I get worried about the passwords so they are all rather elaborate and as time goes by, there's no way I'll remember them... kind of stupid. Glad you never got "compromised"
  • ShellyKramer
    LOL. My passwords are tricky - and then I forget them and have to reset the gd things. I'll leave my Twitter account to you, since anyone else that I know will f*ck it up, my Facebook account to my 72 yo mother in law and my gmail account to my husband, who is convinced that Big Brother, a/k/a Google secretly owns all of us :)
  • Do you add a binary swerve to your passwords like the person above does? ;-)
    I am sooooooo happy to have your Twitter account. I promise not to make a mess of it.
    Um, girl, you know I would. It'd probably only take 24 hours before people start deleting @ShellyKramer in droves. Clobbering themselves to see who can hit the block button sooner. Oh No!

    Roger could handle your account with more grace. Or Danny.
    Your mother in law will rock that Facebook. One thing we must do is make sure
    she is friends with my Mom too... they'll bring the place down in a blaze of old school love.

    I've very curious to see what yer'hubby might get up to in the gmail!
    Smooch On You Shelly!
  • My passwords are fairly simple... but then I convert them to binary.
  • VERY FUNNY fun funniness... nice.
  • My passwords would reveal that I like listening to too many pop songs.

    And I'm not exactly supersafe PG on all my social networks. I'm already quirky as is and I'm way too different from my family. I'd probably hand my FaceBook account to my friend, Nick, because he doesn't have one. I'd hand over my Twitter account to one of my colleagues of TNLP. And I'd probably hand over my E-Mail to one of the Lady Ballers because I've been using that frequently to talk to them. Unless you want one of them yourself, Miss CTK1.
  • I know how songbirdy you are so I can just imagine the top 40 jams rolling out...
    When you say you aren't super safe PG, does that mean you call upon B R I T N E Y on occasion?
    Yowza.

    I went to TheNoLookPass.com and tried to see if TheNoLookDog was the password ;-)
    All right, I didn't really do that, but I thought of it. Or maybe, "DustMop-OneLOve_U2"

    I'd love to get your email account and would gladly share with all Ladyballers if you gave me the word!
    This is cool, good stuff! Thanks Rey&Rey!
  • you know more TLC than TLC, and i love it.
  • What about your friends? Will they stand their ground? Will they let you down... again?
  • You two are both "On the wings of love..."
  • ninibaseema
    My passwords rule. I am a creative MONSTER when it comes to passwords. Every 2 month I have to come up with a new one for work - that kinda entitles me to be considered a professional.
    I like taking something very resent and turn it into something funny. So if I had to produce a password right now it would be: ParisienFreedomFries2010
    cool, ey?
  • Your password ethic is superb! You dazzling me with your organized skillage. I need better skills. I jot it all down on random slips of paper and shove into a manilla folder, marked: Passwords. There are over 40 full sheets of paper and maybe 40 more scraps inside. It's an ugly scene.

    I just tried to access your Twitter and Myspace and Facebook using: ParisienFreedomFries2010

    No luck.
    Drats.
    Email me the real one. I'll go in and read your private emails.
    Um... if you want me to.
  • 1'm 0n£¥ 45% £33t bµt 1 kn0w 4 g00Ð p4$$phr4$3 wh3n 1 $n1ff 0n3 - 1'Ð £34v3 4££ m¥ 4((0µnt$ t0 th3 h1gh3$t b1ÐÐ3r
  • Funniness...
  • JennyAaaaaa
    LOL CTK, you delivered another thought provoking, amusing post! I am only a twitter girl, so I willed to have my account deleted and my hard drive roughed up and destroyed. All those email notes of lovers and wreckers might make a fine screenplay.?. Then again, nope. Destroy it all.
  • Thought provoking, is it, eh? Stop with all the strokes! No, please, keep it up, OMG, stroke me baby!

    Here!Here! On your wishes to have the whole mess expunged from cyberspace. I'm with ya on that one actually. UNLESS I'm just hiding out for a murder I committed but plan to return to the states under a new name. If that's the case, I'd like to make friends with my former accounts.

    Hey you need more social network accounts... Join bebo... haha...
  • Chiquita! You've done it again - funny and yet thought provoking. Damn good.
    Best,
    Elaine
  • Elaine !!!!!!!! Thank you Lovely!!!!!!!
  • My passwords would reveal that I've spent far to much time in the past wishing I was Humphrey Bogart. :-p
  • Very funny. At one point all my passwords had to do with the film Taxi Driver (Travis Bickle 76) and what have you. But since nearly everyone I know is aware of how much I love that film, well, I had to get wise.

    I once dated this guy and as a guess... just on a fluke, I guess his password and was correct.
    Poor guy, he scrambled himself away to hit his laptop. heh...

    He was bad in bed too.
  • Being an IT Manager, I had to change peoples passwords all the time. There were some pretty creative ones out there. I think I will change mine to CTK1Rawks!
  • Ooolala I like this new password idea of yours. Please tell me which exact social network account you'll be using this for ;)
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