Rant: That coworker who said 'just use the same password for everything'

Overheard a guy in IT last week telling a new hire to reuse their Gmail password for the payroll system... I almost choked on my coffee. That's how you get a ransomware attack that locks up everyone's pay stubs for a month. How do you even start convincing people that password managers aren't optional?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyw976d ago

@dixon.spencer yeah, the whole "positive thinking" thing falls apart fast when you see the real world results. But on the password point, I gotta say something. Password managers are great, but they aren't a magic fix either. I've seen people get locked out of everything because they forgot their master password, or worse, someone guessed it because it was too easy. So telling someone to "just use a password manager" without explaining how to pick a strong master password and enable two-factor authentication is kind of like telling them to reuse passwords but with extra steps. Need to treat the whole thing like a system, not just a tool.

margaret_gonzalez2524d agoMost Upvoted

Right?! That advice is terrifying, honestly.

dixon.spencer24d ago

Used to be one of those "just be positive" people myself. Watching that play out in real life changed my mind real quick.