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the straight factuals I still have to remember if I abbreviated or used a long full name or something
Yeah, my grandmother was Antoinette Louise, but she went by Louise, and my mother was Louise Françoise, but went by Françoise. When they ask for first name, I never remember which one I actually used.
Mostly, I think I have good basic passwords, increasing in level of difficulty depending on the type of site, with financial stuff being the most complicated, why should I be forced to use those questions as well?
When they ask for paternal parent information, I just laugh and laugh and laugh. And then make something up!
(didya know Atticus Finch fathered me??)
The sad thing is that everything we are saying is basic security theory. Most textbooks on the subject say something along the following lines: if your security system is an obstacle to users doing their job or using the service they logged on for, then it will be treated like any other obstacle and worked around, run over, or (if possible) ignored.
Making answers up is safer for security questions anyway - every time some celebrity's email account gets hacked, it's because someone looked up the name of their pet or their highschool on Wikipedia.
There is one system we use at work which requires a password change every month, and your password can't be anything you've used in the past 24 password changes. I access this system approximately three or four times a year, and so my password is on a post-it taped to my desk. (In my defense, this system has the built-in security feature of being next to impossible to use. It is almost universally referred to by the staff as "that stupid piece of shit.")
Making answers up is safer for security questions anyway
But don't you run a higher risk of forgetting the falsehoods?
But don't you run a higher risk of forgetting the falsehoods?
I think the idea is to have a fake answer completely unrelated to the question so you can remember it but it would be difficult to guess. Basically a second password.
Where did you go to high school? Lemon tree
What's the name of your favorite book? Lemon tree
etc etc
And the lemon flowers sweet.
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
