Password Protection Advice

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Rickles

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#306556 3-Aug-2023 11:52

Interesting security advice on either side of the Tasman recently.

In NZ we see TV adverts saying do not use automatic password remember/save systems, yet just last night here in Oz there was a Google advert saying that the best way to remember all your passwords was to set 'remember' in Chrome.

jamesrt

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#3111378 3-Aug-2023 11:58

Rickles: In NZ we see TV adverts saying do not use automatic password remember/save systems

Do we? Genuinely curious - I've never seen one. Mind you, I don't watch a lot of "live" TV; but I do watch it.

Rickles

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#3111381 3-Aug-2023 12:03

@jamesrt ... yes, during the Nigel Latta program breaks there is an advert (Phil Alpers??) saying do not use password saving on devices.

frankv

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#3111383 3-Aug-2023 12:16

Perhaps it's because Google is who we need to protect ourselves against?

More seriously, Google is in the "digital identity" business. You can use your Google account to save passwords, which are then available across multiple platforms and devices... very convenient. You can also use your Google account as essentially the credentials for logging into FaceBook and a myriad of other services. In either case, this makes it easy for Google to track exactly what services you're using, which information they can then aggregate and analyse and sell. So Google has a vested interest in encouraging you to save your username & password (online, rather than on your PC).

Saving passwords on your PC puts you at risk if someone steals your PC, or manages to break into it somehow (e.g. TeamViewer, or a virus, or whatever). Saving them online in your Google account means that if anyone ever gets your Google account password (by getting into your PC, phishing you, hacking Google, or just by guessing), they equally have access to everything online. The question then is... "Is your Google password saved on your PC?" If it is, you're just as vulnerable as if all your passwords are there.

I believe that the risk of someone covertly accessing my PC or phone or whatever is very low, so I don't think there's any reason not to save my passwords locally. YMMV.

Behodar

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#3111390 3-Aug-2023 12:40

Do the "don't use a password manager" ads suggest what you should do instead?

Stu

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#3111395 3-Aug-2023 12:47

The advertisement actually says don't let your browser remember passwords. Password managers aren't actually mentioned. The ad could be better. Another missed opportunity to educate people.

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#3111408 3-Aug-2023 13:33

Rickles:

@jamesrt ... yes, during the Nigel Latta program breaks there is an advert (Phil Alpers??) saying do not use password saving on devices.

It's an ANZ ad with someone else whose name escapes me. Mark Sainsbury.

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Rickles

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#3111409 3-Aug-2023 13:41

> Mark Sainsbury.<

Forgive me, someone ex Fair Go I thought <s>.

alasta

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#3111532 3-Aug-2023 16:26

When I set a password in my web browser it goes into my iCloud Keychain. Is that a 'web browser' based solution or a 'password manager' solution?

You can see how non-technical people would find this confusing.

Rickles

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#3111576 3-Aug-2023 19:19

This is the advert playing here in Oz -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2afeJgeaxc

BadCo

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#3111643 3-Aug-2023 23:28

I'm not sure why this is hard thing to get across. Use a well vetted password manager like Bitwarden. Secure bitwarden with a long pass phrase and MFA.

ANglEAUT

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#3111655 4-Aug-2023 05:30

alasta:

When I set a password in my web browser it goes into my iCloud Keychain. Is that a 'web browser' based solution or a 'password manager' solution?

...

= Password manager solution

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#3111656 4-Aug-2023 05:32

BadCo: I'm not sure why this is hard thing to get across....

I'll keep it short: Not everybody is as technical as you.

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BadCo

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#3111657 4-Aug-2023 06:18

ANglEAUT:

BadCo: I'm not sure why this is hard thing to get across....

I'll keep it short: Not everybody is as technical as you.

Yes there are more technical users then others, but the messages being using as described in this thread is more confusing to those non-technical people.