Use a Wallet to Keep Passwords Safe

Readers at the Freakonomics blog recently interviewed security expert Bruce Schneier, touching on issues like phishing, encryption, and online storage, to name a few. On the topic of passwords, Schneier said there are too many for anyone to remember, so he relies on a fairly low-tech solution:

I write my passwords down. There’s this rampant myth that you shouldn’t write your passwords down. My advice is exactly the opposite. We already know how to secure small bits of paper. Write your passwords down on a small bit of paper, and put it with all of your other valuable small bits of paper: in your wallet.

Schneier’s not the first to defy the conventional IT wisdom, but his particular method makes good sense. Of course, he also chooses strong passwords and uses his own Password Safe program to create and store them, in addition to his back pocket. Photo by Saad.