Passwords, Security, Codes, Oh My!

Forgot your password? Your not alone...

How many times do you visit a website that requires membership and damn, you forgot your password. The tedious process begins of answering your user-identifying question, having a new password sent to your email, re-visiting the site and at last, doing what you came to the site to do. If you’re like me, this happens all the time. Amazon, eBay, and every online shopping site all require usernames and passwords. Annoying? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely.

As a self-proclaimed technology cynic, the idea of technology putting up these barricades to my everyday life gives me a headache. But at the same time, I live in a world where I use technology fairly frequently and without locks and passwords, that world would become chaotic. It’s no secret that human nature harbors curiosity and deviance, making the idea that the honor code or good old fashioned trust is impossible and almost laughable to ponder. There is no way we could use email, Facebook, online banking, or online shopping without the sense of security that passwords provide. It’s a joke to think otherwise.

Although security is necessary, I do find it frustrating. I am forced to have at least 2 email addresses at all times- personal and school. When I enter the working world, I’m sure I’ll have 3. My boyfriend has about 4- personal, work, spam, and PayPal. It seems complicated to have all these routes of communication, but it’s actually complicated not to. By separating my school email from my personal solely based on differing addresses, I add a certain organization to my life. With that organization however, comes a million different passwords.

One would think using the same password for every sign-in would be an effective way to solve the problem of remembering what password unlocks what. However, Drew University is a great example of being forced otherwise. Every six months, we are demanded to change our password because it allegedly ‘expires.’ How a password can expire? I have no clue. Perhaps this is a way of providing extra security, but if someone were to hack my account, they still have a solid six months to do so. Writing them down is another possibility to avoid the confusion of playing 20 questions when you can’t remember your password. But doesn’t that defeat the purpose? Writing down my password correlated to its username makes no sense either. Don't forget the frustration of seeing your chosen password appear in dots. This gives no sense of accuracy and in a sense blocks you from yourself. Without seeing actual characters, our passwords take a sense of control even from the creator.

Although easy to complain about, I do understand the necessity for passwords and with our world revolving so much around the internet, it is impossible to argue that they are unimportant. However, every site I visit, every move I make online, seems to require a password. This gives me the sense of security that I like, but I can’t help wonder if there is a less frustrating way to provide security.

 

The only one I can think of is fingerprint coding which is perhaps slightly extreme for everyday tasks like checking email and Facebooking. When I purchased my last laptop, I remember thinking a fingerprint scanner was a necessary feature. I begged my dad to get me a computer that had the ability to scan my finger. Indeed, my wish was granted but to this day I have yet to figure out, setup, or use the finger scanner I wanted so badly. Sorry, Dad! This is proof in itself that although annoying, the password is the most effective way to salvage our privacy. I may complain about managing a million passwords just to manage my life, but anything else would be just as annoying and if anything, probably more complicated. We can, however, possibly improve the password field to avoid some of the common frustrations.

Our society has chosen to live in a world run by technology. With every decision there is a consequence. With the advancements that the internet has brought our world in terms of communication, this is a small price to pay. We can’t expect to enter into the online world and have free reign. Barriers are pertinent and passwords provide them.

Mallory.