People's Bad Password Habits exposed

Psychology researchers have studied how people choose passwords and confirm security experts worst fears.

Alan Brown of Southern Methodist University and three colleagues surveyed 218 first-year psychology undergraduates. Most participants reported using themselves for inspiration when it came to choosing passwords, with 45% using their own name for at least one password.

Security experts advise against using one password for different things, yet such duplication was common. Experts also warn against writing down passwords, yet more than half the sample admitted writing theirs down.

The survey revealed that students have 8.18 password uses. With 4.45 different passwords to cover these functions, the average password has 1.84 applications.

Specifically:
* Two thirds of passwords are designed around one's personal characteristics, with most of the remainder relating to relatives, friends or lovers.
* Proper names and birthdays are the primary information used in constructing passwords, accounting for about half of all password constructions.
* Almost all respondents reuse passwords, and about two thirds of password uses are duplications.
* Passwords have been forgotten by a third of respondents, and over half keep a written record of them.

The researchers say: 'We found empirical confirmation of some bad password practices discussed in the literature.' They provide suggestions for password construction and use, such as categorising passwords into those that need to be high security and those that don't. For those that do, they advise using a 'cryptic transformation of some memorable cue; mix letters and symbols and test your password recall a day or two after composing it and prior to using it'.

Brown, A.S., Bracken, E., Zoccoli, S. & Douglas, K. (2004). Generating and remembering passwords. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18, 641-651.

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