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The week I ignored every single password manager recommendation
Last Tuesday I had to reset 14 accounts after my "master password" spreadsheet got corrupted. Yeah I know, I know - plain text spreadsheet is dumb. But the worst part was my banking password was just "Bank2020!" and I'd been using it since 2019. Three days of headaches later I switched to Bitwarden and it cost me nothing. Has anyone else put off a password manager for years and then kicked themselves?
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uma_webb281mo ago
Oh man, the "Bank2020!" thing hit home. A friend of mine literally had her entire email password set to "Password123" for like five years straight. She swore she'd switch to a manager after she got locked out of her online shopping account, but kept putting it off. Then her work laptop got stolen and she had to change everything from her phone, it was a total nightmare. She finally caved and got Bitwarden too, and now she's the one telling everyone else to just do it already.
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tessa3681mo ago
13 years, that's how long I used the same three passwords on rotation before I finally gave in. My wake up call was when I tried to log into an old forum account and realized my "secure" password was just my high school locker combo. I felt like an idiot for an entire weekend while migrating everything over, but now I sleep better knowing my passwords aren't all variations of "fluffycat1.
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The whole "fluffycat1" thing is way more common than people admit. I swear half the internet is running on passwords people came up with in middle school. @uma_webb28's story about her friend is spot on too, it's always some crisis that finally gets people to change. The wild part is how we'll spend money on locks for our front door but use the same login for 15 years on emails full of bank statements and tax forms. That locker combo story is rough but honestly it's the wake up call most of us needed at some point.
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