Passwords, passwords, passwords! How can I keep track of them all?

So there I was, driving home, my auto mechanic having just replaced my car's worn-out battery. I turned on the radio, but instead of hearing tunes from my favorite oldies station it silently displayed "CODE." This is an antitheft feature designed to prevent someone who might steal the radio from using it, easily cleared with the right password. If I only knew what it was....

How should I organize my passwords?
Do you have your passwords written on scraps of paper all over your desk, on post-it notes stuck to your computer monitor, or in the back of your car's owner's manual? It's time to gather them all together!

In my experience, these are the key pieces of information to collect:

the context: the name of the organization, web site, or company, e.g., "eBay.com"
the username (also called the id, login name, account name, or number), e.g. "Martin" - uppercase vs. lowercase usually doesn't matter; some companies will use your email address as your username, some let you make up a username
the password itself - be very precise about uppercase and lowercase letters because passwords are case-sensitive, e.g., don't write "Skippy" if the password you have to type is actually "skippy"
the date you opened the account (optional, but helpful later to weed out old accounts)
any other notes, comments, or related information, e.g., why you opened the account, what purpose it serves

A simple way to get started is to take a pad of lined paper and write "Context | Username | Password | Date | Notes" across the top, making a 5-column chart like this:

Sample Password Chart

Context	Username	Password	Date	Notes
Earthlink	martin	skippy87	2/4/06	email and internet service
eBay.com	martin	skippy	10/23/05	great place to buy & sell stuff
Ford Fairlane	(radio code)	1234		needed after get new battery

Then, start filling in this list, one account per row. Start with the accounts you use most frequently - email, voicemail, shopping, and banking. Don't worry about keeping this list in alphabetical order for now, you can always copy it over later and put it into some sort of order.

When I help clients start such a list, sometimes they tell me that their email account doesn't have a password. If you don't have to type in your email password, that just means that your email program is remembering it for you. Everyone's email account has a password.

How can I remember which accounts and passwords I already have?
You probably won't be able to remember all of your accounts and passwords all at once, so I recommend you begin with the ones you can think of now. To help you get started, here is a list of the most common types I've seen, along with a few examples:

Essential computer-related accounts:

email account - many people have more than one
internet connection (dial-up, DSL, cable) - often the same password as your primary email account
login or "administrative" account for your computer
router or network administration - for managing a computer network in your home or office
wireless network access - for connecting your computer to your wireless network

Online accounts:

shopping web sites - products (books, CDs, food, clothing), services (airfare, hotels), etc.
financial web sites - bank accounts, credit cards, investments, Paypal
organizations you belong to - Chamber of Commerce, business group, dance club
services you subscribe to - automobile club, the company managing your web site, online discussion group or community, dating web site, online archive of newspaper articles
companies whose product you've registered - free software you're using, software you've paid for, appliance you've purchased
government web sites you've registered with - IRS, US Treasury, Mass Dept. of Revenue

You probably also have a number of important non-computer passwords:

home voicemail or answering machine remote access code
work voicemail
cell voicemail
ATM pin number
"verbal" password when you call your bank or investment company
car radio antitheft password

Why should I organize my passwords?

It will save you time, inconvenience, and frustration having all your passwords in one place.
If you become sick, disabled, or die, you'll save your family or business partners a lot of time and trouble.

Where should I keep my passwords?
Some experts will tell you that you should never write down your passwords, that you should only have them in your head, but I think this leads to people always using the same password. To me it makes sense to make a password chart as long as you keep it in a safe place.

For some people, the best choice is a lined piece of paper kept in a locked drawer in their desk. If you discard it, remember to shred it first.

For others, the best choice is a spreadsheet or word processing file on their computer, ideally locked with a password itself. Just don't name it "Password List"!

Other ideas for organizing your passwords:

Use a 3-ring notebook.
Use your existing paper Rolodex, or start a special one just for passwords.
If you do decide to keep different passwords in different places, pick places that are easy to remember or related to the given passwords. I found my car's radio code written in my car's owner's manual, so I can enjoy my oldies once again!

Where to go from here

Start a password list, add to it as you remember each account you already have.
Keep it up to date by adding new accounts and passwords whenever you create or change them, and keep it in a safe place.
Let the important people in your life know where to find it.

If you know someone else who might find this helpful, please feel free to forward it to them.
If you have any comments about this article, send me a reply!
If you have a topic that you'd like me to write about, I'd love to hear about it!

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