tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post8240596728735310167..comments2024-03-27T23:53:59.771-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: PINs and Passwords, Part 1Leigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-63309716338422899922017-05-16T06:34:47.363-04:002017-05-16T06:34:47.363-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00365440368469994795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-60564931539475071382013-08-05T10:45:31.963-04:002013-08-05T10:45:31.963-04:00I can guarantee that they won't be able to cra...I can guarantee that they won't be able to crack my passwords for most places - but my PIN number... I'll have to update that. My current one isn't the worst, but it isn't the best, either. Thanks for the tips!Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-5320209959478504492013-08-05T03:01:43.044-04:002013-08-05T03:01:43.044-04:00Ben, easy-to-use and safety seldom go together. Ye...Ben, easy-to-use and safety seldom go together. Yes, there's a good chance if you used one of the sequences (or a date) mentioned, it left your account vulnerable.<br /><br />Toe, I'm astonished and yet not wholly surprised your bank reduced the number of digits (and security). It's one of those jaw-dropping decisions– what were they thinking?Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-56218254977578452892013-08-04T23:33:59.715-04:002013-08-04T23:33:59.715-04:00Hey Leigh: I used to have a 6 digit PIN at my big-...Hey Leigh: I used to have a 6 digit PIN at my big-time bank before they lopped off two and shortened it to 4. What's their philosophy? Codes will be cracked anyway? Or, who cares: We've already thrown away billions of dollars on bad investments? But don't worry, we've got your back. And I accept your challenge. In the next half-year I'll try to come up with a story including your info. Yours truly, Toe. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17407149021673167001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78897484455101004162013-08-04T20:25:57.290-04:002013-08-04T20:25:57.290-04:00This could explain something that happened to me. ...This could explain something that happened to me. I left my credit card at a store and by the time I realized it, less than 1 hr later, more than 200 dollars in charges were on it. At the time I wondered how they got my pin number but yeah, I reckon I was using one of your easy to use numbers stead of something harder. Worked out for the crook anyway.Ben floydnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-54846902850406585712013-08-04T18:13:34.340-04:002013-08-04T18:13:34.340-04:00I used to have a phone number that worked ou MR BI...I used to have a phone number that worked ou MR BIC 14. One day my sister-in-law called looking for my wife/ "Is this Mr Bic 14? May I speak to Ms Bic?<br /><br />James THurber wrote about associating phone numbers with CIvil War dates. This was so successful he could still remember the numbers of people who were long dead, and not answering.<br />Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62328448534347448842013-08-04T15:56:05.417-04:002013-08-04T15:56:05.417-04:00Dixon, I'm presently wracking my brain for a p...Dixon, I'm presently wracking my brain for a plot where either good guys or bad guys crack the codes. Can you imagine a cashier or waiter who has hundreds of cards pass through their hands, and we know they can one in 4 or 5 with little trouble at all?<br /><br />And Louis, you're right– PIN security is largely an illusion.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-83882838728112893492013-08-04T15:13:54.398-04:002013-08-04T15:13:54.398-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Louis A. Willishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16563842429688123421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-66246821501782471972013-08-04T15:13:32.633-04:002013-08-04T15:13:32.633-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Louis A. Willishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16563842429688123421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-87017011308486521992013-08-04T15:13:19.201-04:002013-08-04T15:13:19.201-04:00What to do when the company, bank, or whatever, wo...What to do when the company, bank, or whatever, won't let you use more than four numbers or letters in a PIN? Sometimes I feel their rules for PINs and passwords are not very secure.Louis A. Willishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16563842429688123421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-61467493363220410852013-08-04T15:10:45.265-04:002013-08-04T15:10:45.265-04:00Anon, any password that doesn't reveal too muc...Anon, any password that doesn't reveal too much should work, particularly if it's further obscured with a number or special character.<br /><br />Rob, I still remember a couple of phone numbers from the 70s, one a friend who gave me her number, DEN-CURD, and the other a colleague whose acronym sounded a bit naughty, HAD-MARY. Pretty effective mnemonics.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-82477381819648035882013-08-04T15:06:48.023-04:002013-08-04T15:06:48.023-04:00Leigh, I'll leave off any mention of my own pi...Leigh, I'll leave off any mention of my own pin codes and passwords, for obvious reasons.<br /><br />However, I think you’ve hit on a very nice mechanism for a puzzle mystery here. The idea of trying to “reverse engineer” or perhaps even “reverse psychoanalyze” what a certain person might find to associate with a given-length pin or pass code, assuming that person was incorporating a mnemonic device that would speak to his/her psyche, but not be common knowledge to others, is a fascinating idea.Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-81785788893225856462013-08-04T12:52:21.076-04:002013-08-04T12:52:21.076-04:00Fascinating and depressing. A while ago I heard a...Fascinating and depressing. A while ago I heard a story on NPR about a guy whose four letter pin on his voice mail was broken and he found himself billed for many thousands of long distance calls he had apparently made from Asia one night. The phone company was not interested in his explanations. At thant point i changed my four letter phone code to a longer one.<br /><br />I had a friend in high school whose phone number I still remember. The last four digits were 3941. "The year WWII started, and the year we entered," he told me.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-34076252307380165672013-08-04T12:39:56.627-04:002013-08-04T12:39:56.627-04:00I always use one number followed by the last name ...I always use one number followed by the last name of an old boyfriend from many years ago. He is now deceased & I do not talk about him. This method of keeping a password unguessable, probably isn't recommended, but it works for me!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-35608232011547051302013-08-04T10:36:16.598-04:002013-08-04T10:36:16.598-04:00Pin-up! ABA, you make me blush!
Anon, as Janice h...Pin-up! ABA, you make me blush!<br /><br />Anon, as Janice hints at, once banks and businesses knew their customers by sight and reputation. These days, a bank doesn't know its own employees. So as noted above, they seek to make access easy, perhaps to easy since institutions can fall back upon "You didn't keep your card and PIN safe." The best we can do is make it as difficult as possible for others to guess our number.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-25938932116535216732013-08-04T08:37:42.021-04:002013-08-04T08:37:42.021-04:00All this makes me nostalgia for our old Royal Bank...All this makes me nostalgia for our old Royal Bank of Scotland account where everything was done by hand in a ledger and at the counter!janice Lawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-91555090462082067002013-08-04T07:03:52.129-04:002013-08-04T07:03:52.129-04:00Are you saying pin numbers are useless? Why do we ...Are you saying pin numbers are useless? Why do we keep getting them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-2984144960694742992013-08-04T03:22:37.277-04:002013-08-04T03:22:37.277-04:00Anything preventing baddies from ‘penny-PINching’ ...Anything preventing baddies from ‘penny-PINching’ and I’m all PINnae.<br /><br />Ignoring this article of PINterest is the PINnacle of stupidity and makes one, in my oPINion, a PINhead. <br /><br />Leigh for PIN-up of the week!<br />A Broad Abroadnoreply@blogger.com