GIVING IT ALL AWAY

[limousin-cottage]

I use Firefox, and none of my passwords can be saved. Maybe because I choose to set Firefox to 'Never Remember History' ? I recently had a problem with my Trip Advisor inbox sending SPAM messages out via an older, genuine message from an enquirer. HL were very helpful and sorted it out for me, then advised me to change passwords on a pretty regular basis. It becomes a nightmare remembering all the passwords, but now I have them all stored in a little black book, which so far no-one has managed to hack!

[kevsboredagain]

You have given me something to think about Kev.
I never save passwords on my computer, as I always thought that I was safer entering them every time I log on. (I am not on any of the big listing sites though).
Should I change my practice???

Definitely not safer. Read e-richard's post above. Entering them every time makes you far more likely to be caught out by phishing.

[kevsboredagain]

I use Firefox, and none of my passwords can be saved. Maybe because I choose to set Firefox to 'Never Remember History' ? I recently had a problem with my Trip Advisor inbox sending SPAM messages out via an older, genuine message from an enquirer. HL were very helpful and sorted it out for me, then advised me to change passwords on a pretty regular basis. It becomes a nightmare remembering all the passwords, but now I have them all stored in a little black book, which so far no-one has managed to hack!

This one has me totally lost. The Trip Advisor inbox resides on a server somewhere on the other side of the planet. How can a Firefox history on your own computer cause it to send spam? A virus could send out spam but not a history. A history is just a list or URLs visited with time stamps.

Changing your password regularly, although good advice, does not prevent phishing.

I hope you keep this little black book in a VERY safe place. If you were burgled or the house burnt down, you'd have lots of extra stress losing all your passwords.

[Ben McNevis]

I think that the one downside of allowing your browser to store your passwords is, if you're using a portable device, it could be nicked. However, the chance that the thief would know about the scams that he can then perpetrate by getting access to your guests enquiries etc is fairly slim (it's more likely that he wants to sell the device for its hardware value). So, on balance, I think it's a lower risk than typing passwords in by hand.

Particularly if you make a effort not to leave your laptop on the train.

[kevsboredagain]

I think that the one downside of allowing your browser to store your passwords is, if you're using a portable device, it could be nicked. However, the chance that the thief would know about the scams that he can then perpetrate by getting access to your guests enquiries etc is fairly slim (it's more likely that he wants to sell the device for its hardware value). So, on balance, I think it's a lower risk than typing passwords in by hand.

Particularly if you make a effort not to leave your laptop on the train.

Most definitely. Any portable device should use at least a PIN to for entry and all of mine I can not only track but wipe remotely if stolen. Even some banking sites are set up wrongly and you can login without typing a single key!!

[joddle]

I don't like typing in any passwords at all so on a usb stick I keep a few "secret" word files (look like reports on work stuff) with passwords in them disguised within other non relevant text then I simply copy and past the relevant password when entering bank details. No keystrokes to grab! And nothing on the PC!