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WSJ: What Keeps People From Using Password Managers?
No pay wall: https://archive.is/HCtcT
Many of us are vulnerable to hackers and eager to secure our online accounts, but lots of us also refuse to use an obvious solution: password managers.
Why? Our research has found that the typical reassurances and promises about password managers just don’t work. Fortunately, our research also suggests there are strategies that can persuade people to get past the psychological barriers and keep their data safe.
[...] In a study I conducted with my Ph.D. student Norah Alkaldi, we found that the two most common methods of persuasion were ineffective in getting people to adopt password managers. The first is the “push” approach—the idea that by showing people the dangers of using simple passwords, recording passwords on their computer or using the same passwords at different sites, we would push them to adopt a safer approach. Users, we found, don’t respond to the push strategy.
[...] The other, “pull,” approach—focusing on the positives of password managers—didn’t deliver any better results.
[...] We discovered two types of “mooring factors” that keep people from changing their behavior.
[...] First, there was the effort required to enter all your passwords into the password manager.
[...] People also fear they will lose all their passwords if they forget their master password.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Friday June 18 2021, @09:42AM (2 children)
I am not demented (yet) so I can remember my password(s). There really are not that many of them that I care about. For all the other accounts I mostly just type whatever password, then I forget about it. If I ever have to login again for some reason I just request a password reset from the system. That way the only password I have to keep secure and remember is the one for my email. Remembering one password isn't that hard. Totally within my grasp, for the most part.
That said I find it somewhat idiotic that corporations and government are pushing password security to the user. They should know by now that users are the weakest link. So for them to rely on passwords alone is bad at best. That they make you follow various patterns or include various characters, numbers, lower case, upper case etc is just padding for an insecure system.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @02:26PM
That’s to make the password brute force proof. Which is exactly where a password manager can help out, it generates secure passwords automatically and you don’t even attempt to remember it, the password manager remembers it. As an added benefit, you never have to type a login manually, the password manager types it for you. Password managers are similar to microwave ovens when they first came out; at first you don’t see the point, until you try it and use it, it then becomes essential.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Friday June 18 2021, @11:01PM
So your email account is your password manager?