The Washington PostThe Washington Post

Everything you've been told about passwords is a lie

By Shira Ovide

10 Jan 2023 · 5 min read

Editor's Note

Ideally we'd all be living in a password-free world by now, but we're not there yet, Shira Ovide writes in The Washington Post. So here are some handy tips on how to be smart when setting your own.

The entire system of online passwords is dumb and broken.

Demanding that you create hundreds of unique, complicated passwords is error-prone, insecure and annoying. Most of the advice you hear about passwords - including from technology journalists like me - is unmanageable, scolding and sometimes outdated.

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