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A guy at a coffee shop in Austin showed me why my password was a joke

Honestly, last month I was working at a cafe and this guy next to me just leaned over and said, 'Dude, I can see your password from here, it's just your kid's name and 123.' He was right, it was my daughter Lily and the year she was born. He didn't mean to be rude, he just said he works in IT and sees it all the time. He told me to try a passphrase instead, like three random words with a number. I switched to something like 'correcthorsebatterystaple99' and it feels way safer. Has anyone else had a stranger give them a security wake-up call like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_hill2312h ago

That kind of thing happens more than people realize. You see it with simple door codes at offices or birthdays as PINs. Folks use easy patterns for convenience, not thinking someone is watching. It's wild how a little nudge from a stranger can make you see the weak spots everywhere, like using the same password for your email and your streaming service. Makes you actually stop and change your habits for good.

olivia_morgan89h ago

You're right about that little nudge making you see weak spots. I once watched a guy in a coffee shop look over someone's shoulder and guess their phone passcode was 1234, and he was right. It made me set up two-factor on everything the next day.