I’ve got the password, boy let me tell you how I’ve got the password, I’ve got loads of them floating around here. I’ve got them by the bucket loads.
Every system I work with has a different password. We’ve even got a web page where you login to request your passwords be given to you, or to reset them if you commit the sin of forgetting your password. Of course you need a password to access this web page, but what happens if you forget the password to the password web page? I don’t even want to know.
It has gotten to the point that I have a word doc on my laptop just to try and keep track of all my passwords (don’t tell the IT security goblins). It didn’t use to be this way, but now every box I work on has a different password, some of them have multiple passwords depending on what kind of work I have to do. I know why it is this way, but when you’ve got two pages of passwords I think I’ve had enough. Some passwords expire if you don’t use them every week, some every month, some change every month regardless. Passwords that have to be changed, but you can’t use anything that is close to the last six dozen passwords you have used before. I’m running out of combinations of words and numbers that I can use. HELP ME.
I think that most all of my co-workers have a file like mine, but I’m not sure. If they don’t I can’t figure out how they keep them all straight. One of the other guys on night shift showed me his file, it’s got over 150 different systems and passwords, and only a handful of them are the same. Most of these systems won’t let you change your password. How’s that for some crap?
You wouldn’t think it would be that hard for them to come up with one master password that will grant you access to every web page and system out there. Just let some IT group turn your permissions on and off as needed for your job functions, we’ve already got a group that generates passwords (that are always different of course) why not just turn permissions on and off as needed. Guess that would just be too hard huh?
Stinking passwords.
I can sympathize with you on this. I have several programs I need to log into at the hospital. One password to log into the computer, another password to log into the program to view my patients meds, and yet another password to log into the computer and machine that dispenses my patients meds. Not to mention varies door codes, phone codes, and equipment codes I need to remember. At first, I had all of my passwords the same. The problems started when one of these programs prompted me to change my password, say 1 month later, but the 2nd program didn’t need a password change until 3 months later, and the final program wasn’t until like 6 months later, which by that point I had changed the 1st programs password 6 times, the 2nd password 2 times, and the final one just once. And of course while you can keep a log of these passwords, I do not have that luxury. It would be pretty bad it someone found my list and logged into these computers to steal some vicodin under my name. I’m also under a little more stress to remember these passwords when say my patient, Mrs. Ima Noteating’s blood sugar drops to like 30 and I need to quickly get some D50 (big fat syrynge of sugar for you non medical peps) out of the med dispense machine. So, while all your passwords and frequent changes suck, just remember, it could be worse!