Although many people may not give their passwords to the virtual world much thought, a recently published study by Carleton student and research assistant Vanessa Boothroyd indicated password management may be more problematic than originally thought.
Boothroyd’s study aimed to find out whether writing down your password would eventually help users memorize their passwords.
The study found that users preferred memorizing their passwords as opposed to writing them down. However, it found that regardless of whether the password was written or memorized, the study’s participants remembered them equally well.
Boothroyd said her study consisted of 31 participants. She asked half of the participants to memorize their passwords and the other half to write them down.
Boothroyd said she found participants were not doing what they were requested to do, as most preferred to memorize their passwords rather than writing them down.
“People’s password habits are ingrained,” she said.
She said although she does not discourage memorization, there are other ways to ensure you don’t forget your password.
Boothroyd, who said she has had problems remembering passwords, suggested tips like writing down a hint to a password, writing it backwards, or even inside out.
