Keeping Track of Passwords

I was ordering a few things online this morning. For each site I ordered from, I needed a password. I’m on password overload! How many passwords to you have? And how to you keep track of them? Do you have yellow sticky notes with passwords cluttered around your computer? Or do you use scraps of paper with passwords jotted on them stuck in a desk drawer?

There are a ton of password managers available on-line. For those of us who are technically challenged, don’t have that many passwords to justify a password manager or feel paper is safer than a computer for password storage, here is another option.

Make your own Password Records Chart. List your passwords by category. Possible categories may include: bills, online shopping, work, personal. Within each category, list your accounts (website addresses) in alphabetical order, along with the user name and any other pertinent information. Create the chart using a word processor, filling in all the necessary information, except the passwords and date the password was changed. Write passwords & dates in pencil, so you can change them as needed. (I recommend using lines on the chart, but being one of those technically challenged individuals, I don't know how to make them in this format.)

Password Records Sample
-- Bills ----- User ID --- Password --- Date Password Changed --- Other Info
Cable Website
Electric Website
Internet Website
Mortgage Website
Telephone Website

Keep your Password Records Chart close to your computer for easy access, in a locked drawer or a file with a label only you would recognize as passwords. Make sure one other person knows where this important information is, just in case of an emergency.