The concept of using passwords for security is not new. The Arabian Nights talk about them- Alibaba and the forty thieves used a password to get entry into the cave filled with riches. Forgetting a password in the nick of time is just as old- after all, Kasim paid a mortal price for not recollecting the password. So did Karna- at the most critical juncture, he could not remember the password to activate his weapon.
In earlier times, we would have glossed over these stories. Not any more. Each time we stumble to recollect a password in today's IT age, we empathize more with Kasim and Karna and relive their last moments of helplessness and absolute desperation. No wonder, the Arabian Nights and the Mahabharata are immortal stories, relevant in every age!
We get into the cool confines of the ATM booth and key-in the cash amount for withdrawal. It prompts us for a password. Something snaps at that Karna moment. The mind is a complete blank. It's as if we are back in time as that school student who forgets everything the moment he sees the exam question paper. We scratch our head, close our eyes and knit our eyebrows- but the password ain't coming back! He has simply flown away, leaving us high and dry. Seeing no progress, the next in line demonstrates his impatience by knocking on the booth door. It adds to the pressure forcing us to key-in some password which suddenly floats before us posing as the correct one. It is obviously wrong. Soon, all sorts of numbers muddle up our mind. We take a chance. Gamblers seldom win. Three strikes and we have lost both- access to cash this time as well as to a working bank account. Only Karna can understand our anguish, or may be another forlorn brother who has gone through this very crisis.
There are passwords all over the place- strewn indiscriminately like mines. All it requires is one false step to blow up. There are passwords to check your email, to book railway tickets, to access each of your 5 bank accounts, to logon to your workplace and for each "app" on your cellphone. Passwords cannot be the same because each one wants you to change the password periodically and that too, with a constraint that it cannot be a repeat of your previous ones! Plus, each password prompter has his unique criteria on how the password should be. Sometimes, they want us to use numbers, sometimes both upper case and lower case letters and sometimes, special characters too. Password prompters are finicky- even the spouse can be pleased, but not the password prompters. Whatever password we come up with, with all sorts of combination of letters and numbers is not good enough and it is deemed "weak". We eventually feel like surrendering to the password-prompt and pleading- "If none of this is good enough for you, pray tell me what you want!" To our utter delight, sometimes, we inexplicably succeed in the password strength-test! But the delight is short-lived. The password is too complicated to remember even a second time. Now, we are back to square one.
For every login, below the password bar, is a helper-line "forgot your password?". It is as if the password is taunting us by assuming we are so forgetful. We agree we forget, but the reminder provokes us. Press the "forgot your password?" link and it takes us on another wild goose chase. Sometimes, it teases us with questions like "What was your mother's maiden name?" We feel like saying, it was "amma" even then, but that answer is not good enough to pass this test. It comes up with all sorts of irrelevant questions like "First car", "Favorite sportsperson", "favorite color" and what not. No answer is good enough- it's as if there are more and more password tests to retrieve the lost password and we slip deeper and deeper into the marsh till we are totally submerged in the muck. Otherwise, we go through another drill of OTPs sent to cellphones whose numbers no longer exist, which is another exercise in futility.
Sometimes, we throw caution to the winds and write down the password on the ATM card itself or in notebook pages, in full public glare. It may seem like absolute foolhardiness, but it is our way of thumbing the nose at the world. It is as if we want to scream- what is so secretive about my life that it cannot be worn proudly on the sleeve. It is like the streaker...who revolts against the norm, and watched by spectators in tens of thousands, suddenly runs into the Cricket ground leaving his clothes and all else! Anyway, the bank balance is too meagre compared to the hoops we have to jump through, to preserve passwords in memory.
An open password is like a breath of fresh air- the mind is light and we free ourself from the fetters of password victimization.
In earlier times, we would have glossed over these stories. Not any more. Each time we stumble to recollect a password in today's IT age, we empathize more with Kasim and Karna and relive their last moments of helplessness and absolute desperation. No wonder, the Arabian Nights and the Mahabharata are immortal stories, relevant in every age!
We get into the cool confines of the ATM booth and key-in the cash amount for withdrawal. It prompts us for a password. Something snaps at that Karna moment. The mind is a complete blank. It's as if we are back in time as that school student who forgets everything the moment he sees the exam question paper. We scratch our head, close our eyes and knit our eyebrows- but the password ain't coming back! He has simply flown away, leaving us high and dry. Seeing no progress, the next in line demonstrates his impatience by knocking on the booth door. It adds to the pressure forcing us to key-in some password which suddenly floats before us posing as the correct one. It is obviously wrong. Soon, all sorts of numbers muddle up our mind. We take a chance. Gamblers seldom win. Three strikes and we have lost both- access to cash this time as well as to a working bank account. Only Karna can understand our anguish, or may be another forlorn brother who has gone through this very crisis.
There are passwords all over the place- strewn indiscriminately like mines. All it requires is one false step to blow up. There are passwords to check your email, to book railway tickets, to access each of your 5 bank accounts, to logon to your workplace and for each "app" on your cellphone. Passwords cannot be the same because each one wants you to change the password periodically and that too, with a constraint that it cannot be a repeat of your previous ones! Plus, each password prompter has his unique criteria on how the password should be. Sometimes, they want us to use numbers, sometimes both upper case and lower case letters and sometimes, special characters too. Password prompters are finicky- even the spouse can be pleased, but not the password prompters. Whatever password we come up with, with all sorts of combination of letters and numbers is not good enough and it is deemed "weak". We eventually feel like surrendering to the password-prompt and pleading- "If none of this is good enough for you, pray tell me what you want!" To our utter delight, sometimes, we inexplicably succeed in the password strength-test! But the delight is short-lived. The password is too complicated to remember even a second time. Now, we are back to square one.
For every login, below the password bar, is a helper-line "forgot your password?". It is as if the password is taunting us by assuming we are so forgetful. We agree we forget, but the reminder provokes us. Press the "forgot your password?" link and it takes us on another wild goose chase. Sometimes, it teases us with questions like "What was your mother's maiden name?" We feel like saying, it was "amma" even then, but that answer is not good enough to pass this test. It comes up with all sorts of irrelevant questions like "First car", "Favorite sportsperson", "favorite color" and what not. No answer is good enough- it's as if there are more and more password tests to retrieve the lost password and we slip deeper and deeper into the marsh till we are totally submerged in the muck. Otherwise, we go through another drill of OTPs sent to cellphones whose numbers no longer exist, which is another exercise in futility.
Sometimes, we throw caution to the winds and write down the password on the ATM card itself or in notebook pages, in full public glare. It may seem like absolute foolhardiness, but it is our way of thumbing the nose at the world. It is as if we want to scream- what is so secretive about my life that it cannot be worn proudly on the sleeve. It is like the streaker...who revolts against the norm, and watched by spectators in tens of thousands, suddenly runs into the Cricket ground leaving his clothes and all else! Anyway, the bank balance is too meagre compared to the hoops we have to jump through, to preserve passwords in memory.
An open password is like a breath of fresh air- the mind is light and we free ourself from the fetters of password victimization.
