Friday, September 11, 2009

Turn an Old Floppy Into a Password Safe

Think back. Wayyy back. Remember floppy disks? If you're like me, you've probably got a box of them in a closet, serving absolutely no practical use. (When was the last time you owned, or even used, a computer with a floppy drive?)
Over at Instructables, there's a clever, and downright amusing, tutorial on turning an old disk into a password safe.



No, not a digital repository for your passwords, but an actual "safe." See, I know plenty of people who can't remember their passwords for love nor money. They sign up for, say, eBay, then can't get back into their accounts a month later because they've forgotten their password.
Sure, you could write them down on a piece of paper, but that's not exactly a secure solution. What you need is a way to hide them in plain sight--like hiding a spare housekey in one of those fake rocks.
As you'll see in the tutorial, all you really need is an old 3.5-inch disk (why did we insist on calling them "floppies"?), some paper, a scissors, and a glue stick. I won't rehash the steps here, but the entire project should take you no more than about 20 minutes.

When you're done, you'll have a password safe you can leave in on your desk, in a drawer, or wherever. I can't imagine anyone ever "cracking" it, as even if someone picks up the disk for a nostalgic look, they're not likely to actually slide back the metal cover (which is where the passwords hide).
What do you think? A clever use for old media, or too insecure to be practical?
While we're on the subject, check out Check the Strength of Your Password and Why You Need a Password Manager.
Source : PC World

No comments:

Post a Comment