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Poll: Do you use the same password for all your online accounts?

The Data Protection Commission launched a statutory inquiry into Facebook’s password storage.

ON THURSDAY, IRELAND’S Data Protection Commission launched a statutory inquiry into Facebook’s password storage after the social media giant revealed that it stored millions of accounts’ passwords in plain text on its internal servers.

In March Facebook announced in a blog post that a routine security review carried out in January found the passwords were being stored in a readable format on its data storage systems.

It said it would be contacting “hundreds of millions” of users to make them aware that their password was involved in the glitch. Last week the company updated the post to say that it now estimates that the issue has also impacted “millions” of Instagram users.

So, today we want to know: Do you use the same password for all your online accounts? 


Poll Results:

I use a few passwords but they do overlap (5703)
No, I have a different password for every account (2532)
Yes, I use the same password for everything (2117)
No interest / no opinion (638)

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62 Comments
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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Liam Neeson
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:22 AM

    None of your business.

    389
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Arya
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:57 AM

    @Liam Neeson: It is mental how we have to remember passwords and pins and codes and…gosh

    39
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    Mute SignsOfTheTimes
    Favourite SignsOfTheTimes
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    Apr 27th 2019, 3:22 PM

    @Arya: you don’t necessarily, you could use a trusted password manager which syncs between your computer and phone.

    9
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    Mute Justin Forde
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    Apr 27th 2019, 4:00 PM

    @Liam Neeson: Liam Neeson doesn’t know your password but he does have a particular set of skills. Skills which make him a nightmare for people like the IT Director…

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Philo
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:22 AM

    123456789

    79
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Elma Phudd
    Favourite Elma Phudd
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:08 AM

    @Philo: not working. Is Philo definitely your username?

    128
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    Mute Jonathan Ryan
    Favourite Jonathan Ryan
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:15 AM

    @Philo: Password123

    23
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    Mute Ted McCarthy
    Favourite Ted McCarthy
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:45 AM

    Nice try government

    65
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    Mute DJ François
    Favourite DJ François
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:36 AM

    Use a password manager like lastpass, you just need to remember one complex one.

    58
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Arya
    Favourite Arya
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:58 AM

    @DJ François: oohk. Thanks. Cus it is just becoming too much.

    10
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    Mute Jonathan Ryan
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:15 AM

    @DJ François: keypass is another great one

    16
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    Mute RJ.Fallon
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:37 AM

    @DJ François: Likewise, very efficient.

    4
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    Mute Deirdre O'Byrne
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:09 PM

    @DJ François: … and if you research what hackers consider to be a difficult-to-crack password, you’ll find that a good password is a sentence with words that don’t have to be long, though uncommon words help. My password is a sort-of sentence about my life that is over 30 characters long, dead easy to remember, and almost certainly unbreakable. And the passwords I actually use on web sites are about 20 characters long, and consist of completely random characters.

    15
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    Mute Peter
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:42 PM

    @Deirdre O’Byrne: When passwords are stolen, they’re not just guessed.

    16
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    Mute Vinny Hughes
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    Apr 27th 2019, 4:51 PM

    @DJ François: I just find last pass confuses itself with my many many passwords and logins

    1
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    Mute eoin carroll
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:15 AM

    Reply to this with your passwords and I’ll tell you if it’s secure or not

    30
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    Mute Mandy Seiler
    Favourite Mandy Seiler
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:04 PM

    I got a blackmail email (they wanted 850 bitcoins) telling me they guessed my password. They did send a password I used years and years ago. Apparently, if I don’t pay up or go to the cops, they will send a video they secretly took of me while watching naughty stuff (according to them I have great taste!) to all ppl in my contact list. I have put my friends on alert – I too want to know what I watched!

    48
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    Mute Paul Murphy
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    Apr 27th 2019, 1:30 PM

    @Mandy Seiler: I got that as well

    14
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    Mute Mandy Seiler
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    Apr 27th 2019, 1:42 PM

    @Paul Murphy: hope you didn’t pay either! :)

    6
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    Mute Dave Barrett
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:49 AM

    supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is my one.

    28
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    Mute Arya
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:56 AM

    @Dave Barrett: you have the time to type all that?

    20
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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:03 AM

    @Dave Barrett: that would actually be a strong password – well if you hadn’t of shared it in an online comment section it would…..ha ha ha

    https://howsecureismypassword.net/ is a good tool to test the strength of passwords

    20
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:16 AM

    @Dave Hammond: it would take a computer 204million years to crack mine apparently

    3
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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:25 AM

    @Dave Barrett:
    I think you spelled that wrong.

    5
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    Mute Mike Rugby Nuts
    Favourite Mike Rugby Nuts
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:37 AM

    @Dave Hammond: so the owner of howsecureismypassword gets a lovely record of all these complex passwords for his bot. How naive could you be?

    19
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    Mute RJ.Fallon
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:39 AM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: Now you see,? It CAN be done.

    3
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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:46 AM

    @Mike Rugby Nuts: Its owned by dashlane, the publishers of a reputable password management application.

    6
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    Mute Dave Barrett
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:46 PM

    @Dave Hammond: aaahhhh! Crap.

    2
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:49 PM

    @RJ.Fallon: LetMeInNowPlease would apparently take 2billion years!

    1
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    Mute Nomad
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:31 AM

    Password1

    24
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    Mute Jonny Chip
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:58 PM

    @Nomad: Password12. Mine is much more secure

    14
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    Mute SFNutters
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    Apr 27th 2019, 3:52 PM

    @Jonny Chip: wordpass123

    4
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    Mute Jonny Chip
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    Apr 27th 2019, 7:31 PM

    @SFNutters: nice try, lack of capitals letting you down. WordPass123! however

    2
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    Mute Carla Brennan
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:45 AM

    No interest/ opinion has 81 votes. If a person has no interest, why go to the trouble of voting same in the first place?? These poll results always baffle me!

    20
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    Mute Col de Gal
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:42 PM

    @Carla Brennan: Maybe they want to see the poll statistics but don’t want to tell the pollster what their password habits are.

    41
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    Mute Jonny Chip
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    Apr 27th 2019, 7:32 PM

    @Col de Gal: No1nt3restOr0p1nion

    3
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    Mute aidan mccormack
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:57 AM

    No. Or do I?

    10
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    Mute sean o'dhubhghaill
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    Apr 27th 2019, 3:54 PM

    What annoys me are the websites which demand that you register and log-in, frequently for no reason beyond an excuse to gather data.

    11
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    Mute Mia Ryan
    Favourite Mia Ryan
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    Apr 27th 2019, 6:08 PM

    @sean o’dhubhghaill: I created a separate Gmail address for those websites. Fake name, DOB and address so let them gather away….

    8
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    Mute Con O Sullivan
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:50 AM

    qwerty

    7
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    Mute Tony Donoghue
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    Apr 27th 2019, 2:04 PM

    Not telling you for security reasons

    6
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    Mute Gene Johnston
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    Apr 27th 2019, 10:25 AM

    JaCtBm

    7
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    Mute Mahuna
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:34 AM

    Anyone that dosnt use numbers and symbols in their password are really living back in Windows 95 era to be quite honest. They have a competition everyday in America to see if you can hack their security it’s actually a security company no1 has got it in 10 years why because they use numbers and symbols and letters. Simple as that.

    But like a tech head like me you could always write an algrorythim to see if you can bypass it but you’d have to have bill gates next to you.

    6
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    Mute CrabaRev
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:50 AM

    @Mahuna: Befor I culdn’t even spel algrorythim, now i can rite wone.

    20
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    Mute Mahuna
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    Apr 27th 2019, 5:55 PM

    @CrabaRev: good lad

    3
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    Mute Peter Brophy
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:54 PM

    I used to but now apple suggests a strong password and saves it for me.

    3
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    Mute AyZYVV6F
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:24 AM

    Amazing article!!

    3
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    Mute Ricky McCabe
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:11 PM

    Like any intelligent person is gonna say yes

    4
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    Mute Alanjturing
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:24 AM

    1Password is the boss.

    3
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    Mute Alanjturing
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:25 AM
    2
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    Mute Seeking Truth
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    Apr 27th 2019, 2:44 PM

    Sorry not answering….

    2
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    Mute Deirdre O'Byrne
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    Apr 27th 2019, 12:15 PM

    How to choose a good password – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NjQ9b3pgIg

    2
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    Mute Boyne Sharky
    Favourite Boyne Sharky
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    Apr 27th 2019, 3:53 PM

    I have so many passwords to so many different accounts that I just use an encrypted USB flash drive and only have to remember the password to that. I can store a lot of sensitive information on it and be assured that, should someone somehow acquire it and enter the wrong password more than 5 time it’ll be wiped. And I don’t have to worry about trying to enter it myself at 3.00 AM when half cut, I don’t drink.

    2
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    Mute Skipper Mac
    Favourite Skipper Mac
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    Apr 27th 2019, 1:04 PM

    Guest

    1
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    Mute Paddy O
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    Apr 27th 2019, 2:50 PM

    Lastpass is awesome. Have it on phone and laptop.

    1
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    Mute Mick Staines
    Favourite Mick Staines
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    Apr 27th 2019, 4:01 PM

    Special characters and numbers mean nothing to hackers. It’s the length of the password that matters.
    &£76Cr. Is easy to crack because it’s only 7 characters long and “yourwelcomeeverybody” would take a hacker 16 billion years.

    1
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    Mute Aidan Finn
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    Apr 27th 2019, 6:43 PM

    @Mick Staines: 100% correct. A lower case passphrase rules. Complexity create simple guessable passwords, as does forced frequent changing.

    1
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    Mute madabot
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    Apr 27th 2019, 2:49 PM

    Yes. It’s Pass123.

    1
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    Mute James McArdle
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    Apr 28th 2019, 9:27 AM

    Wow! Over 500 people clicked into a poll to say they have no opinion or interest! That’s an interesting concept. ‘I have no interest, but, I’m going to vote about it anyway’

    1
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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Apr 27th 2019, 11:16 PM

    What eejit would?

    1
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    Mute Darach Malone
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    Apr 27th 2019, 4:44 PM

    You need to be using 2FA – two factor authentication – today to stay secure. Someone finds out your username and password, it’s not much use because you have to verify through an app like Microsoft or Google Authenticator. They won’t have your phone so won’t be getting access to your accounts. Apps available for free in your relevant app store.

    1
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    Mute Mahuna
    Favourite Mahuna
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    Apr 28th 2019, 9:13 AM

    @Darach Malone: agreed. Some people like to copy and paste to make it look like they know what their talking out it’s gas.. lol

    1
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