In reference to our article on creating a password card, a reader asks:
“My question is , how is this card created, is is automatic ? Searching my computer for passwords, or do I have to manually enter them. I have a paper on which I scribbled most of the passwords I recently changed as I found out my email address was found on the dark web.
Added to that, someone from the UK tried to take over my Microsoft account. I notified MS and changed the password. My passwords will be tough to crack unless someone takes over my computer. I like the idea of a password card but do not have any Idea of how to create one, being technology challenged!
I used to be a novice computer tech, unfortunately, technology has exploded beyond me in recent years. I now consider myself to be a novice beginner.”
First, tech has not expanded beyond you. I promise. Computers were way more complicated 40 years ago than they are now, at least when it comes to the level of knowledge required to use them. These days, you just have to know where to click.
The good news is that the site automatically generates the card with its unique code. Give it a try. Here’s a reminder of how it works:
When you arrive at http://www.passwordcard.org/en, you’ll see that it’s a pretty simple set-up.
A card number is generated for you. Make sure to save that card number somewhere. You can use it to regenerate the card if you ever lose it.
You can choose to have an area with only digits (great if you need PIN numbers) or to include symbols.
Then you can print the card, laminate it and keep it in your wallet. Here’s how it works. You pick a symbol, color, and length for your password. Then choose to go
left or right. For example, if I needed a 10-letter password, I could choose pink for a color and musical note for a symbol. Then I would go 10 to the right for a password of WWyVGGKkCD.
I could write down Pink-Music-Note-10-Right somewhere. Even if someone came across it, without my specific card, they wouldn’t be able to figure out the password. You can also randomly generate a new card at any time.