Copy & Paste

[Ted Myers]

Hello, I use a site that generates my passwords, this means they can be quite complex and especially hard to type usually twice to confirm.
I keep my log in details, username & password in notepad in 4 separate places that are not attached to my PC. (I use Lastpass)
Some sites prevent me from using Copy & Paste using the mouse or the keyboard. Is there any way this can be changed?

[StuartR]

I also use a password manager, but I would not store any password in Notepad!

I also would not use a web site to generate passwords, most password managers include a password generator, here is an example complex password that I just generated using mine - !oedqG7QmH4Wq#Nzp^&W

Most web sites allow me to paste using Control-V from the keyboard. The ones that force me to type out the full complex password can be a bit of a pain, but they still accept a pasted password when I log on, so I only have to type the password when I change it.

[stuck]

I too use a password manager. There are many to choose from out there but I ended up with Password Safe:
    https://pwsafe.org/
because it was the one available at my work place so, having become familiar with it there, it made sense to use it at home. It generates random strings akin to the example Stuart gave.

Ken

[Ted Myers]

Thanks for your replies, as I said in my original post, I keep a record of my log in details, username & password in notepad in 4 separate places that are not attached to my PC. I don't save any passwords in any browser.
What I'm looking for is a way to ensure I can copy & paste on any site, then I can use stronger complex passwords.

[stuck]

...a way to ensure I can copy & paste on any site...

As Stuart has already noted, sometimes that is just not possible, some sites just do not let you paste in a password, it has to be typed in. For other sites though look into using a password manager because as well as generating strong passwords they usually include the ability to autocomplete login details, i.e. from within the password manger a click from an entry will open your browser, land you on the asociated login page and then fill in the necessary credentials.

Ken

[Ted Myers]

It seems I'm out of luck, so will have to continue using printable passwords for these sites that don't permit copy & paste.

[ChrisGreaves]

It seems I'm out of luck, so will have to continue using printable passwords for these sites that don't permit copy & paste.

Hello Ted; I have circumvented most of the problems mentioned above by writing my own password-generator in Word/VBA, storing the results in a Table that is NOT named "Passwords.doc". I don't trust web-based password generators/managers because - well, they can be hacked.

Now to your conundrum of having to type in, manually, passwords when we cant Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V. None of these measures would pass scrutiny of a federal agency, but they might!

(1) Task association.
Suppose I have a website application, or a Word/VBA template (*.DOT) that I want to password-protect. What does this application achieve? Well, it is associated with my finances. Great. The first bank I ever used was The bank of New South Wales when I was a child in the tiny desert town of Southern Cross. A common Australian abbreviation for Southern Cross, recognized by the Post office, was "SX", and the bank was known as "Bank of NSW" (long ago changed to "WestPac[ific]").
So my chosen password might be "BankNSWSX" and if that isn't secure enough I might add in its street Address (15 Antares St, Southern Cross, WA, 6426) so perhaps "BankNSW15Antares", and if the site requires punctuation "Bank-NSW-15-Antares", but you get the idea.
Finances? Who was your first banker? Well that's easy to remember "Bank-NSW-15-Antares".
And who on the face of this earth knows that I had a Bank NSW savings account in Southern Cross when I was ten years old?

(2) Personal association
What about my password for Eileen's Lounge?
Well, who introduced me to Woody's book "The Underground Guide to Word for Windows" (which is how I got swept into Eileen's Lounge"? 'Twas a colleague back in 1998 who went by the name of "Michael Blossom". So who would know that I knew a guy called "Michael Blossom" back in 1998? Well, someone might.
So I change the name, just a teeny weeny bit to ""Michael Blosson" or to "Michael Blooson" or even "Nichael Blossom".
Note that the keys "m" and "n" (and the keys "l" and "o") are adjacent on the keyboard, so that even someone watching me type in the password might be fooled.

(3) Repeated strings.
When all menomics fail I will mentally generate a long string by repeating patterns of two short strings.
I can remember "vgb" (Very Good Boy!) and "hcc" (Hot Cake Cooker), so "vbghccvgb" is a good start.
If I am forced to include digits I might include the repetition pattern as a self-describing code at the front of the string, thus: "1221vgbhcchccvgb"

I hope that this helps.
P.S. Of course, I didn't really have an account at the Bank NSW when I was ten .... but you knew that, right?
Cheers
Chris

[stuck]

...I don't trust web-based password generators/managers because - well, they can be hacked.

Password Safe is not web based, it's a real download to your desktop application.

Ken

[stuck]

It seems I'm out of luck, so will have to continue using printable passwords for these sites that don't permit copy & paste.

I still say you should try a password manager, who knows, they way such an application populates the password field might be the equivalent typing it in. Perhaps reading the help file for this aspect of Passwordwil help:
https://pwsafe.org/help/pwsafeEN/html/autotype.html

Ken

[DaveA]

I trust none of these, I use a plain text file on a thumb drive which I keep in my pocket.
Regardless of the OS, they all have a text editor which means I use on any machine.
And the wife knows where it is so if she needs to get access to any password account, after my demise she has access!

How many of you have shared this info with the spouse?

[StuartR]

How many of you have shared this info with the spouse?

The password for my password manager is in a sealed envelope in a location that I have shared. Whenever I change the password I change the envelope.

[DaveA]

In my last post I did NOT mean for Chris to get married again so he could share his passwords with a spouse!

But if he were to have some one set to handle his affairs', after his demise, he may want to do that!

[ChrisGreaves]

But if he were to have some one set to handle his affairs', after his demise, he may want to do that!

Oh Come Now, Dave!
We have to be realistic about all this.
When, not If, I die, who on earth, is going to be able to alienate as many people as do I by insisting that they take two zucchinis home with them?
Who would want to assume responsibility for my staggering levels of debt?
And who could possibly play the shell game I play each Pension Day, siphoning money from a downtown bank in Toronto to this off-shore haven where I don't get taxed. (Well, over-taxed getting rid of zucchinis, but that is a different kind of "green stuff").
Be of Good Cheer; I ain't going anywhere soon.
Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

The password for my password manager is in a sealed envelope in a location that I have shared. Whenever I change the password I change the envelope.

Reminiscent of the deal between Ellis "Red" Redding and Andy Dufresne.
Cheers
Chris

[StuartR]

To make use of the password in my sealed envelope, someone would also need my Yubikey to provide a second factor.

[PJ_in_FL]

Well, to bypass the semi-religious postings about password management and try to address the problem statement as given by the OP, I'd suggest looking into the KEEPASS password managers.

There are two versions. Having used both, I dropped back to the 1.x version due to UI differences, but both are very secure. What is of interest to the OP is the ability to set up automatic responses to login screens that use AUTOTYPE to push the user name and/or password into the fields using the keyboard API.

I don't know if it works with all sites, but there's an active community that will help guide you to a solution if one is possible with the application.

Also, I've used Password Safe (at work) because of it's ability to define master passwords for multiple sites. Still prefer KeePass for home use.

Best of luck and safe computing!

Edited to add note about Password Safe.

[Ted Myers]

Hello PJ, as my first post shows, I use Lastpass.

[PJ_in_FL]

Hello PJ, as my first post shows, I use Lastpass.

Yes you did, but, lacking personal knowledge of how Lastpass puts the information into the fields, I offered the two solutions that I'm aware of that can use the keyboard buffer and not the clipboard to input the data.

At the end of the day, some websites are just impossible.

[Ted Myers]

Hello PJ, I think Lastpass is the most flexible for ease of use. It can be added to most browsers, then log in with your email & password and al your details are added automatically. This is the settngs page.
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