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51% of Computer Users Share Passwords
An anonymous reader writes Consumers are inadvertently leaving back doors open to attackers as they share login details and sign up for automatic log on to mobile apps and services, according to new research by Intercede. While 52% of respondents stated that security was a top priority when choosing a mobile device, 51% are putting their personal data at risk by sharing usernames and passwords with friends, family and colleagues. The research revealed that consumers are not only sharing passwords but also potentially putting their personal and sensitive information at risk by leaving themselves logged in to applications on their mobile devices, with over half of those using social media applications and email admitting that they leave themselves logged in on their mobile device.
The research revealed that consumers are not only sharing passwords but also potentially putting their personal and sensitive information at risk by leaving themselves logged in to applications on their mobile devices, with over half of those using social media applications and email admitting that they leave themselves logged in on their mobile device.
Yes, god forbid people "leave themselves logged in" to their email accounts on their mobile device. I guess we're not supposed to use push email but instead enter our email passwords into our phones every few seconds to get timely email alerts?
It's too bad that the cell network itself lacks any meaningful security mechanisms. I mean, if someone gets a hold of your phone, they can just start texting and calling without having to "log in" on the network at all. It's amazing that the world hasn't collapsed as a result.
Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
Whilst technically correct that this increases risk of the password being revealed, it is an absolute necessary of an overall risk reduction strategy for online accounts (cancelling bills etc.).
the overwhelming amount of real danger is from database compromises, which this has almost (almost!) nothing to do with.
smells like fud to keep people from sharing their paid services with friends and family. fuck that.
"They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
49percent
That's my password...
When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
51% of people on the internet are stupid, details at 11....
Of course I leave the apps on my phone "logged in"; that's how they're supposed to work. Obviously this only makes sense if there's a password to access my phone (or on my account if the device supports them), but if not, it's the lack of password on my phone that marks me as a security-oblivious idiot, not the fact that I'm using the apps as they were designed to work.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
The purpose of security is to prevent unauthorized people from accessing the account. There are tons of accounts that are legitimately shared, and there is nothing wrong with sharing passwords in those situations, if the account doesn't have any technical mechanism to allow for multiple users/profiles on a single account. For example bank accounts, utilities, Netflix, Hulu, wireless router administration, all have been shared accounts with my wife (some have since added profiles, but not all).
Furthermore, even with accounts that we keep separate, like email, there are useful reasons to share the password, like when my wife is away from internet at work and wants me to print a boarding pass that was emailed to her. Sure I could snoop through her email, but I don't just like I could snoop through her purse or journal, but I don't.
A lot of the bigger, more frequently-used services actually encourage this. The best example I can think of is Netflix, which allows you to have separate profiles for family members but requires that everyone use the same user/pass to log in. I don't know why they couldn't just have individual passwords for the same account - at least that way I could avoid my mom trying to get everyone in the family to watch Sherlock ("Oh, I didn't see it on your watched list! You should try it!").
Amazon's Kindle app does pretty much the same thing, though it's not directly encouraged - you can log into your Kindle account from several different devices at once, effectively allowing people to share their books with anyone they trust enough. I think this is actually worse than Netflix, because most of the time you're using the Kindle app on a mobile device that can easily be lost or stolen.
The only company I've seen do sharing well is Valve, which has Steam Family Sharing that allows you to "lend" people your account without actually needing to tell them your password.
I'm also surprised it's not higher but not because people are stupid but because there are a bunch of different use cases.
Even if the bank allows it, what advantage does a husband/wife have to create separate logins for a joint account?
There are plenty of people that share accounts. There might be a sales email address that multiple people in an office take turns checking.
I know quite a few husband/wife pairs that share a single facebook account and I even know a few that share a single email address.
It's not because they're stupid but rather if one or both of them is a light user then it's easier to just have everything in one place.
There are also plenty of not-so-important accounts that people don't really care about and leave the password on a post it note or use 123123 as
the password because there is nothing of importance there and even if someone bothered to hack it, they wouldn't really care.
Don't know what version you're running but android does support multiple accounts since 4.2.
I've being enjoying it for a while now.
AFAIK it's the only mobile OS doing so.
and 49% of people lie about sharing their passwords
Sometimes sharing the passwords of those less technically savvy with those with better skills is necessary and would skew these numbers. Knowing Grandpa's gmail password has helped a lot.
just because family members share passwords doesn't mean its insecure. I know the password to most of my parents email and accounts. But so what... I won't do anything they wouldn't approve of and know them well enough to know what they would and would not approve of... so who cares.
And as to companies... most of them are small and medium sized businesses that have overlapping responsibilities. In those cases, SOME people know some passwords. But rarely does everyone in the office know all the passwords.
Its not unreasonable.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
If a divorce happens, then having a joint login isn't really a problem as you already
both have access to the money. So you both can log in and see that the other person
already emptied the account. No need to worry about changing the password.
Same with mortage accounts. The fact that the login/password is shared is less
important that the fact that you own a house together. The login/password is
usually only useful for paying the bill and not much else anyways.
It seems pointless to have 2 separate login/passwords and even stupider if
those 2 separate login/passwords can't see each other's payment histories.
What an idoitic statement. First, if something has a 50% chance of happening then it is certainly not 'inevitable'. Second, divorce is not a random event, so comparing it to a coin toss is exceedingly stupid. Passwords aside, we already 'share accounts'. We have joint checking and savings accounts, a joint mortgage, joint ownership of the house, joint ownership of a timeshare, file joint tax returns, etc. What is so different about joint online accounts? Nothing.