Showerthought: My high school mascot is not a secret anymore...

I was making a new account and it wanted my high school mascot for security... I've talked about that online so much. Isn't that a pretty weak way to protect an account?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_simon1mo ago

Listen, the idea that high school mascots are good for security blows my mind. I've seen my own mascot mentioned in my online profiles for years. It's basically public info at this point. How can something so easy to find be used to lock down an account? A while back, someone I know got into trouble because their backup question was their favorite teacher, and they had thanked that teacher in a public post. That's why I never rely on those kinds of questions.

karenbailey1mo ago

But that's the whole point lol, it's not a secret, it's just something only you would know.

the_jake1mo ago

@karenbailey, the idea that it's something only you would know doesn't hold up for me. I've had friends get hacked because their security answers were on social media. Things like your first pet or your street growing up are common knowledge to people who know you. If you've ever mentioned them online, they're not secret. I stick to questions with answers I've never told anyone. That's the only way to make them actually secure.

williamw751mo ago

My bank got me to switch to a system like @the_jake mentioned. I use three random words I made up, like "bluefrogchair", as my security answer. It's not a real fact about me, so it can't be found online. That's way safer than using your mom's maiden name or something.