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Your security questions are useless

EVERY SINGLE security question you had did not have an answer for me.

Nevermind the fact that security questions have time after time shown that they actually make things less secure, the questions you have are useless for me.

Here are some examples:

What was the name of your 3rd grade teacher:
I had many teachers, and quite frankly I don't remember a single one of their names. They are all a blur by now.

What's your favorite [insert thing]?

Favorites change. What's my favorite today is not necessarily my favorite tomorrow. So when I need to answer this years from now, I'll get it wrong.

What was your school mascot?

Hey! Not all schools have mascots.!

In what city does your oldest cousin live?

I have a lot of cousins and I quite frankly don't remember which one is the oldest, and not exactly sure where they live. Does that make me a bad person? Thanks for making me feel like a bad person.

What's the name of your first pet?

Sorry, I never had a pet. Now I feel even worse 😞

What's the name of the college you applied to but never attended?

You really want me to feel like a failure don't you? But I actually got into the college I applied to. Sorry. I'm a success. Deal with it.

What was the name of your first stuffed animal?

Really? You're kidding right? I was like 1 day old. I didn't even talk yet.

Comments

walt178

@dotMorten wrote:
EVERY SINGLE security question you had did not have an answer for me.
Nevermind the fact that security questions have time after time shown that they actually make things less secure, the questions you have are useless for me.

Answers to these questions do not have to relate to the question. Put in anything you like.

Example: For your 3rd grade teacher put in the model of your dream car + your favorite color. "Corvette + Blue"

You can even put in total nonsense such as: "Squiggles 44 McDoodle"

Nobody but you will have a clue what you put in, and the misdirection eliminates the less secure issue you raised. As long as you have a list of things that are meaningful to you, but no one else knows what they are, you have security.

dslr595148

#1 Yes the security questions are useless if you answer them correctly.

Let me give to you an example, so that you can understand what I mean.

If they were to ask what your city you were you born in and you type in the correct answer for what city you were born in then..

If a bad/evil person wanted to get access to your account and if that person do not have your password, they would find out what city you were born in, type in the correct answer and then they would have access to your account.

---

For a security question and the security answer, it is not advised putting in the correct answer. Such as for what city you were born in, putting the name of the city that you were born in.

Instead your current phone number, for example.

But please be advised: Putting your phone number into what city you were born in, is not going to be very secure since the bad/evil person might first try the correct answer to what city you were born in and then if that fails, they could try entering your phone number into that feild....

^^^^^^^^^^^^

[EDIT] walt178 posted the answer before I did..

dotMorten

Well that's all great, and I know about that approach, but if I forgot my password, you can be completely sure that there's no way I would remember my fake answers either.

armond_in_nj1

@dotMorten wrote:

... if I forgot my password, you can be completely sure that there's no way I would remember my fake answers either ...

Perhaps this link will help:

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/fortifying-your-memory-with-supplements

tns2

@dslr595148 wrote:
#1 Yes the security questions are useless if you answer them correctly.
Let me give to you an example, so that you can understand what I mean.
If they were to ask what your city you were you born in and you type in the correct answer for what city you were born in then..
If a bad/evil person wanted to get access to your account and if that person do not have your password, they would find out what city you were born in, type in the correct answer and then they would have access to your account.
---
For a security question and the security answer, it is not advised putting in the correct answer. Such as for what city you were born in, putting the name of the city that you were born in.
Instead your current phone number, for example.
But please be advised: Putting your phone number into what city you were born in, is not going to be very secure since the bad/evil person might first try the correct answer to what city you were born in and then if that fails, they could try entering your phone number into that feild....
^^^^^^^^^^^^
[EDIT] @walt178 posted the answer before I did..

I use a few really off the wall answers. Personally I wish none of these security systems allowed resets with such simple questions.

somegirl

@dotMorten wrote:
Well that's all great, and I know about that approach, but if I forgot my password, you can be completely sure that there's no way I would remember my fake answers either.

Another option is to use "real" fake answers. For example: "What is your favorite food?" "yummy" - It is an answer to the question, which should theoretically be true even if your specific favorite food changes. Since these 'favorite' questions are common, you can get into the habit of using particular answers with these questions.

Just a thought.

dslr595148

@dotMorten wrote:
Well that's all great, and I know about that approach, but if I forgot my password, you can be completely sure that there's no way I would remember my fake answers either.

Besides what the other poster said, write it down on a piece of paper (or use a computer printer to print it out) and keep that paper locked up in a safe place - off site. Like at in bank box that you have the key to.

vrizofrstrtato

Let's see.... The bad/evil person got my complex password how?... Oh Yeah! He hacked into my system or picked it up by scanning my traffic. Well, I feel safer now onacounta he can't have seen me type in Fido as my super secure security question answer.

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