NICEVILLE, Fla. — In this week’s It’s Geek to Me, Jeff Werner answers a reader’s question about dealing with those massive, unmemorizable passwords that websites sometimes generate automatically.
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QUESTION:
Judy W. from Odessa, Texas, writes:
I read your “It’s Geek to Me” about lazily using passwords. (Geek Note: I.G.T.M. #951, Oct. 12, 2025, and I.G.T.M. #953, Oct. 26, 2025.) Well, I’m guilty of doing that since I use a little red book to write them down in. But when a site generates a password, I don’t want to write that huge string down in my book.
There again, lazy.
But yet I know I need to use that password. So my question is how do you advise us older folks (or possibly younger) to remember that long string other than taking a picture (that’s my new way) and filling our phone’s memory up? Of course, Google will kindly remember it for us, but sometimes I want to log onto that particular website on my phone using DuckDuckGo, and that doesn’t work.
ANSWER:
Jeff Werner responds:
This series on passwords has generated a lot of buzz and, I think, stepped on a few delicate toes. If I did my job properly, I laid bare exactly how bad some people’s password practices are and hopefully pointed them in a more secure direction.
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You are under no obligation to accept those giant, ugly, unmemorizable passwords that some sites generate for you. They exist only to meet password guidelines that are now considered outdated. If you look closely, there’s usually a smaller link that allows you to create your own password instead.
When doing so, use the best practices from my recent columns—build a passphrase that meets the site’s rules but is far easier to remember. And whatever you do, don’t reuse that passphrase elsewhere. If it ever gets compromised, you’ll limit your risk to one account.
You also mentioned Google remembering passwords. Google’s free Password Manager can store and auto-fill your logins securely. It works not just in Chrome but also with Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera. It doesn’t integrate with DuckDuckGo because that browser is privacy-focused, but you can still import Google-stored passwords manually into DuckDuckGo.
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DuckDuckGo also offers its own encrypted password system called “Sync & Backup,” or you can use third-party options like Bitwarden if you prefer a dedicated manager.
To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question, visit my website at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!)
Jeff Werner, a software engineer based in Niceville, Florida, has been writing his popular “It’s Geek to Me” tech column since 2007. He shares his expertise to help readers solve everyday tech challenges.
