Elderly parents and passwords - keeping them secure

[Anonymous]

I need some recommendations on keeping my mom's passwords secure.

Currently, she is using the "write down the passwords and keep in a drawer next to the computer and also keeps a pad with more passwords in the living room next to her chair method".

She also has her passwords already populated on the websites for her bank and brokerage sites. When she opens up the sites, she just needs to click "log in" and the site will open.

[Anonymous]

The main thing is to get all the passwords in one place -- on a piece of paper, not in the cloud, typed so it's clear what they are, and you should have a copy where you are.

Depending on your mom's age, I'd try to get your email and cell as entries for 2FA (which she should also have).

We just cleaned out my mom's house so she could move to assisted living. She was generally organized, but she had three physical files for passwords and an astonishing flock of random post-its.

[Anonymous]

My dad used 1password. He gave me the main password years ago, incase I ever needed it. I am so glad that he did. Once dementia hit, I was able to seamlessly take care of his financials.

He called me out of the blue one day, asking something weird about his phone. Come to find out the issue was that he couldn't remember his password to his cell phone.

[Anonymous]

Haha. My MIL literally poster her password on FB last week. You can’t make this stuff up.

[Anonymous]

Your mom is doing the right thing.

Add a physical security key if you really want to.

[Anonymous]

I do the same as your mom except I keep all my PWs in one place, no random pad next to the chair. I use an address book so I can easily look them up. I used to have a list on my phone but that seemed like a bad idea so now I write them all down and totally control that.

I also can log into pretty much every website I use without manually entering a PW. This method has worked well for me for many years, no hacked or stolen PWs or whatever to deal with at all. Sounds like she's doing ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dad used 1password. He gave me the main password years ago, incase I ever needed it. I am so glad that he did. Once dementia hit, I was able to seamlessly take care of his financials.

He called me out of the blue one day, asking something weird about his phone. Come to find out the issue was that he couldn't remember his password to his cell phone.

But this is not recommended because it’s easy for hackers.