A dialogue box has appeared on my computer screen saying that my password is set to expire in seven days time and asking if I would like to renew it early. Why, what is the point? The password it is referring to is an important one, it is my Active Directory password that lets me log onto all of the key applications that I need to do my work. It is set for a forced reset every three months or rather every ninety days. Can it really be that long already? It only seems five minutes since I last changed it.
Now it won’t take me long to change my password, probably about five minutes. I have to stop and think of a new one, something relatively easy to remember, not too similar or in the same format as the last one but a password formed in a way that I can reconstruct it should I forget it. I know I shouldn’t but I then write it down, not the password itself but some words or characters that would act as an aide memoir should I again forget it. Perhaps this is a bit belt and braces. I then click the yes in the dialogue box (see above) at which point I am presented with a new box asking for my current password, my new password and then a repeat of my new password to make sure that I haven’t forgotten it already. That sounds about five minutes but it could be ten and so taking the opportunity to do this at a quiet time a week in advance seems to have some merit. After all the early bird catches the worm but then isn’t it true that the early worm gets caught by the bird?
On the other hand, if I renew early I’ve only used up 92% of the value of my last password and if I keep doing this I will eventually have to lose the value of a whole password period. In essence approximately every twelve password periods, or four years, I will have used up thirteen password changes wasting a whole five minutes of my life. So why should I care, what is five minutes in a four year period? Perhaps nothing but they may be the last five minutes that I have on this earth and I would hope that I have not wasted them unnecessarily changing my password.
p.s. Today my password ran out and needed renewing. Unfortunately I was away from my desktop and so couldn’t renew it meaning I came back to over 150 mails to answer, negating any possible saving that I had made in the last few years. I take it all back!
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 