What Is a Double-Blind Password?

Double-blind passwords are a unique, underutilized option that shore up password vulnerability without adding complexity. Learn how double-blind passwords work and why you should consider using this approach for your digital accounts.

Most internet users know basic password best practices, such as avoiding personal information and changing sensitive passwords regularly. Also, they use long, complex passwords resistant to brute-force attacks. While those steps are a great way to secure your accounts, they still open you to certain cybersecurity threats.

You might also use a password manager to keep your passwords straight and ensure you can access them on different devices. Storing all your passwords in a single password manager reduces the risk of a breach.

Yet it increases the damage a hacker could do. With only the password to your password manager account, they could access your vault and see all the other passwords you use. Using a password manager won’t fix all of your cybersecurity concerns. Think of this like putting all your savings in a safe — even if the safe is hard to crack, you could lose your life’s savings if someone acquires the combination.

A double-blind password fixes this problem by removing your actual passwords from the password manager. Instead, you’ll store an incomplete version or possibly something that reminds you of the actual password.

For example, if you’re using a passphrase like “i-love-game-of-thrones” and write it in your password manager, it’s easy for someone to crack the account when they access your vault.

If your favorite “Game of Thrones” character was Arya, you could add that to the end of the real password without entering it in your password manager. You’ll be able to remember the full password when you see the password manager entry, but that information won’t be as helpful to someone who’s trying to hack your account.

The advantage of double-blind passwords is the reduced need for memorization without putting you at risk of unauthorized access. You probably can’t remember a unique password for every account, but it’s much easier to remember the end of a password if you store the beginning in your password manager.

Many people setting up double-blind passwords wonder what they should add to the main part of the password. The unique identifier is the key element separating a double-blind password from a regular one. Come up with something easy to remember yet difficult for someone else to guess.

Ultimately, the unique identifier is up to you. Most people don’t use double-blind passwords, but even something simple like adding “676” to the end of every password is better than nothing. You get more security from an identifier that is somewhat more complex. Avoid obvious sequences, such as 123, abc, or 000, which would be natural for a hacker to guess.

• All Things Secured: What Is a Double-Blind Password? Password Manager Hack for 2023
• Bleeping Computer: What’s a Double-Blind Password Strategy and When Should It Be Used?
• CGNET: Password Security: The Double-Blind Password Hack
• LinkedIn: Concerned About Your Password Vault Getting Compromised: How About Using the “Double-Blind Password” Strategy?

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