April 6, 2022 - I was drug scratching and hollering into the computer world around 1968 when working for a major insurance company in Houston, Texas. I have never been a fan of computers, although I now own one and use it regularly. It was while using my computer that I was introduced to “passwords” and “pin numbers.” That was OK, but things are now getting out of control.
It seems now days that in order to purchase an item off the computer, or even look at your email, one must have several passwords. To access my own computer, I must type in a PIN number. Now, as smart as my computer is, one would think that it would automatically know that it is me who is logging in. Passwords have become so prevalent that one has to keep a log of all the passwords now required to purchase items off the internet. I now have a book of passwords.
Looking back into history, I find that passwords have been around for a long, long time. Sentries would challenge those wishing to enter an area to supply a password, or watchword, and would only allow a person to pass if they knew the password. On occasion in the past, soldiers would be shot immediately if they could not come up with the correct password. I sure hope that those things do not occur these days.
Passwords in military use evolved to include not just a password, but a password and a counter-password. For example, in the opening days of the Battle of Normandy, paratroopers of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division used a password “flash” which was presented as a challenge, and answered with the correct response “thunder.” The challenge and response were changed every three days.
American paratroopers also famously used a device known as a “cricket” on D-Day in place of a password system. This was a temporary unique method of identification. One metallic click given by the device in lieu of a password was to be met by two clicks in reply. No PIN number was required back then.
In our modern times, user names and passwords are used by people during a log-in process that controls access to protect computer operating systems, mobile phones, cable TV decoders, automated teller machines (ATM), etc. A typical computer user must have passwords for most any purpose, such as logging into accounts, retrieving e-mail, accessing applications, databases, networks, web sites, and even reading the morning newspaper on line.
All of this mentioned above worries me as to what we are facing in the future. This morning I walked into our kitchen and asked my wife, “What's for breakfast?” She replied, “What's the password?” Luckily, I remembered it to be “hungry2022.” Then, I was able to enjoy breakfast. You see why I am so concerned? What would have happened if I had not remembered the password? What if she gives me multiple passwords? I now remember that this is a two-edged sword. I now have passwords for taking out the garbage, vacuuming the carpets, and others to follow.
