95 percent of Americans share at least six passwords with friends or family, even though most people acknowledge this is a bad idea.
That’s according to a LastPass survey of its users, released today in a blog post by Amber Gott that includes an infographic summarizing the findings. The vast majority of passwords, it turns out, aren’t shared online: they’re shared verbally: 74 percent of passwords were shared out loud. 15 percent were shared using pen and paper, leaving around 10 percent to be shared via texting, email, and password management services combined.
The widespread practice of sharing Netflix and HBO Now passwords makes up a chunk of this total: 48 percent of users admitted to sharing passwords for TV or movie streaming. But Wi-Fi passwords are the most shared passwords, with 58 percent of users sayings they shared a password to give guests Internet access. (The remaining 42 percent must not have a router, or friends who visit, or any idea what their Wi-Fi password is.)
But the more surprising results were passwords for financial information, which 43 percent of users share.
“Most shockingly, only 19 percent of respondents say they don’t share passwords that would jeopardize their identity or financial information,” Gott wrote in the post, “leaving 81 percent of people who would share those passwords.”
The figures include sharing passwords with spouses, which should make the total figure a little less surprising. 76 percent of users share passwords with a spouse, but only 26 percent share with their children. Surprisingly, people are more likely to share passwords with a coworker (22 percent) than a friend (16 percent), possibly because of shared accounts.
Another highlight: 58 percent of users are re-using passwords on multiple sites, something every security expert will advise against. And this is a particularly bad idea if you share passwords. Giving your Netflix password to a friend might not seem bad, but if you use the same password for your Gmail account there’s a chance they’ll sneak a peak sometime.
Even worse, 73 percent of users admit they won’t change passwords after sharing them, meaning the potential security problems will only go on.
All of us need to change our password habits up a little bit if we want any reasonable expectation of privacy. But will we do it? Generational trends suggest not. Younger people are by far the most likely to share passwords: 40 percent of people between 18 and 29 are likely to trust their friends with passwords. Meanwhile, only 15 percent of people between 30 and 44 say the same thing.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.