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by bbrian 2811 days ago
I just signed up for the IRS website and their password requirements are:

> Password Rules:

> 1) At least 8 characters long.

> 2) Must contain at least one numeric and one special character (!@#$%&). (and asterisks, which is ruining formatting here)

> 3) At least one uppercase and at least one lowercase letter.

My standard password pattern* has a different special character in it, so now I'm locked out for 24 hours because I can't remember what substitution/alteration I made! It kills me when "password requirements" purportedly for security are more restrictive on one site than the majority of others. I also infer the sites are rarely updated.

*I'm implementing Dashlane at work. To date, having a unique password for every site/service has felt secure.

2 comments

I wish they would use login.gov which has sane requirements and allows code generator 2FA instead of SMS.
Many banks also have these arbitrary password limitations which make it less convenient and less secure at the same time.
I just keep a google docs with username/password/recovery question, with website abbreviation as header.

As long as my google 2fa isn't compromised, I think this is safe.