PGP key passphrase lost

[Thierry de Coulon]

On Saturday 16 October 2010, Anthony Papillion wrote:
(...)
> I've always thought it funny how in most 'secure' places you will find a
> plethora of passwords, usernames, keys, etc, all written down and stuck
> to monitors or in a file on the desktop.  What's the point with this
> false sense of security?
>
> Anthony

People are afraid of what they don't understand, and the average computer user 
understands almost nothing at how his computer works, so of course he can't 
understand what is secure and what is not.

So they trust "things" that are supposed to bring security: passwords, 
anti-virus, malware-blockers when the first security would be to understand 
how to work to minimise the threat (such as no html mails, not using mailers 
that could or will open attachments and so).

They feel that "the web" is insecure. I always laugh when I remember that time 
when I purchased something online and the page said that if I felt insecure 
so input my credit card number, I could fax it to them, as if the risk of 
someone hijacking my mail was bigger that that of sending my CC number to a 
machine where I couldn't who could read it...

Asking a user to create a password with over 10 characters, mixing letters, 
numbers and special characters can only be that the user will write it down.

Thierry

-- 
"We live at a time when emotions and feelings count more than truth, an there 
is a vast ignorance of science" James Lovelock