password: 1234

I forget passwords on a regular basis at work. Sometimes it’s a good thing, e.g. when a password is changed and I have to forget the old and memorize the new. Other times it’s not such a good thing, like this morning when I got locked out of my sequence analysis software because I attempted to log in with the wrong password more than three times.

Here are some of the passwords/codes I have to use everyday:

Gate padlock code
Building alarm code
Spin-dial combination for my labs
Spin-dial combination for the back labs
Punch code for entry into back labs
Alarm code for lab alarms
Punch code for secure area
Safe combination
Personal computer password
Multiple secure computer passwords
Multiple software passwords

Many of these passwords gain access to classified materials, therefore they cannot be written down, but must be memorized immediately or I’ll be locked out. Some of them are on a six-month rotation, so for those I’m on my seventh password so far. Some of the others can be permanent, but they must be changed whenever someone with access to them finds employment elsewhere, which occurs on a rather consistant basis.

In all I’ve probably memorized dozens of passwords, codes, keywords, and combinations in the 3 ½ years I’ve been here. I can’t wait to be free of all of this classified nonsense when I become a special agent!