Devon H. O'Dell wrote:
> 2010/6/29 erik quanstrom <quanstro@labs.coraid.com>:
>
>>>> I don't understand why modern security systems have an upper limit on passphrase length.
>>>>
>>> Because people can't remember passwords, and companies don't like
>>> employing full-time password changers.
>>>
>> i don't understand this comment.  the length of a password
>> is only vaguely related to memorability.  long english phrases
>> are easy to remember.  unfortunately, they are also easy to
>> harvest automaticly, so "four score and seven years ago" might
>> be a bad password.
>>
>
> The problem is two-fold:
>
> a) Lay-people are told by all their "computer guru" friends to choose
> a password that is difficult to guess. Add numbers, capital letters,
> punctuation. Most people don't think in this sort of context, and it
> is difficult to remember.
>
> b) People don't regard the idea as particularly important. I know many
> people who routinely forget 6-8 character passwords.
>

Many banks still use 4 digit PINs on their ATM cards, without problem.
Possession is a very important factor.

The token that will prevail of course is the phone - even though it
denies relying parties the billboard value of a card.

Now, will developers be smart enough to isolate the private key from the
phone's porous OS? The jury is out on that.

wk

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