11 Reasons Why You Sorta Love Passwords

All week long we have been observing World Password Day. It's not a day to celebrate passwords, but rather to gather together and hope for an end to the pain they cause. Nevertheless, there are things to like about passwords. So we asked you to send us your true feelings. Here's what you had to say:

The Alternatives Are Unreliable
"It is not that I especially like passwords, it's just that I don't see a good alternative. Where I work we spent a lot of time and money trying a USB dongle that was supposed to do two-factor authentication for us. But the USB dongles kept failing on us, one after another resulting in a huge waste of time and money. —"Tom"

They're Economical?
"Because they are not as expensive as visits to a proctologist or dentist." —Richard Faulkner, Attorney, Arbitrator, Mediator

They Give the End User Some Ownership  
"Passwords give us a sense of control. We think, 'If I can't even remember it, how can anyone else possibly figure it out?' Naive, for sure, but it is the only thing a user feels they have control over. The remaining control is in the hands of the 'unknown.' Potentially, this is why there is fear of replacing our beloved passwords." —Carolyn Crandall, Chief Security Advocate at Attivo Networks

They're Easy to Share
"Watch Party? Who needs a new [streaming service] feature to group watch when all my friends have my password?" —The team at Beyond Identity 

They're Easy to Change
"We like the control to change [passwords] on a whim and there is a sense of comfort that we are the sole holders of this right. Yet, if we move to other things like facial recognition or fingerprints and they get stolen, a fear may be around the question of 'How do I update my face!'" —Crandall, Attivo Networks

"We love to change our streaming password right before our ex watches a series finale." —The team at Beyond Identity

Their staying power is impressive
"I appreciate passwords because they are the undefeatable authentication method that has withstood the test of time. For my entire career, at every single cyber conference I've attended we've had at least one session on 'The Death of the Password.' However, they are still here and remain one of the most widely used authentication methods. Numerous attempts have been made to eradicate them off the face of the earth, however they have stumped cyber geniuses out there for decades." —Kim Johnson, VP of Product at BIO-key

They Give Paper and Pen an Everlasting Purpose
"Passwords, keeping old-school 3M sticky note users happy." —The team at Beyond Identity

They Have Actually Improved Security, Too 
"With cybersecurity threats increasingly targeting the remote workforce, passwords are a business liability. But with single sign-on increasing security, convenience, and productivity levels, there's a lot to celebrate on World Password Day. Today, let's focus on the wins that are taken for granted every day—the ransomware and phishing attacks diverted, the decrease in help desk tickets for password resets, and the basic but ridiculously satisfying ability to log into all of your mission-critical applications with one login. Here's to the time savings, the security, and to loving passwords again." —Wyatt Bowman, Director of Technical Solutions at MicroAge.

They're a Key Factor in the Authentication Trifecta
"Now is the time for the security industry to embrace 3FA (three-factor authentication). The three factors would be 'something you know,' 'something you have,' and 'something that is part of you,' like your face, fingerprint or other biometric measure. None of these are foolproof, but once combined they create a barrier that is much more difficult for a determined, intelligent fraudster to bypass." —Duncan Steblyna, VP of Product at Veriff

They Can Be an Expression of Love
"We love that using easy dates like your anniversary or spouse's birthday keep you out of the doghouse. We love you can show your local team pride or enduring love for your pet with your with your password." —The team at Beyond Identity

They Provide Job Security
"I honestly love credentials and passwords. The theft of them and privilege abuse keeps our company in business!" —Crandall, Attivo Networks 

Indeed, password oversharing might be an enterprise security headache, the knotty problem of forgetting passwords is constant, and credential stuffing is rampant. Let's not forget, though, that in certain emergencies, sharing credentials could be critical. Biometrics, for example, cannot be left behind for descendents in a digital will like passwords can, and they can't be changed. Happy World Password Day!