Daily Archives: May 26, 2009

How Much Security is Enough Security?

A contact of mine asked me what did I think about RoboForm, a password manager and web form filler solution. My answer was:

It definitely beats having your browser save your passwords in an unencrypted fashion.

Cyberspace security measures are similar to those of the real world. You can put a 4 ft. fence around your house. But some people can jump that. You can raise it to 8 ft. Still some people can jump it, but this time is less people. You can add barbwire to the top of it. Less likely people will jump it. You can electrify it, put trip mines and crocodiles around it… you get the idea. The security measures will however always be breakable. The question is, how much of a profitable target are you? the higher the value, the higher your defense system needs to be. Again, this mirrors real world situations. In the cyber-security world, there are ways to hack into your computer without even knowing the access passwords. Those are however advanced techniques and the ordinary home user is unlikely to become a target of those who can do that, simply because there is not much profit in it compared to other potential targets.

My point is the answer to your question is, RoboForm is the 8 ft fence, more or less. Better than most people have – 4 ft fences, or no fences at all! You just have to have higher security than the average user, and the probabilities of being the target of an attack will decrease simply because there are all those other people with much lower security standards. It’s like if you and a friend are running away from a bear. You don’t have to be faster than the bear – you just have to be faster than your friend 😉