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A method to increase the security & variety of one's PINs. On the back of each card, write down a random PIN. This is the fake PIN. Next, choose a decoder PIN. This PIN, when added or subtracted to the fake PIN, yields the actual PIN for the card. For half-baked security, use the same decoder PIN
for all cards; for fully-baked security, use a different decoder PIN for each card, based on a certain arrangement of the numbers and/or letters printed on the card. This method allows you to have a different PIN for each card (more secure) whilst always enabling one to recall the PIN (ease of use). It has the added benefit of making it easier for you to forget the actual PIN, thus making it more difficult to reveal the PIN inadvertently (say, when shouting out involuntarily during a nightmare).
How PINs already work
http://www.totse.co...p_offs/atminfo.html
Some ATM PIN schemes actually do internally use offsets like this. [koshua, Oct 04 2004]
[link]
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now why couldn't I have thought of that. |
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Alternatively, choose an easily rememberable number - e.g. 1976 |
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Your PIN number is the first, ninth, seventh and sixth digit of the credit card number. |
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Card: 4156 5689 4888 4719
V
Mnemonic" 1976
V
PIN: 4486 |
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To avoid camera capture of your pin, place three fingers on the row of buttons for each number. if your PIN is 1976, all the camera picks up is: |
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This narrows it down to 81 possibilities for the thief, hopefully not enough to make it worth his while... |
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I do this when entering my calling card number at a pay phone, which increases the possible numbers to 3^14... |
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just before entering your number, you point to the sky and say - "wow, look at that" |
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just before you take your money, the thief points to the sky and says - "wow, look at that" |
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Thanks for the card number FlordiaManatee. Now, what's that expiration date? |
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Sarcophagus: I find it ironic that someone with your name would be concerned with dates of expiry. |
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JacquesDemian: That's not irony, that’s coincidence... irony would be someone with a French moniker misusing a French term in an attempt to discredit an incredible request. |
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This will allow a thief to have a chance at decoding your pin, even if they only get three tries, it still gives them a chance. The algorithm should not be too simple rather exceptionally complicated, and then you can write the formula itself on the card. |
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Sarc-I am now dumbfounded. Or is it crestfallen? |
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Baked! I posted a very similar idea in 2002, in an annotation to "Panic PIN" topic. |
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"As far as remembering PIN's, a use a little trick. I write the PIN on the back of the card, after subtracting a "secret number" from it. I use the same secret number for all of my cards. For example, if my secret number was 101, and my PIN was 4352, I would write 4251 on the back of the card. Then, whenever I use the card, I just look at the number on the back and add 101 to it. Now I only have one number to remember!! --- JohnnyOnTheSpot, Oct 05 2002 " |
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I think algorthims are too confusing. Especially late at night. |
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What about making pins just a little bit
longer and going alpha numeric? We
can all remember our phone numbers
(10 digits), our mobile (cell) numbers
(11 digits), our names (6+ letters) so
what about having a mix, say 10
characters long, which would give us
36^10 permutations... should be more
than enough to confound the over-the-
shoulder gawper. (Even 5 characters
gives us 36^5 = 60.4 million choices). |
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