This article was published on June 2, 2017

Angry GitHub user creates repository to shame sites with ‘dumb password rules’


Angry GitHub user creates repository to shame sites with ‘dumb password rules’

We have already seen disgruntled netizens build pages to shame shameless marketing campaigns, but this awfully irritated GitHub user has set out on another equally virtuous quest: To shame websites with silly password rules into requiring better safety measures.

Created by data engineer Nicholas Duffy, the repository contains screenshots of numerous industry giants that fail to advise users on how to set up a decent password. You know, the kind of password that would deter even the most diligent of hackers.

There you will find heaps of examples of scarily bad password rules from leading companies and institutions like American Express, AOL, Comcast and Best Buy.

Here are some of our favorite entries:

Chase Bank

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Best Buy

UK Government Tax Portal

Microsoft (for work)

GoDaddy

In case you want to contribute and personally name an offender that fits the description, you can follow this guideline:

  • See the already listed sites for the formatting style.
  • Include the name of the site with a link.
  • Add a clean comment about the dumb password rule (optional).
  • Include at least one screenshot.
  • Keep the sites in alphabetical order.

Now go fight for a safer internet and shame these sites into enforcing stricter password rules in the dedicated GitHub repository here.

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