[tags]passwords, human factors, general security[/tags]
Today, I found a pointer to this short news story: Password Security is Her Game.  Here’s a quote from that story:

Many users have half a dozen passwords to remember. That’s why the most common password is “password.” The usual solution is to write it down. But how secure is that? Practicality wins. The probability of remembering six passwords is not that great. Half the people who say they never write down their passwords need to have their passwords reset because of forgetting.

I wasn’t going to post anything else on passwords so soon, but this seemed particularly pertinent.  Plus, the researcher is a Purdue alumna.