Another Reason You Need to Use a Password Manager
Got this in my mailbox just now.
Dear Slicehost Forum Member,
Our records show that you have used the Slicehost forum at some point in the past. We’re writing to inform you that we believe an unauthorized party gained access, for a period of time, to the Slicehost forum login database. This database contains the email address, user I.D. and password that you selected to access this public forum (which is completely separate from the systems that run our Slicehost services). Although all passwords in this database are encrypted, out of an abundance of caution, and in support of our policy of transparency with customers, we want to alert you to this situation. We have blocked all access to the forum database and will not bring it back up with existing I.D.s and passwords. We have also temporarily shut down the Slicehost forum.
You probably adhere to Internet best practices, which include maintaining a separate I.D. and password for each website and application that you use. (emphasis mine) If you do so, you need take no action, as the forum contains no personal information.
However, if you used your Slicehost forum I.D. and password in other places, including any Rackspace account, we recommend that you change those I.D.s and passwords. In fact, the next time you attempt to access the Slice Manager, you will be required to change your password. If you use the same password for the forum and for your Slicehost account, and you also use an API key, we recommend that you consider changing your API key as well.
During the period when the Slicehost forum is shut down, you can contact your Rackspace support team with any forum question you may have.
We apologize for our failure to maintain an adequate level of security on our public Slicehost forum, and for any inconvenience this may cause you. We will bring back a great forum experience soon.
Sincerely,
The Slicehost Support Team
I can look at 1Password with 392 unique passwords and read this message without a worry in the world.
My favorite line in that note is the one that I’ve added bold emphasis to. I sincerely doubt even 1% of Internet users do that.