The Computer Says My Password Is Wrong

My password is “incorrect.” At least the computer is kind enough to remind me every time.

Passwords have developed a strange authority over modern life. You can know your own name, your address, your Social Security number, and exactly where you parked the car, but type one character incorrectly and technology suddenly has doubts about who you are.

That frustration gets even better when the rules become part of the problem. In My Password Needs a Symbol, creating a password requires uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, special characters, and apparently a minor degree in cryptography. Then there’s Face Not Recognized Every Morning, where technology takes authentication personally and decides your own face may no longer be sufficient evidence.

Airport Wi-Fi adds another layer. You’re tired, your flight is delayed, your battery is disappearing, and the network insists the password is incorrect. You agree. It literally says “incorrect.”

For all the advances in technology, passwords remain remarkably good at accomplishing one thing: keeping unauthorized people out and occasionally taking the authorized person with them.

Explore more Chad Geepeety™ cartoons about passwords, Wi-Fi, technology, and the everyday security designed to protect us from ourselves.