Every now and then I am prompted to enter my password so I can view my camera. Why isn’t there more people complaining about this?
To be able to enter my password off the top of my head, means I’m using a password that I’ll have to remember. THAT is the complete opposite of using a secure password!
Since the Target hack sent my user name and password to the black market, I’ve created random and impossible to remember passwords for every account I have. I use an encrypted program to retrieve my password when needed and often use the random key-generator to make a new random password when prompted by some sites.
Bottom line, it is a pain in the rear for people that are using secure passwords to have to enter at random just to use their product. And looks bad for any company encouraging using easy to remember and enter at random passwords.
I propose that Wyze gets ahead on this issue and addresses their software asking for users to enter their passwords more than once on the initial setup. Users want to be able to use their camera when they open the app on their phone. Not have to find a computer, open an encrypted file, and then type in a crazy password. (Tip for others using this method of securing their passwords… Avoid zeros and o’s, I’s and ones, and other things you see difficult to distinguish. A lot of mental anguish can be saved!)
The requests for password entry are not actually random. They are generated under specific circumstances such as installing a new version of the app, and of course, logging out. Wyze would not remove these requirements as they are part of the security structure.
If you are receiving what you consider to be an inordinate number of password entry requests, then you should contact Customer Support (206) 339-9646 Monday - Friday 5 am - 6 pm PT and Saturday 8 am - 4 pm PT and ask them to investigate why this is the case. Keep in mind that this forum is primarily user-to-user; Wyze support is the official support channel.
I see you are using an iPhone/iPad. One other suggestion is to enable iCloud Keychain Access. This will auto fill the password in the Wyze app. Alternatively, you can use a commercial password manager such as 1Password or LastPass.
It just seems strange to me that you consider password strength important enough to use one so difficult that it requires a password manager to even use it, but then are bothered when a service occasionally prompts you to reconfirm your identity. Cognitively odd. (But I’ve always thought having browsers and such remember passwords was a bad idea anyway.)
I loved having one password that I could remember and being able to access everything as my heart desired. I found out from the Target hack how bad that could be. They were going to every bank and site, some of which I used, and using my user name and password trying to get access.
Using different unique and random passwords was suggested… I understand why and I adapted. With 25+ different random passwords, surly you can understand how impossible it is to remember them. And I agree with the members comment on not storing them where they can be hacked. Password managers and such. No software is perfect or we wouldn’t see hacking in the first place. As I said previously, my list is in an encrypted file that requires a PC to open. I never said I used password managers or the likes.
Wyze has made it clear that things won’t change on their end to adapt as well, so I’m going to use IP cams where I control the software updates and can make sure everything is fine while it’s all convenient.
Being unable to access your device is a problem. Using easy to remember passwords is a problem and invites hacking. I may not have a silver tongue, but the message shouldn’t be so quickly dismissed…
And I tried going to support to share this concern and was pointed here. Rose even sent an email of the chat. I much rather go the quiet route and hope someone that understands catches wind of it and is able to convince their peers. Wyze has went through a lot of trouble to push users to these forums, so try to be less dismissive and more understanding.
I am trying to understand your position. And it still makes little sense to me. If others agree that Wyze shouldn’t occasionally re-prompt for a password I’m sure they will chime in. You can also make a voteable wishlist post if you like and gauge interest that way.
Personally I think re-prompting occasionally is a good thing and I wish more apps did it.
How do you make a password?
Let’s say I use my oldest nephews name. Corey. I want to include special characters and make it a stronger password, C0r&y with a zero instead of o. Maybe add the year he was born? C0r&y1994… There, I got a nice password, right? Should I write it down somewhere?
Now imagine doing this for each account you use. Most people use the same one everywhere because the more you use, the more difficult it is to punch in your password. Experts warn against doing that because if someone gets your password, they potentially have the ability to access way too much!
They suggest making impossible to guess random passwords.
Gu1%kLo/;yi@W63l. That for example is a password…
I went with the experts advice and made random impossible to guess passwords for all my accounts… I did this because of no fault of my own, Target was hacked years ago and my user name and password was sold on the black market. I learned how important it was not to use the same password on multiple sites.
The downside is I can’t tell anyone what my password is at any given time. Apps that ask more are only encouraging users to use weak easy to remember passwords and that my friend… Is the opposite of secure!
My bank app allowed me to enter my password once which was painful when you got a crazy password as I gave in my example. If I had to enter that a few times a month, I would NOT be using the app. Ever! I entered it once and now FaceID is used to enter the password for me.
I was asking Wyze to get on board with higher security and do something similar so people can use the product and not be stuck at a password screen.
Yes, not many people follow the experts advice and I’m in a minority group on this. I get that. I’m not reverting back though because I learned my lesson… I’m not trying to be difficult and different on purpose. I just won’t be a victim to anymore hacks! If my data is ever leaked, only the place that was hacked would be compromised and a simple switch of the password that has no personal meaning or ties to me…
I hope that helps clear up the importance of NOT asking users to enter their passwords often! And that’s not even debating the potential for wandering eyes or cameras if you’re in a store, watching you enter that password!
As suggested, use a password manager that you can run on your phone. Personally I am using SplashID which runs on my desktops, laptop, and both phones. I have almost 300 passwords because pretty much everything has a different password. And except for sites that will not accept them, most are 20 to 30 characters long of cryptic garbage. The password manager has a master password that is almost 30 characters long, but is easy for me to remember and type (and no it’s not my name, birthday, address, or some other easy to hack). Once into the password manager, I can copy a PW and paste it into whatever site or app it is needed (that eliminates issue with similarities between printed letters and numbers).