Body Language Password glut got you down? Hackers scoff at password systems, anyway. Is biometrics the answer?

Back in the 1980s, I think I had one password-my ATM PIN number.OK, maybe I had a gate code number, too. Today, I must have 100passwords-who knows?

It seems as if a growing number of sites demand user names andpasswords-usually with special syntax that keeps me from using thesame pair everywhere. Then, I'm supposed to change them allperiodically for security's sake.

That's a joke. Research company Frost & Sullivan analystJason Wright reminds us that password systems are relatively lowhurdles for hackers breaking into our LANs, Web sites or e-mailsystems. The average hacker-more often than not, an employee-needonly run free password-cracking software like Lophtcrack against afairly obvious set of user names (such as Mike_Hogan, Mike Hogan,Mhogan and so on).