The problem is that you don't have control over password requirements, so you'll rapidly accumulate exceptions. What if they require (or assign) a PIN? Security

The problem is that you don't have control over password requirements, so you'll rapidly accumulate exceptions. What if they require (or assign) a PIN? Security questions? What if they assign a number as your login? Require a special character? Forbid special characters? Require >6 chars? Forbid >6 chars? Forbid your password from matching previous passwords? What if they don't show you the domain? What if the domain changes during login (see: Cambridge Savings Bank)? What if the domain changes over time? What if the company name changes? What if they lock you out after 3 attempts and you burn up all three trying to remember the variation you were forced to use? I tried the combination scheme for a bit over a year. I was in denial about how poorly it was working until I started getting politely teased by casual acquaintances about being the guy who could never remember his passwords. There are accounts I'm still permanently locked out of. It was bad. By comparison, LastPass has been great. More secure passwords, less forgetting them. Eventually I want to move to a password archive that's physically separate from the computer, but for now I'm happy with no longer dreading login screens.