NIST, Information Technology Laboratory (ITL), Parent Password Survey

OMB Control No. 0693-0043

Expiration Date: 12-31-2018

Survey on Parents’ Password Practices and Involvement in Their Children’s Password Usage

About Your own password practices

1. Think about all of the computers or other devices (like game consoles) your family uses (not work-related), how many of them require passwords to access?

Personal computer or device	Number of computers or devices (If none, enter "0")	How many require passwords? (If none, enter "0")
Desktop computers	_______	_______
Laptop computers	_______	_______
Tablets (such as iPad)	_______	_______
Cell phones	_______	_______
Game consoles (such as XBox, Playstation, Wii)	_______	_______
Smart TVs	_______	_______

Other computers or devices – please specify ____________________________

2. Of your personal accounts (not work-related), how many require passwords to access?

Personal accounts	How many require passwords? (If none, enter "0")
Emails	_______
Social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram)	_______
Banking online	_______
Shopping online	_______
Bill payment online	_______
Entertainment online (such as videos, movies, music)	_______
Games online	_______
Accounts related to my children’s activities (such as schools, extracurricular activities)	_______

Other accounts– please specify ____________________________

3. About how many personal passwords (not work-related) do you have? ___________

3-a. When creating your personal passwords, how important are these considerations to you?

	Important	Neutral	Not important
Easy to remember			
Easy to type/enter			
Strong (hard to guess/crack)			
Be the same as my other passwords			

4. When creating your personal passwords, do you use password generators (that can generate passwords for you) available online or in apps?

 Always

 Sometimes

 Never, although I know about the existence of those password generators

 Never, I don’t know the existence of those password generators

5. How do you keep track of your personal passwords? (check all that apply)

☐ Memorize the passwords

☐ Let browser/device save passwords and auto-fill

☐ Use mnemonics (such as meaningful or pronounceable phrase)

☐ Someone else remembers for me (such as a family member or friend)

☐ Write entire password on paper, placed in a non-locked location

☐ Write entire password on paper, placed in a locked location

☐ Write on paper, but disguise in some way (such as only the common word without the special characters)

☐ Save in a file, protected with encryption or password

☐ Save in a file, not protected (without password)

☐ Save in emails

☐ Use password management software (such as LastPass, 1Password, Keychain Access, Password Safe)

☐ Do not track, consistently use “forgot password” feature

☐ Other – please specify _____________________

6. How often do you change your personal passwords?

 About every 30 days

 Between 31 and 60 days

 Between 61 and 90 days

 Between 91 and 120 days

 Between 121 and 180 days

 Only when it is necessary (such as password change required, password forgotten, password expired, password stolen)

 It depends on the type of accounts – please describe how you update passwords for different types of accounts

7. Let’s say your family doctor just informed you that you can access your family’s medical records on their website. But, you need a password to use it. Please make up a new password that you might use to access your doctor’s website. Note: Please do not use any of your real passwords.

Use the strategies you typically would and create a password:

Your children’s password practices

8. How many Kindergarten (K) to 12^th grade children are there in your household under your care (that is, you are the legal guardian)? ________

8-a. For each child, indicate his/her grade and sex:

Child 1 Grade: _____ (K to 12^th grade)

Sex:  Male  Female

Child 2 Grade: _____ (K to 12^th grade)

Sex:  Male  Female

Child 3 Grade: _____ (K to 12^th grade)

Sex:  Male  Female

Child 4 Grade: _____ (K to 12^th grade)

Sex:  Male  Female

For each of your children who are between K and 12^th grade, please answer the following questions.

Child 1

9. What kinds of online activities does this child engage in? (check all that apply)

• School related (such as Google ClassRoom, Edline)

• Online learning (such as PBS.org, Scholastic.com, IXL.com)

• Extracurricular activity related (such as sports team site, clubs)

• Emails

• Online games

• Social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram)

• Entertainment (such as Youtube)

• Internet search (such as using Google, Yahoo, Bing)

• Other – please specify _________________________

10. What computers or devices does this child use for his/her online activities? (check all that apply)

• This child has his/her own computers or devices

• Uses computers or devices shared among family members

• Uses computers or devices owned by others (such as friends or relatives)

• Uses computers or devices at school

• Uses computers or devices in a public setting (such as public library)

• Uses computers or devices at the place where this child works

• Other – please specify ______________________

11. About how many passwords does this child have (including all passwords such as for: computers or devices at home; school computers; online activities)?

________ (give your best estimate)

12. Do you help this child create his/her passwords?

 Always

 Sometimes

 Never, why not? ______________________________

12-a. How do you help your child create his/her passwords? (check all that apply)

• I create passwords for this child.

• This child and I work together to create his/her passwords.

• I only give this child guidance, but he/she creates the passwords.

• Other – please specify _____________

12-a-1. You’ve selected more than one option above. Describe why you help in different ways.

12-b. When you help this child create passwords, how important are these considerations to you?

	Important	Neutral	Not important
Easy to remember			
Easy to type/enter			
Strong (hard to guess/crack)			
Be the same as the child’s other passwords			

13. Do you help this child keep track of his/her passwords?

 Always

 Sometimes

 Never, why not? ____________________________

If you select “Always” or “Sometimes”,

13-a. How do you help this child keep track of his/her passwords? (check all that apply)

• I have a list (paper or electronic) of this child’s passwords.

• I memorize this child’s passwords.

• I have this child create a list of passwords and he/she is responsible for keeping the list.

• I give this child guidelines on how he/she should keep track of the passwords.

• Other – please specify ____________________________

[Questions 9 to 13 will be repeated for each child between K and 12^th grade in the household.]

General Thoughts

14. Has helping your children with their passwords changed your own password practices?

 Yes

 No

14-a. If “Yes,” describe how your password practices have changed.

14-b. If “No,” why not?

15. If you need more information or guidance on passwords, where would you go? (check all that apply)

• Family members (such as spouse, relatives)

• Friends

• Customer service from my Internet provider

• Websites where I create the accounts and passwords for

• Internet search (such as using Google, Yahoo, Bing)

• Media (such as news, blogs)

• Paid technical support services

• Public library

• My child’s school

• Government agencies that provide cyber security guidance (such as Homeland Security, FBI)

• Other – please specify _________________________

15-a. For each source of guidance you selected above, how effective is the source in providing you with guidance on passwords?

	Effective	Neutral	Not effective
Family members (such as spouse, relatives)			
Friends			
Customer service from my Internet provider			
Websites where I create the accounts and passwords for			
Internet search (such as using Google, Yahoo, Bing)			
Media (such as news, blogs)			
Paid technical support services			
Public library			
My child’s school			
Government agencies who provide cyber security guidance (such as Homeland Security, FBI)			
Other (you specified above)			

16. Other than username and password, what will be better ways for your children to sign in?

___________________

17. Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about this topic? _________________

Demographic Information

1. Sex

 Male  Female

2. What year were you born? ______________

3. What is your highest level of education?

 Less than high school  Master’s degree

 High school or equivalent  Doctoral Degree

 Associates Degree  Professional Degree (such as M.D., J.D.)

 Bachelor’s Degree  Other, please specify __________________________

4. What is your occupation? ___________________________________

5. On average, how many hours daily do you spend on computers and devices (including desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphones)?

 Less than 1 hour

 Between 1 and 3 hours

 Between 3 and 5 hours

 Between 5 and 7 hours

 Between 7 and 9 hours

 More than 9 hours

6. Tell us about your experience with different kinds of technology (including desktop or laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, and the Internet).

 I have limited experience using technology and I don’t know much about how technology works.

 I have some knowledge about how technology works, but often need to ask for help to perform more advanced activities – such as to configure the privacy settings on my cell phone.

 I can do most things that I want to do with technology and only need help occasionally.

 I can do all things that I want to do with technology without help from others.

7. In general, when do you adopt new technologies?

 I try the latest technologies as soon as they come out.

 I follow technology trends.

 I let others work out the kinks first.

 I wait until my old technology dies.

 I only adopt new technologies when it’s required.

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OMB Control No. 0693-0043

Expiration Date: 12-31-2018

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