#Examples of Security Questions

What makes a good security question? A good security question produces answers that are:

1. Safe. cannot be guessed or researched
2. Stable. does not change over time
3. Memorable :  can remember
4. Simple. is precise, simple, consistent
5. Many. has many possible answers

See designing questions for more detail on the criteria.

Examples of Good, Fair, Poor Questions

POOR

What is your pet s name?

In what year was your father born?

What is your favorite _____?

Why are some questions good, fair, or poor? The Full List of Security Questions below answers this.

Wait! Some GOOD Questions are Still BAD

Even if a question is good, some people will not use it, because it doesn t work for them. Example: name of the place your wedding reception was held but if I haven t been married I won t use that question. So which GOOD questions will get used?

From over 175 questions I took the best and conducted a survey of which questions people would use. There are now over 350 responses. I also rated each question based on the 5 criteria above, ranked the questions, and provided rationale for each question. The results are included in the Full List of Security Questions.

Full List of Security Questions

The Full List of security questions can help you confidently select the best questions that people will actually use. The Full List includes:

1. 40+ good questions from 175+ questions
2. survey results  (over 350 responses) showing which questions people will actually use (“I might use this question” or “I would NOT use this question”).
3. ratings of questions based on the 5 criteria (safe, stable, memorable, simple, many).
4. rationale for ratings and rankings

After PayPall payment, you will immediately  have a link to the Google sheet. Contact me if questions.