Verification

I totally understand why we can't use mother's maiden name as a security question anymore. It's not really secure. Unfortunately a lot of companies come up with these verification questions that are completely obscure. My biggest peeve is when they ask for "favorites".

Favorite restaurant comes up a lot. I eat out all the time, so naturally I have a lot of candidates for favorite restaurant. Favorite Indian? Favorite everyday eating? Favorite Michelin Star international haute cuisine culinary institution? And how am I supposed to remember which one I picked? And what if I get a new favorite or if my former favorite serves me a bowl of soup and human hair?

Favorite Band? I listen to dance music. Favorite song? It changes weekly. Pets? They're all fish. By the time I forget my online password they'll probably be dead. What about drug of choice?

You can probably see where I'm going with this. Virgin mobile is the worst offender. I lost my login and now to access my account I have to remember not only my answer but the question I chose to answer (there are 7 or so). I haven't been able to log in since I set it up.

There are better and worse ways to identify people and it seems like companies are just coming up with whatever makes them seem cool. I prefer father's middle name, personally.