Security questions

Security questions are prompts like "What was your first pet's name?" or "What street did you grow up on?" that some websites use to confirm your identity during account recovery. They are weak because true answers can often be found on social media, in public records, through online quizzes or by simply asking you in conversation. Modern guidance, including from NIST, advises against relying on them. If a site requires them, give a random, made-up answer, such as river-kettle-58, and save it in your password manager as a note. Treat each answer like a separate password and never reuse it.