“The time has come, The Guru said,
to speak of just one thing: Passwords.”
In no other area of personal computing has our changing world become so evident as in the rules of the password game. No wonder so many people have a hell of time with them.
Here, The Computer Guru of Santa Fe explains and updates past, present, and future customers on the “new rules of the password game.”
Want to hop on the bus? Keep reading.
SIMPLER TIMES
In the good old days of personal computing — say, 10 years ago — you had one password if you had any at all. Maybe it was an AOL password. You needed it to log in, and that was that. And it was easy to remember, because it was whatever you wanted it to be, and you hardly ever needed to change it.
Those days are gone.
The complexity of “life online” has exploded. We now have multiple online accounts, everything from Ebay and Amazon and Netflix, to the local gas, water, and electric companies. Not to mention banks, credit card companies, and investment portfolios.
All this, on top of the usual “internet/email” password.
WHICH PASSWORD?!?
As if that wasn’t bad enough, even the simple “login passwords” of the past have grown in number and complexity. Aggravating, Counter-Intuitive, Impossible-To-Remember Passwords are often insisted upon by online entities.
There are now offline (local) and online (cloud or account-based) login passwords. Offline passwords are like the easy passwords of old (in some ways), but online passwords require users to create and manage associated online accounts.
Do it wrong, and you won’t be able to get into your computer — your OWN computer! — and use it when you need it.
Online accounts can get quite tricky. In the Apple “Ecosystem,” there are separate local and online passwords, which may be the same…or different. Many Mac users are surprised when they find they can’t get into their computers using the very same password they used successfully the last time!
That’s because Apple will sometimes replace a local offline password with the user’s online password (known as the Apple ID password). This change is made without warning, and often leaves users mystified, if not enraged.
Microsoft has added a baffling new hierarchy of passwords to its otherwise terrific Windows 10 operating system. There are local offline passwords, online passwords, family passwords…each one associated with a new and different “account type.” One can get a headache just thinking about it!
And I haven’t even mentioned router and wi-fi passwords, and the traps and snares these technologies can place in your path…
HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT
Many of my clients frankly confess to being “fed up” with the whole arena of passwords, but they can see the problem is not going away.
Like some terrible disease, there is no cure, but the password disease can be managed.
Let The Computer Guru of Santa Fe help explain, sort out, and guide you through the tangled maze of life in today’s modern, password-protected world.
BRING IN THE NEW
When you need a new or replacement computer, I can talk over with you the best “approach” to passwords, given your personal or business situation. We can set them up right the first time, and establish easy-to-follow password management guidelines. Lost password recovery methods can be established.
On your existing systems, password techniques can be streamlined and optimized at the time of routine maintenance, service, or upgrades, so you don’t feel hassled any longer. And when you add additional computers, smartphones, tablets, or other gadgets to the mix, you won’t be layering new problems on top of the old ones.
BRIGHTEN UP!
Will passwords ever become a “pleasant” part of life? Doubtful. But The Computer Guru of Santa Fe can help make this darkening corner of the world as bright as it can possibly be for you.
The Computer Guru 