Passwords!!!

[Dave2002]

Due to a software/system error I lost access to all my passwords, which were stored in a secure app. Unlike some people most of them were completely different. I don’t suppose it’s going to be impossible to deal with, but rather a nuisance. I do know the ones I use most frequently.

I deleted the app and the data once I realised that I couldn’t access any of the passwords. I’m not sure whether I’ll use that particular tool again. I remain unconvinced that we need to have so many passwords, and such complexity, particularly for applications which are not especially sensitive.

[richardfinegold]

My mother is 90 and while she is exhibiting some symptoms of general decline, she seems to have screwed up her access to her Financial Accounts by forgetting her passwords and is very distressed by this

[Dave2002]

My mother is 90 and while she is exhibiting some symptoms of general decline, she seems to have screwed up her access to her Financial Accounts by forgetting her passwords and is very distressed by this

Is "everything" now done online in the US? That's the way things are going in the UK. This means that bank and other branches are closing - because the industry says it's more efficient, and cheaper for customers. This means that it's very hard to get personal service, and the choice of banks which still have accessible offices is reducing.

I used to take my mother down to the bank branches as she became less able to cope. Possibly we were on the margins of illegality, as sometimes she really didn't know what she was doing, but she could still make up her own mind, and just about sign her signature. The bank people knew her, and were helpful. She was just about OK with cash, though that potentially left her vulnerable with cash in her house. As banks may become less personal, this way of doing business will get harder. Also, in some areas, banks are some distance away, which does of course make online access more attractive. In my mother's case she would not have been able to cope with computers by the time she would have needed them, and it wouldn't just have been a matter of forgetting the financial passwords, but probably forgetting how to log in, and learning how to use computers would have been impossible. She didn't want to, anyway.

We should have had Power of Attorney, but she never agreed to that - which is a "problem" with some older people. I assume that a similar facility exists in the USA.

OTOH, when my father died, which was a few years earlier, a bank adviser suggested online banking, and when we said that she wouldn't remember the passwords, he didn't quite persuade us to do anything illegal, but mentioned that many family members "shared" passwords, and the more competent ones looked after the finances - which is, of course, technically very wrong without PoA.

Also, in my original post, I mentioned types of activity. I would class financial activity as being much more sensitive, and passwords or some form of authentication are necessary, but many of the sites for other purposes really shouldn't need passwords, or insist upon them IMO.

Good luck with sorting out the difficulties.

[kernelbogey]

Also, in my original post, I mentioned types of activity. I would class financial activity as being much more sensitive, and passwords or some form of authentication are necessary, but many of the sites for other purposes really shouldn't need passwords, or insist upon them IMO.

My Nationwide online account can be accessed either by password or by inserting my bankcard in a small device which generates a numerical passcode. So as long as I know where my bankcard is and can remember the pincode, all is well. I believe other banks use this system.

[LMcD]

I keep a list of my passwords on a piece of paper which hides in a trunk that remains locked when not in use. I shall be OK as long as I don't lose the key to the trunk and can remember where the trunk is (which should be quite easy, as it measures roughly 4' x 3' x3')
The Nationwide online system works well for me, too.

[Bryn]

My Nationwide online account can be accessed either by password or by inserting my bankcard in a small device which generates a numerical passcode. So as long as I know where my bankcard is and can remember the pincode, all is well. I believe other banks use this system.

That reminds me. I must get a replacement card reader, the display on the current one is all too often garbled, with many digits undecipherable, necessitating the use of the memorable data.

[kernelbogey]

A Radio 4 feature recently was about one's 'digital legacy'. What does one do about all the information (e.g. social media) about oneself online? How to empower executors to deal with this? Food for thought, perhaps especially in relation to bank accounts. (I'm not on Facebook, for example, but without a proactive decision, apparently your Facebook page remains unaltered, online for all eternity.)

[Bryn]

A Radio 4 feature recently was about one's 'digital legacy'. What does one do about all the information (e.g. social media) about oneself online? How to empower executors to deal with this? Food for thought, perhaps especially in relation to bank accounts. (I'm not on Facebook, for example, but without a proactive decision, apparently your Facebook page remains unaltered, online for all eternity.)

Not on Facebook? Is that legal? (I am not on it either).

[MrGongGong]

A Radio 4 feature recently was about one's 'digital legacy'. What does one do about all the information (e.g. social media) about oneself online? How to empower executors to deal with this? Food for thought, perhaps especially in relation to bank accounts. (I'm not on Facebook, for example, but without a proactive decision, apparently your Facebook page remains unaltered, online for all eternity.)

This is worth reading IMV

https://press.princeton.edu/titles/9436.html

I used to 'argue' (not in a serious way !) with my father about his refusal to use online shopping, banking etc. He seemed to be of the opinion that there was a seperate section of the bank for people like him where things weren't processed electronically. My argument was along the lines of who do you trust ? Youself to key in the code OR the sleep deprived teenager behind the counter who had spent the previous night clubbing ?

There are far too many unecessary passwords for things where it doesn't matter. When I work in educational institutions doing audio things with computers it's one of the main irritations that stops folk having a smooth experience.

[kernelbogey]

Not on Facebook? Is that legal? (I am not on it either).

As long as you're over 18.

[Old Grumpy]

I keep a list of my passwords on a piece of paper which hides in a trunk that remains locked when not in use. I shall be OK as long as I don't lose the key to the trunk and can remember where the trunk is (which should be quite easy, as it measures roughly 4' x 3' x3')
The Nationwide online system works well for me, too.

Now we know where you keep your passwords and the size of the trunk they're in, you just need to tell us who you are and where you live.

Thanks in advance.

Yours,

Burglar Bill

[french frank]

Now we know where you keep your passwords and the size of the trunk they're in, you just need to tell us who you are and where you live.

Thanks in advance.

Yours,

Burglar Bill

The one password I don't save, and which is unique to that account, is my bank password. Most of the others are written down in a coded form which is not always decryptable even by me . But I do use Firefox to keep most of the online things (which I may not even use again), guarded with a Master Password, which again is unique.

[cloughie]

I try to remember my passwords but in the event of a senior moment I just go through the forgotten password procedure and reset password and then I’m fine util the next sm!

[Richard Tarleton]

I try to remember my passwords

I just totted up and find I have 35 different ones for different things, ranging from the obvious (bank, amazon) through to wildlife recording. I try not to have the same password for anything, and change the important ones at intervals.... Like LMcD I record them on paper as I would be dubious about storing them in one place online, and I'm not telling you where I keep the sheet of paper

[johnb]

Due to a software/system error I lost access to all my passwords, which were stored in a secure app.

I use similar software of my PC. Because of concern over what would happen if a situation like yours ever arose I exported all the passwords to an Excel file which I then secured with a password.