Post by Birdgirl90 on Jul 6, 2010 23:16:48 GMT -5
General Advice for Life as a Whole #6. Always Write Down Your Passwords
Because otherwise you're going to end up forgetting them.
I am not going to lie to you, readers. As I type this blog update, I am rather frustrated with myself for this very reason. Every few months, the security system that allows you to access your college account at my school makes you change your password. You know, so no one can break into your account and all that jazz.
So far, I've been pretty good at using all my standard passwords, making it so I always remember them without a problem.
Until now.
As part of the security requirements, a number has to be attached somewhere in the password. I normally don't use numbers, but when I have to, I'm pretty good at remembering them. Usually this is because the numbers I use are dates that mean something to me, like birthdays, years, zip codes, etc.
It seemed like a flawless system. After all, I remember things fairly well for the most part, and, as I told myself at one point, I was saving paper by not writing down my passwords. What could go wrong?
(Oh hindsight, how I loathe thee...)
I logged on a few days ago to check my schedule for fall semester and to see what my total bill came to, and of course it made me change my password. So I changed it to one I know, threw some numbers at the end, and moved on.
Which leads me to where I am now, and while I suspect you can guess from the lead-up what happened next, I'm going to tell you anyway.
Tonight I tried to get back into my account to change something and typed what I thought was the password into the slot....
...and promptly got told to check my password.
So I did it again. And again. And again, over and over, until I was frustrated and almost got the security system to freeze the log-in process altogether. I don't have a lot of patience when it comes to technology and/or myself making stupid errors, so I'm actually surprised that I did stop before I got completely locked out. I think a part of me knew it was fruitless after the sixth or seventh attempt.
In summary, it appears that I didn't choose the numbers that I thought I did, and now I have no freaking clue as to what I did differently to my password to make it work. The "lost password" section isn't helping either; it gives me my clue that I had to put in for my password, which I know what that is, I just don't remember what numbers are in there.
As soon as I'm done here, I'm off to call the 24-7 hotline to see if that helps me get into my account. If it doesn't work, then I guess I'll have to re-evaluate and try again in the morning.
So what's my advice after this blog of irritation? Take the extra two minutes and always write down your passwords, even if you think you can remember them. Sticky notes are especially helpful, as you can stick them to your computer. It will make things smoother down the road.
You can save paper elsewhere.
~BirdGirl90
Because otherwise you're going to end up forgetting them.
I am not going to lie to you, readers. As I type this blog update, I am rather frustrated with myself for this very reason. Every few months, the security system that allows you to access your college account at my school makes you change your password. You know, so no one can break into your account and all that jazz.
So far, I've been pretty good at using all my standard passwords, making it so I always remember them without a problem.
Until now.
As part of the security requirements, a number has to be attached somewhere in the password. I normally don't use numbers, but when I have to, I'm pretty good at remembering them. Usually this is because the numbers I use are dates that mean something to me, like birthdays, years, zip codes, etc.
It seemed like a flawless system. After all, I remember things fairly well for the most part, and, as I told myself at one point, I was saving paper by not writing down my passwords. What could go wrong?
(Oh hindsight, how I loathe thee...)
I logged on a few days ago to check my schedule for fall semester and to see what my total bill came to, and of course it made me change my password. So I changed it to one I know, threw some numbers at the end, and moved on.
Which leads me to where I am now, and while I suspect you can guess from the lead-up what happened next, I'm going to tell you anyway.
Tonight I tried to get back into my account to change something and typed what I thought was the password into the slot....
...and promptly got told to check my password.
So I did it again. And again. And again, over and over, until I was frustrated and almost got the security system to freeze the log-in process altogether. I don't have a lot of patience when it comes to technology and/or myself making stupid errors, so I'm actually surprised that I did stop before I got completely locked out. I think a part of me knew it was fruitless after the sixth or seventh attempt.
In summary, it appears that I didn't choose the numbers that I thought I did, and now I have no freaking clue as to what I did differently to my password to make it work. The "lost password" section isn't helping either; it gives me my clue that I had to put in for my password, which I know what that is, I just don't remember what numbers are in there.
As soon as I'm done here, I'm off to call the 24-7 hotline to see if that helps me get into my account. If it doesn't work, then I guess I'll have to re-evaluate and try again in the morning.
So what's my advice after this blog of irritation? Take the extra two minutes and always write down your passwords, even if you think you can remember them. Sticky notes are especially helpful, as you can stick them to your computer. It will make things smoother down the road.
You can save paper elsewhere.
~BirdGirl90