Accounts

Episode #806

July 13, 2024

Old clients, friends, family and acquaintances are still intimidated by using online accounts.

Everything (without exception) on a computer is an account.

A computer, tablet or phone have device user accounts.
My property sprinkler/drip controller has an account.
Door bells, A/C heating climate controllers, lighting controllers and refrigerators are accessed by accounts.

Cars like Teslas require an account to start and drive them.
Every app on a computer runs inside or under the security of an account.
Any time you want to buy something on the Internet it is done within an account.

A friend of mine revealed that she spent 4 hours balancing her checkbook the other day. I haven’t maintained or balanced a paper checkbook for decades, because it is all there in my bank account online.

Using a computer is intimidating to some because it requires you to log-in to an account for EVERYTHING you do.

So here is the SIMPLE truth:
Every account consists of just three things.

An account has a description.
An account has a user name.
An account has a password.

THREE THINGS.

My email account consists of:

1. Description: My Gmail (www.gmail.com)
2. User name: theimentor@gmail.com
3. Password: *********

(You didn’t think I would tell you my password?)

Passwords are keys. If your passwords are stolen, someone else can unlock your accounts.

If I want to access my gmail, I use an internet browser (like Safari or Chrome) to 

1. go to www.gmail.com then Click on the “Sign in” button.
2. Fill in my email address (user name) then Click the “Next” button.
3. Enter my password (*********)
   
   And there I am.

SIMPLE.

Every Internet account will have a similar login or sign in procedure.

1. Navigate to the account webpage.
2. Enter your user name (often, but not always your email address).
3. Enter your password.

DONE.

Some web pages do not require you to sign into their server. Most are public.
When you arrive at a public website your browser says to the webpage server, “Hello, I’m a browser.” The server replies,  “Come on in ANONYMOUS with this, my public password.” And so you are shown the web page. You do have to know the description of the page (The Internet address, AKA its URL, such as google.com). Once there, you find the door unlocked.

Now for the do-diligence.

Remembering 100 account descriptions, user names and passwords is not possible for most humans. Add into that memory challenge the fact that all passwords should be different and they become impossible for anyone to remember.

Some people use password management software which remembers your account credentials for you. The danger here is that you still have to remember a master password. If the master password is lost, you have now lost all your account credentials.

I use the simplest of methods to remember all my account credentials.

I WRITE THEM DOWN.

“OH MY…” say my computer consultant colleagues. “Don’t write them down or someone will steal them.”

I would ask you this: “How often have you lost your drivers license?”
If you can keep you drivers license safe, you can keep a password list safe.

My written record is three columns:

1. Account description.
2. User name.
3. Password.

I use a paper address book. That way I can look up the Account description alphabetically. BUT PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP IT IN A SAFE PLACE.

Once you understand and have mastered the three step process of unlocking an account, using a computer is as easy as 1, 2, 3. 

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