# I need help with passwords



## moore2me (Aug 1, 2013)

It sounds strange to put this under the Health Forum, but I am having a lot of problems with computer passwords. Most of the problems can be attributed to vision, coordination, and font size. Let me explain. . . . 

Most weeks, I usually get locked out of at least one of my accounts. I try very hard to keep up with my passwords, but it usually doesn't help much. The main problem is what I type becomes those little dots and I cannot see what I am typing. I try to correct it, and by the third time I am so nervous - BINGO, I am locked out. I have asked offending websites if they can make the dots stop and they say NO. I explain I live at home and my computer never leaves the house (no use in public) and they say it makes no difference. This makes me frequently have to change my passwords for establishments several times a month. I religiously write down my passwords in a little book I keep. I am on my second book now, and some establishments have more than one page filled up.

The second problem I have is with the password fonts. I can change the fonts of my computer and I do. I adjust size and color to maximize my seeing the little beasties. Unfortunately, some of the places where I have to enter passwords have a pre-selected tiny font (8 pt or less) and a very light color to the letter (sort of light shade of gray). So, any letters they show me I can barely read without a magnifying glass - which I am always dropping on the floor. Trifocal glasses aren't much help - they may me dizzy and are hard to read this screen thru eyeglasses too.

I have had some operators get downright ugly when I ask them to unlock my computer again. They either think I'm an idiot (maybe), or drunk (not too much), or have stolen someone's data (I steal cookies, not data). If they are too mean to me I start get weepy and hang up. This give me a black mark in their master file and when I call back I am transferred to their office gestapo - I get grilled. One lady really put the screws on me and asked about my tax codes and all kinds of weird stuff. This made me even more weepy and I hung up again.

And one more thing about the little dots. Very often I try to hit one key and end up hitting another. I took typing in high school (in the dark ages) and at the time could type pretty good. I am typing this doc without looking at the keyboard and don't make too many mistakes. But those little passwords are really out to get me. They are becoming my Armageddon. Suggestions would be appreciated. One more thing, most of the offenders are banks, credit card companies, and financial institutions.


----------



## Jah (Aug 2, 2013)

When dealing with banks etc it's better to go to the place and talk to the people in person rather than dealing with them on the phone because the people on the phone are usually rude to people with disabilities. 
If you have difficulty typing in passwords an easy way to deal with that would be to have someone you live with type them in for you such as a carer.
Other than that a doctor or a social worker could probably tell you where to get advice about dealing with disabilities such as vision impairment.


----------



## CleverBomb (Aug 2, 2013)

First type the password in a text editor (TextEdit on a Mac, Notepad or Wordpad on a Windows machine) with the font set to be readably large. 

Then copy and paste, making sure you don't select any extra spaces.

Close the text file without saving it (or saving changes), of course!


----------



## moore2me (Aug 2, 2013)

Jah said:


> When dealing with banks etc it's better to go to the place and talk to the people in person rather than dealing with them on the phone because the people on the phone are usually rude to people with disabilities.
> If you have difficulty typing in passwords an easy way to deal with that would be to have someone you live with type them in for you such as a carer.
> Other than that a doctor or a social worker could probably tell you where to get advice about dealing with disabilities such as vision impairment.




Jah, thanks for the ideas. Two of my banks are local and I will go and talk to them. The rest of the financial centers (like credit cards are far,far away.)

I will check on consultants that work for our blind school. I am not blind but I have difficulty seeing small words with poor contrast. One of the hardest things to read are from Chinese made products - black serial numbers on a black background with a font like 5pt.




CleverBomb said:


> First type the password in a text editor (TextEdit on a Mac, Notepad or Wordpad on a Windows machine) with the font set to be readably large.
> 
> Then copy and paste, making sure you don't select any extra spaces.
> 
> Close the text file without saving it (or saving changes), of course!



I like this approach and I will try it. I will have to do it before I need the password because I don't know if I can slip back and forth between applications without getting lost of getting bucked off. Thank you. You're the bomb.


----------



## Tad (Aug 6, 2013)

Seconding CleverBomb's suggestion. 

I've even seen this approach recommended by some IT security people, for cases like yours where nobody is ever apt to be _physically _snooping on your computer--the reason being that one of the various types of nasty a computer can get infected with is a 'key logger' which does what you'd expect from the name: logs your key strokes (and then of course sends off the data). 

So when that data gets parsed, they see the URL for your bank, then your username, then your password....unless all you did was click on a file, copy something out of it, then paste it into the password field. In that case, the key logger doesn't get enough good information to penetrate your account.


----------



## ConnieLynn (Aug 6, 2013)

I manage customer support for a software company. I deal daily with folks that need their complex passwords reset. Heck, I have to enter 3 different passwords before I can even start work in the morning, and I have one password that changes daily. Keeping up with passwords is a big pain in the ass these days, especially since you should not use the exact same password for everything and different sites have different rules on how complex your password should be. Here is my tip on creating passwords (and getting rid of the password book).

1) You need an eight character base that you use for every single password. Pick a simple letter and number combo that you can remember no matter what. Some examples:

- high school and graduation year (pchs1982)
- kid's name and birth year (connie64)

Use this combo always.

2) Once you have your base, for each site, add the first three letters of the site name in Caps.

So, for Dimensions, connie64 becomes DIMconnie64 for your password.

3) If you deal with a really hard ass site, they may also require a symbol in the password, so just add a ! to the end to indicate your frustration with passwords!

As for being locked out of sites for entering the wrong password, many sites really only lock you out temporarily (they don't advertise this), and you can get back in later after the time out window has passed, as long as you enter the correct password. So if you get frustrated, try again the next day.

Also, you know all those various 'hint' questions they ask you to answer so you can get your password sent later? During setup, regardless of the questions, simplify your life by always giving the same answer.

Grandmother's name? Wilma
Father's middle name? Wilma
Favorite pet? Wilma
First car? Wilma
Mother's maiden name? Wilma
High school? Wilma
Where were you born? Wilma


----------



## EMH1701 (Aug 8, 2013)

The only problem with doing that is when you work at a place where you have to change your password every 3 months, and the security won't let you just change the number on the end. For that reason, I started using password themes.


----------



## ConnieLynn (Aug 8, 2013)

EMH1701 said:


> The only problem with doing that is when you work at a place where you have to change your password every 3 months, and the security won't let you just change the number on the end. For that reason, I started using password themes.



Work passwords are a different creature if you work in a super secure industry or deal with credit card processing. The average at home computer user never has a requirement to change any of their passwords once created, unless they forget them 

Also, the biggest issue is that folks see the complex password rule (8-12 characters, including one cap letter, one small letter, one number or symbol, no recognizable words) and they freak out and make some complicated password that they don't have a chance on hell of remembering. I see passwords like [email protected]!2 all the time, which leads to the "I can't remember it" lock out.


----------



## moore2me (Aug 10, 2013)

Tad said:


> Seconding CleverBomb's suggestion.
> 
> I've even seen this approach recommended by some IT security people, for cases like yours where nobody is ever apt to be _physically _snooping on your computer--the reason being that one of the various types of nasty a computer can get infected with is a 'key logger' which does what you'd expect from the name: logs your key strokes (and then of course sends off the data).
> 
> So when that data gets parsed, they see the URL for your bank, then your username, then your password....unless all you did was click on a file, copy something out of it, then paste it into the password field. In that case, the key logger doesn't get enough good information to penetrate your account.



*This sounds like a good idea. Have ready made passwords and at the same time improve my computer's security. I'll try it. Thank you Tad!
*


ConnieLynn said:


> I manage customer support for a software company. I deal daily with folks that need their complex passwords reset. Heck, I have to enter 3 different passwords before I can even start work in the morning, and I have one password that changes daily. Keeping up with passwords is a big pain in the ass these days, especially since you should not use the exact same password for everything and different sites have different rules on how complex your password should be. Here is my tip on creating passwords (and getting rid of the password book).
> 
> 1) You need an eight character base that you use for every single password. Pick a simple letter and number combo that you can remember no matter what. Some examples:
> 
> ...



*ConnieLynn - . I love this last suggestion - the Wilma answer. I will try to change my old answers to something like "Wilma". Wish me luck. I will also try the password memory trick you mentioned. (Altho, I better write them down for a backup in case I wake up with a baby duck memory again.)
*


EMH1701 said:


> The only problem with doing that is when you work at a place where you have to change your password every 3 months, and the security won't let you just change the number on the end. For that reason, I started using password themes.





ConnieLynn said:


> Work passwords are a different creature if you work in a super secure industry or deal with credit card processing. The average at home computer user never has a requirement to change any of their passwords once created, unless they forget them
> 
> Also, the biggest issue is that folks see the complex password rule (8-12 characters, including one cap letter, one small letter, one number or symbol, no recognizable words) and they freak out and make some complicated password that they don't have a chance on hell of remembering. I see passwords like [email protected]!2 all the time, which leads to the "I can't remember it" lock out.



*Connie. Yes I am the poster child for the "I can't remember my password syndrome."*


----------



## moore2me (Aug 10, 2013)

EMH1701 said:


> The only problem with doing that is when you work at a place where you have to change your password every 3 months, and the security won't let you just change the number on the end. For that reason, I started using password themes.



EMH1701, I too have run into these restrictions on a couple of sites. What's up with that? - I definitely do not need to be confused any more than I am already when keeping up with passwords!


----------

