Dear LPG,

I really enjoy learning the computer orientated tips that your readers offer and I would like to add one of my own.  I can think of something that I would like to pass on to LPG readers and which I found out could become a problem the hard way.

It is universally accepted that ‘Practice makes perfect’ and I have even more of a reason for knowing that is true now.

I have been using my computer for about five years and, it took time, but after a few months I became really good at doing a few things alone.  I found logging into my emails quite hard at first but as more people connected with me in that way I logged in more regularly and adding my password became second nature.   Then my grandson came to stay and taught me a few things including how to get my computer to automatically remember my password.  It was so much easier; I just got to the web browser (I tend to use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge these days), and my email address and the dots that represent the password would just be there, which was really convenient, and so much quicker than having to key all that information in every time. 

They do say that you should not write passwords down, and even if you do, they have a habit of getting lost after a while and, if you have a grandson as computer-smart as mine, you have no need to key in that password with the result that you tend to forget it.  So when my beloved laptop started to fail I got myself a new one. I decided on another laptop and not a tablet because I was used to the way that they work.  As you would expect my dependable Grandson took charge of setting it up and teaching me the little differences, but when we got to my emails, we could not remember that password or all the other bits of information that you give when you first register.  

This meant that I had to give up on my old email address and start another.  I cannot explain how long it took to get all my contacts added to the new one, and it was annoying to have to tell all my friends that I had a new email address as well.  Even now, six months later there are addresses that I have not recovered yet. 

So can I urge all old fashioned people with their laptops to write down that registration information even if your computer is remembering it for you… just in case?

KT, Beckenham

LPG can attest to KT’s observation and even if you do key in your email password regularly there are a few other accounts that are likely to be affected.

If you have a Skype account on a desktop or lap top computer you will most probably have it set up so that it comes on when you start it up which means you will only ever have to put a password in if you get a new computer device, if you want to log in on another machine or if the system logs you out for some reason.  Tablets and mobile phones expect their users to be logged in to email and all manner of other accounts (which are usually disguised as apps) all the time. 

We tend to have more passwords than we will ever remember these days because only using one for all is as silly as having one key for all the rooms in a house.  This would mean that if an intruder had the key to get into the front door they will be able to use the same key to get into all the rooms of your home and you would know better than to make it that easy for them.

So, to avoid, having to reset your pas
sword (which can be along-winded procedure), LPG suggests that when registering any new account you keep a subtle record of all the answers to the questions you are asked, as KT advises… Just in case.

We have found some information about finding solutions for this problem.  Some of the information here is a little complicated but we hope that you may be able to find someone who can explain the concepts to you if you need to..

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