Being a relative newbie I was posting under Son_of_Perdition. I had just changed all my passwords (using 13 chars, upper/lower case, numbers and special chars). It was after one of the latest hacking incidents in August (not HomeDepot). I had also changed my email passwords and 'Lo and Behold' my laptop crashed! I hadn't made an offline backup (a no-no in computer secutiy) or a list (also a no-no). But with something like 35,000 passwords to remember my mind is not what it used to be.
My laptop was an 8 YO and should have died. But it choose the most in-opertune time to make that decision. I needed my email accounts to retrieve my passwords and that being an impossibility I have spent the last two weeks getting either new passwords, or in some extreme cases they had to cancel my access and then I had to setup new online access accounts. A real headache.
Banks and other financial accounts - cancel my online access, then setup a new access. Easy
Retirement accounts - several challenge questions then enter a new password. Easiest
Utility accounts - most straight forward but one had to cancel/setup new. Easy
Social sites/email accounts - almost impossible without an email address or a backup email. Dead in the water. Horrible customer service or non-existant.
Netflix seems to be the only hitch. I'm probably going to have to cancel my credit card and stop paying them. They can't email and threaten me. Then open one in my wife's name.
It has helped get me off the grit so to speak.
My hard drive was removed and the laptop donated, I looked into having the infomation retrieved from my hard drive but the cost was prohibitive and I saved money by a work around.
Anyway I'm still here.
My laptop was an 8 YO and should have died. But it choose the most in-opertune time to make that decision. I needed my email accounts to retrieve my passwords and that being an impossibility I have spent the last two weeks getting either new passwords, or in some extreme cases they had to cancel my access and then I had to setup new online access accounts. A real headache.
Banks and other financial accounts - cancel my online access, then setup a new access. Easy
Retirement accounts - several challenge questions then enter a new password. Easiest
Utility accounts - most straight forward but one had to cancel/setup new. Easy
Social sites/email accounts - almost impossible without an email address or a backup email. Dead in the water. Horrible customer service or non-existant.
Netflix seems to be the only hitch. I'm probably going to have to cancel my credit card and stop paying them. They can't email and threaten me. Then open one in my wife's name.
It has helped get me off the grit so to speak.
My hard drive was removed and the laptop donated, I looked into having the infomation retrieved from my hard drive but the cost was prohibitive and I saved money by a work around.
Anyway I'm still here.
