Thursday, September 03, 2020

"A computer hacker is a computer expert who uses their technical knowledge to overcome a problem"...right!

It all begins with just one creep from Russia with too much time and not enough money. Somehow Hubby's email got hacked. The first time in decades, so I guess we should count ourselves lucky. No bank accounts or other emails or friends' emails seemed to be impacted.  Then, being the good person that I am, I went in and changed my two email passwords as a precaution.  (I did not change the password for the email I use for this blog...but I must admit I rarely check it!)  The result of all this careful tying up of loose ends was that I got logged out of everything each day.  Blogger, Facebook, three emails...etc.  I worked my way back by re-entering or in some cases changing those email passwords again, but I am too stupid to make sure the interface I am using keeps me logged in because I check the "keep me logged in" box and I still have to re-enter the next day.  At least a drop-down box asks me to save the passwords...each and every time....drop, drop, drop.


I actually have two personas on my PC.  My hidden one for Blogger privacy and my other one for the real world.  Yes, it is all way too complicated for an elder world.  Thus, it has taken me some days to be brave enough to log in here.

I did not get logged out of bank accounts or doctors' portals which is good!

Because I am a slow elder and cannot really understand the difference between Google and Microsoft and why I need passwords for those, it has taken me days working to try to get this all straightened out once again on my computer and I was not the one hacked!   I am not sure that I have completed my work, but I am here at Blogger once again!  (I have lots of blog reading to do.)

There is a bright side to every storm front and that was we got phone calls from friends we hadn't heard from in decades!!  (How can they be friends if we do not keep in touch you may ask?  Well, when you have lived a long life you leave friends like breadcrumbs as you move around)  Hubby actually had a week full of long phone calls with old pals as we caught up on their lives.  I think his (fake email) call for help had many worried due to the real issues with Corvid19.  It was almost like being able to travel about once again.

I was involved in some of the calls as both of our cell phones and landline could be busy at the same time.  Two of the callers asked if we were Republicans?  I am not sure why they thought this had to do with anything, but I explained that I was not and would not talk politics with them if they felt that was not a good thing.  They dropped the subject and we went on to other issues!

I know so many nice people and some of my FB friends have said the same for them knowing nice people who support Drump.  I am not saying I am dismayed by conservatives...as I am liberal on some issues and conservative on others.  I am dismayed by friends who are The Donald supporters because our current leader is a disease...not an ideology.

I do sometimes wonder if challenges such as computer problems become more important because we are so isolated these days and feel even more so when cannot connect electronically.  

Well, now I need to go write about our long canoe trip the other day on my other blog.




13 comments:

  1. Sorry to read y'all had a bad experience online
    I'm too paranoid to put my eggs in one basket with passwords and such. I see it as making things easy on hackers by having things in one place. It amazes me to see websites advertising you can have one click into your accounts, one password for everything. I don't save passwords and rarely use remember me. I try to make all passwords over or near 15 characters, and try to remember to change them a few to more a year.

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  2. Welcome back. Glad things are getting sorted out for you. You were missed.

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  3. Passwords are such a headache. It never seems to go smoothly when they have to be changed, as witnessed by all of the strikeouts and erasures in my password record book.

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  4. If you are online long enough, it happens. If you are blessed, it happens once and is a minor thing with no money lost and just some inconvenience.

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  5. I'm almost too scared to say it out loud, but I've never been hacked. Shhh. Don't let them find out. Just the everyday complications with the computer are enough to confuse me. My daughter was horrified when I confessed that I have a little notebook in which I have written my passwords. Then she thought about it and realized I'd be totally lost if it were left to my memory. I'm glad you are all sorted again now.

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  6. I don't like to even think about passwords. Scary topic for me as I am not good at them and try to use them as seldom as possible.

    On the politics, I am discussing cultural issues on my blog but totally avoid politics. It's a lose/lose for me to get into it. What is going on with the country though that impacts lives, that is something I am delving into even though it's also something I'd rather not. Much nicer to talk about the desert.

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  7. I am not sure why you had login difficulties, but my email was hacked once. I had people using my address from all over the world. I am not sure what they think they accomplished by this. My techie SIL got me out of the jam rather easily.

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  8. I hate passwords but I suppose they offer some protection. It seems that every time there is an update on my computer I have to go through a login and check that yes, you can recognize this computer from now on because it is the exact some one I have been using for several years now. I find that such sarcasm is generally lost in translation though.

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  9. ah, one of those 'I'm stranded overseas so please send money' emails? I received a couple of those but I knew the friend was home safe and sound.

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  10. You pretty much just described my past hour. I have started commenting on blogs that I am reading and some ask that I verify my e-mail. My fake e-mail that I use for blogging? Ugh. I was lucky. I got in first try. I then went through and cleaned up the inbox. Sigh. What hoops we jump through to secure our identity. Sorry about your Husband's email getting hacked. That would be unnerving.

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  11. I thought that you were off traveling. So sorry about the hack. We too had to reinvent ourselves recently. They say, don't put your password lists on your computer, but if I don''t, how will I ever remember them. So very good to see you again. You can email me you new addresses. :)

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  12. I have a 'green book' of passwords, recording every last one that I have renewed and then forgotten to strike through. It is a joy? What I do rely on though is clearing past history every time I visit banks, etc. Problem with being aware of fraud is that you become frightened of the world of the internet outside, especially when there is a sudden upsurge in blog numbers from Russia or one of the allied countries.

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  13. I have passwords coming out my ears there are so many it seems. I hope your problem is resolved.

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