Please do not change your password [telecom]

Monty Solomon · 2010-04-12T02:48:15+00:00

Please do not change your passwordYou were right: It's a waste of your time. A study says much computer security advice is not worth following.By Mark Pothier | April 11, 2010To continue reading this story, enter your password now. If you do not have a password, please create one. It must contain a minimum of eight characters, including upper- and lower-case letters and one number. This is for your own good.Nonsense, of course, but it helps illustrate a point: You will need a computer password today, maybe a half dozen or more - those secret sign-ins that serve as sentries for everything from Amazon shopping carts to work files to online bank accounts. Just when you have them all sorted out, along comes another "urgent" directive from the bank or IT department - time to reset those codes, for safety's sake. And the latest lineup of log-ins you've concocted won't last for long, either. Some might temporarily stay in your head, others are jotted on scraps of paper and stuffed in a wallet. A few might be taped to your computer monitor in plain view (or are those are from last year's batch? Who can remember?).Now, a study has concluded what lots of us have long suspected: Many of these irritating security measures are a waste of time. The study, by a top researcher at Microsoft, found that instructions intended to spare us from costly computer attacks often exact a much steeper price in the form of user effort and time expended....

Apr 12, 2010 23 Replies

Rate this thread:

Steven 16 years ago

Another problem with the Social Security system is your user name is your SS#. I was told that there are changes the works to change both, but they are months or even years away. The Medicare system is a little better as it lets you make real passwords.

My credit union required you to log in using your account number, they have since changed that, but for now if you forget your user name you can still use the account number

Vote

Thad Floryan 16 years ago

For the curious, it's 24 PDFs. Way too many web pages -- probably could have been on 3 or 4 pages max (but that might have been very intimidating for non-computer-literates).

What impressed me was how fast it was (2 weeks) to receive my first benefit auto-deposited into my checking account. Too much of their online info reflects the old paper-only operation and I was led to believe it'd take 90+ days.

Here's a tip for anyone else soon applying for benefits: though I did enter my (cell) phone number on page 3 and specified "Mobile", the "Remarks" page (19) provides the opportunity to ask for email-only support so one has a copy(ies) of all communication. What I wrote was:

I'm heard-of-hearing and though I can use a phone, email, if at all possible, is the best way to contact me.

The hard-of-hearing (in my case) is not a fiction, it's 20dB "flat" loss in both ears. Email worked fantastically well between me and the local (not Baltimore MD) SSA office and I think contributed to the amazingly quick receipt of the first benefit payment.

Vote

Steven 16 years ago

I was really surprised how fast it worked, it was a little less then 2 weeks. Mine was for SSDI because of an accident. It is very hard to get approved for that. Right after I did the online application I got a call from the program manager advising me that I had been approved.

I have since gone back to work on a SSDI to work program, which allows me 9 to 18 months to see if I can continue working or stay on SSDI without losing the benefits. I'm 4 months into it now and so far I have been able to work doing my telecom work with a few restrictions and the company is working with it since they get tax breaks.

Vote