The way we manage everyday transactions has changed radically over the last 10-20 years. Bank accounts have gone online, we buy our groceries on websites, we can get instant delivery of almost any consumer product using Amazon (amongst others), we can bid for second hand items on eBay and we can follow up specialised interests and needs on a host of other sites.
Even our day to day communications have shifted from letters, through telephone conversations to text messages, email and now dedicated messaging apps. In fact email itself is seen as very old-fashioned by those younger than, say the ‘middle-aged’.
Where once it was rare for an individual to own a personal computer: laptops, tablets and smartphones have become ubiquitous and all but essential for daily living. Tickets, railcards and the NHS app are more conveniently used on your phone.
All of these changes have resulted in a proliferation of accounts with associated passwords and other security mechanisms which are necessary to access all sorts of goods and services. We all have a ‘digital life’ which needs managing. Losing passwords can be a major inconvenience.
Most people have a little notebook where they write passwords, or store them in Google Chrome or via other computer solutions. Usually online services have a ‘forgot password’ link through which you can retrieve or change your password by email. Be careful not to lose the notebook or the master password to access your password vault! If you have to change password or set up a new account (perhaps as a result of getting a new device), remember to update your records. Sometimes passwords are kept in the background so you ‘never’ have to enter them again – until you do – and then have lost track because it was such a rare requirement.
Because your email address is so central to many accounts, and the route for recovery of other passwords, it is very important to keep it safe. It should be the most secure and different to your other passwords as it can be a way in to your whole digital world for a would-be hacker. Conversely if lost, you can be locked out of your digital life, and there is not always a recourse.