{"id":3238,"date":"2013-04-10T07:39:09","date_gmt":"2013-04-10T14:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=3238"},"modified":"2013-04-09T21:45:56","modified_gmt":"2013-04-10T04:45:56","slug":"techmom-tuesday-what-the-heck-is-my-password","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/techmom-tuesday-what-the-heck-is-my-password\/","title":{"rendered":"TechMom Tuesday \u2013 What the heck is my password?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TechMom\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I write a monthly column over at\u00a0AlliOSNews<\/a>. It\u2019s a techie site \u2013 extolling all the goodies and gunpowder on the Apple OS. (SHINY TOY!) I\u2019m TechMom. And these are my stories on how technology is really used.<\/em><\/p>\n

(I\u2019m well aware it\u2019s Wednesday. If you want TechMom Tuesday on Tuesdays, head on over to\u00a0AlliOSNews<\/a>\u00a0for all things Apple. TechMom Tuesday is typically published the first Tuesday of every month; this month is not typical. I reserve the right to rant more or less as the technical goings-on, well\u2026go on.)<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019re lucky this post exists. Because of what I\u2019m reviewing, I was able to actually log into WordPress to post.<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

It was d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu all over again when the blinky red indicator lit up my email inbox declaring that my password was about to expire.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour Network Password will expire in 8 days. In order to avoid disruption with your account please take a moment and reset your password.\u201d<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

(They leave out the part about how no matter what you do, you\u2019re going to manage to lock yourself out of the system anyway. Also, you can\u2019t repeat passwords. And the system knows!)<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all heard the stories. A giant database gets hacked so your account (and thereby your identity) is at risk.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all heard the warnings. Don\u2019t use 12345 or Password. And even if you have a super stealth security code comprising letters, numbers, symbols, wizarding runes and a strand of your DNA, for all that is holy don\u2019t use it for multiple sites.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest with you. My brain is now full. I no longer remember my own phone number, much less continuous strings of essentially random typos. What\u2019s that? You also want me to remember what account all those nonsensical numeric are associated with?<\/p>\n

Not happening. Alas, there\u2019s only so many times you can click the \u201cForgot my password\u201d link on a site before it completely shuts down on you.<\/p>\n

\"And<\/a>

And then I was introduced to mSecure Password Manager.<\/p><\/div>\n

I was initially skeptical. Write down all my passwords in one place? DANGER WILL ROBINSON!<\/p>\n

But then I realized that I have over 101 accounts and web logins that I use regularly enough to need to actually know how to decode the html cipher and retrieve my info. Let\u2019s face it \u2013 it\u2019s far easier for a hacker to access thousands of accounts than for me to remember if I\u2019m TechMom, Tech Mom or techmummy with a password of 1f-U#ack_M3,Ple@$e.S#are!nfo<\/p>\n

mSecure is available across all my Apple devices. But to calm the paranoid conspiracy theorist within, your account can only be synched across devices when you are simultaneously logged in on a single Wi-Fi network and , more importantly, only when you explicitly tell it to do so.<\/p>\n

\"msecure-types\"<\/a>\"msecure-new<\/a>With a single master password, you can store a plethora of tricky data \u2013 I use it mostly to record Web login information. It is also a great digital wallet that allows categorization for grouping personal, work and family account information. For example when one of our four medical record login credentials is inevitably forgotten by a family member (namely, me).<\/p>\n

The layout is simple and easy to read. It\u2019s not meant to be fancy, it\u2019s meant to restore sanity when you really need to reschedule a doctor follow up visit but cannot for the life of you remember what your toddler\u2019s login information is for Kaiser.<\/p>\n

For each entry, input a description, username, password, URL and applicable notes. You are in complete control of the data though, so if you\u2019re uncomfortable having the actual password stored, simply enter a reminder in the Password field \u2013 it\u2019s a lot easier than trusting a site\u2019s ability to remember you\u2019re the school your mother\u2019s maiden name went to with their favorite pet in the first car owned.<\/p>\n

However if you\u2019re fresh out of ideas, mSecure also enables you to auto-generate a secure password.<\/p>\n

\"msecure-create<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not free. You can download it for your iPhone, iPad in the App Store for $9.99. \u00a0 It is $19.99 for the Mac version, also in the Mac App store. \u00a0But it\u2019s totally paid for itself in time saved and meltdowns avoided.<\/p>\n

mSecure (Universal App) \u2013 $9.99 \u2013 Download Now<\/a><\/p>\n

mSecure for Mac \u2013 $19.99 \u2013 Download Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I write a monthly column over at\u00a0AlliOSNews. It\u2019s a techie site \u2013 extolling all the goodies and gunpowder on the Apple OS. (SHINY TOY!) I\u2019m TechMom. And these are my stories on how technology is really used. (I\u2019m well aware … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[943],"tags":[903,1228,1229,509,1230,1098],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-Qe","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3154,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/techmom-tuesday-remind-me-to-review-something\/","url_meta":{"origin":3238,"position":0},"title":"TechMom Tuesday \u2013 Remind Me to Review Something\u2026","date":"March 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I write a monthly column over at\u00a0AlliOSNews. It\u2019s a techie site \u2013 extolling all the goodies and gunpowder on the Apple OS. (SHINY TOY!) I\u2019m TechMom. And these are my stories on how technology is really used. When I remember... (I\u2019m well aware it\u2019s Wednesday. If you want TechMom Tuesday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "TechMomTuesday"","img":{"alt_text":"Reminders - Desktop","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Reminders-Desktop.tiff?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2930,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/techmom-tuesday-the-lifesaving-impact-of-technology\/","url_meta":{"origin":3238,"position":1},"title":"TechMom Tuesday: The Lifesaving Impact of Technology","date":"November 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I write a monthly column over at AlliOSNews. It's a techie site - extolling all the goodies and gunpowder on the Apple OS. (SHINY TOY!) I'm TechMom. And these are my stories on how technology is really used. 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