Overloaded By The Wonders Of Tech

My lounge chair cradled me comfortably as I began logging into an app on my iPad. My account name and password were accepted when a message popped up notifying me that a text message with a unique numeric code had been sent to my cell phone. I would need to enter that number to continue.

Now, where did I put my phone? I knew it was in the house but I didn’t want to have to get up. Well, if I intended to continue with the login process I had to retrieve it or that code number would expire and I would need to start over.

This extra step is called two-factor authentication. In order to log in, you need to enter something you know (account name and password) and something specific that you have (a one-time code, a fingerprint, facial recognition or something else unique to you). This is becoming more common because the something you know can be copied but the something you have is more difficult to get, making your account a lot more secure than just a name and password.

I shouldn’t blame the app. No amount of security seems to be enough anymore. I fetched my phone, found the number, and entered it. I was in.

Remember when computers were going to make life simple by allowing us to do our shopping, banking, and many other things from the comfort of our homes? I have sometimes gotten more exercise running around looking for my “devices” than it would take to drive to the bank. You need to be prepared for this by gathering up any of them that might be involved in the login process and have them at your fingertips.

Another security step that is universally hated forces you to select from a group of images any that include a specific object, such as a street sign. The images are small and fuzzy, and they might include just part of a sign, such as the post. Does that count? You might also be asked to enter the string of characters you are presented, which are skewed into strange shapes, some uppercase and some lowercase. Case matters. You can have the computer read them to you. More recently, much of this nonsense has been reduced to simply clicking a button next to the phrase “I am not a robot.” Splendid.

There was a time that you could just use the same password for every account. Now you might need to keep track of hundreds of passwords so, in lieu of carrying around a list of them, you need to buy a program that keeps track of all of them. That program itself has a master password which you better store in a locked fireproof safe. You lose that one and you will deeply regret it. Oh, and don’t forget the safe’s combination.

But even following the recommended security rules may not save you. You are also at the mercy of the services you log into, such as banks, online stores, insurance and medical services. They have a lot of your personal information, often including your Social Security number. And they get hacked. Often. “Data breach” is the term used. Remember the breaches at Target, Marriott, Yahoo, Home Depot?

Even your credit rating is information you have to protect. Remember the Equifax data breach? You can lock your information down but then if you finance something like a car, you need to unlock it, which might involve a delay. Car dealers know this but you may not. So when you want to drive that new car off the lot, you might not be able to right away. There are three main credit rating services and you are expected to follow their procedures to lock and unlock them. Good luck.

When you download something from the internet these days and try to open it you might be warned that the item you are trying to open came from the internet and it might not be safe. Really? Thanks for the reminder. So what am I supposed to do? Not trust it? And what about those ubiquitous user agreements that you accept without even reading them? Many of them now at least display an acceptance button right away rather than requiring you to scroll to the bottom and search for it.

Have you noticed how many services you use are begging you to pay online now so they don’t need to use the postal service? That can be a good thing – less physical mail and no missed payments. However, the onus is on you to make sure your credit card is current and you pay attention to any email from them. You will not receive the usual paper bill in the mail that details your credit card purchases. You have to remember to go online to see it.

I feel sorry for those who do not use technology because it has become the norm. But even if you understand all of this, it changes so often you can’t avoid frustration. Just when you have things set up with a service, that company might get purchased by another one which can change everything. New accounts, reset autopay, etc. That happens more than you might think and the instructions might be in an email you missed.

There is one humorous irony in all this – the postal service now offers a free feature called Informed Delivery that sends you an email message each day with an image of each mail item you will be receiving as well as a note about any packages being delivered by them. Sign up at usps.com.

When I move on to that great network in the sky, I hope I don’t need to start over with new accounts and passwords. I’m just sayin’.