Krishbombay@1

The first thing I do after getting up is punch my 4 digit password number on my mobile screen

This is different from the 4 digit pin that I need to unlock my sim card

After this, when I try to access my office emails, I need another 4 digit pin to unlock

Failing eyesight, poor light as you get up (usually dark) fingers too big for the onscreen keyboard combine to make at least three wrong entries.

Open your laptop, you have the first of the passwords to kickstart the day.

As it is likely to be the office laptop in most instances, you have to not only remember the current password, you have to change it every three months, and then remember the new password. The first two months usually involve typing the wrong password and then remembering the correct one. By the time you start entering the right password the first time around, it is time to change the password.

And the rules for the new password are straight from a Ripley’s

Your new password should fulfill the following requirements.

•        Should be different from the last 10
•        Use combinations of Upper case and Lower case letters
•        Do not use numerals at a stretch
•        Avoid personal information
•        Avoid predictable passwords

Initially I had a foolproof method of one password to all. Then the wise of the world conspired to scare the daylights out of me with “If they hack and find one password, then you are dead meat…”

The unknown “they” was enough for me to drop this habit.

Opening your laptop is not the end. It is just the beginning. Now you enter the world wide web and all its applications.

Each of them ask you for an user name and a password.

I have three bank accounts.

That is three user names and three passwords.

Then I have my private email.

Another password.

I need to travel.

So, I enter airline sites, train reservations, bus reservations, car hire.

Here, there are about five airline pages, three train services, one or two bus services and usually one car hire.

That is a healthy eleven user names and passwords.

When you travel, you need to have accommodation. (carrying your tent would be simpler, where possible)

Makemytrip, Airbnb, tripadvisor and booking.com.

Four more. (at the minimum)

You have a pet. So, one more site to order the food.

You buy books, of course you do.

At least three sites that you frequent.

There is of course AMAZON.

You need entertainment. You must be on the lookout for music concerts and shows.

Few ticketportals.

Consider at least two more sites.

Then there are work related sites – Linkedin, PWC, Secure logins

Consider three more.

Plus you have to remember the pin of the credit card.

At least two!

Their CVV

Two more!

Adding insult to the injury is certain sites loading questions (during the first sign in) as an additional verification.

Who was your first girl friend?

Mother’s maiden name.

What was your first car?

Where was your marriage reception.

Adding a twist here is the reminder that the answers are case sensitive.

You are not a hermit. Yuval Noah Harari can live without a smartphone, we are lesser mortals.

Facebook, Twitter, Tinder, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr, Reddit, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Viber, Skype……

Twelve!

You have children living away from you, college/school

Of course you are clever. You will never use bank transfer.

They fleece you. (The banks, not the children)

Enter two more money transfer sites – Transferwise Flywire…

Two more.

That makes a grand total of 73!

I have assumed that in quite a few cases the user name will be your email id. 

Else, this number can go even higher.

How am I supposed to remember all these details when I regularly forget my wife’s birthday or our marriage anniversary.

Every time you log in to one of these, the Google Chrome asks you with excellent consideration “Do you want Google to remember the site and password?”

We, of course, always say NEVER.

And then write down all details on a word document and store it on my desktop.

Without password protection.

😊