Organize your usernames and passwords

Tech-Tip-o-the-Day!  How to  organize your usernames and passwords!  Save yourself a lot of headaches later!

I visit with clients and am always fascinated at the methods that people have for saving their important usernames and passwords.  Some people have sticky notes under their keyboard, or a book next to their computer with all their important login information.  One friend, has a little notebook that he keeps in his shirt pocket.  He doesn’t go anywhere without it!  One method that I see all too often is that people use the same username and password for all their logins which is not secure.

This week I want you to start a spreadsheet to keep track of all of your website and other userid/logins and passwords. As you probably know with all the online resources and programs that you use on your computer, there are more and more logins and passwords to keep track of.  These can add up FAST and keeping track of where you have accounts can get cumbersome quickly.

First, create a spreadsheet with the software of your choice that contains columns for site name, URL, username, password, and any notes you want to add. Here is a short video on how I created a spreadsheet in Google Docs to store this information.

Now start going through your existing password-keeping system and entering your info for sites onto your spreadsheet.  Remember sites such as Facebook and Twitter, any forums or private groups that you're a member of, any online class logins, any websites you do business on, and any other sites that you may use.   If you've lost your username or password on any of these sites, take a moment to use the "lost password" feature and grab it. Better to take the time now than be frustrated when you need it!

Whenever you sign up for a new site, make sure to add it to your spreadsheet. When you want to update your profiles you now have one central document to go to - no more outdated info living all over the web. 

Drinking the Google Juice!

I am off next week to sunny California to Google Apps for Education Summit California!  This event is sold out so I am sure there will be lots of fantastic new information that I will be acquiring there.  If you have any questions you would like me to find out about, please leave me a comment or send me a message and I will do my best to help.  

Talk with you when I get back!

Peace, Jean


If you need some techie help online or in person, please get in touch!