By Dan Barber
One risk of growing old is losing one’s mind…not going
crazy, but losing memory. This process can lead to crazy though.
My morning routine is to rise, go to the coffee maker and
pour myself a cup of coffee…if I remembered to set it up the night before. I Then
log on to my computer, after watching my coffee maker brew my first cup of coffee, to read the news, check email then look in on my social
media accounts…in that order.
For years I used a computer that my son handed down to me
when he updated his computer. It had the
Windows XP operating system, which worked just fine for me. On that computer I
could access everything I needed…news and email then later on social
media. Since I retired a couple of years
ago I relied on that computer to backup my own brain. Since then the aged brain
of the computer starting slowing down because of a lack of support from its
creator (Microsoft) just like my own old brain was slowing down. This caused me to make a crazy
decision… I bought a “refurbished-gently used or second-hand computer” with an
unfamiliar operating system of Windows 7.
For a couple of days I muddled through my new computer options and
found the “homepage” that looked familiar to me
including the all important links to my email and social media sites. I
understood that I would have to make up my own password just to turn on my
computer because my son’s old password no longer worked. Not a problem, I
entered a password that I would never forget.
The next day a window popped up saying that for a limited
time I could download Windows 10 for free! Now that is a good deal I thought, because
a few days earlier I saw a copy of Windows 10 at a big box store I was shopping
at listed for nearly $200. I opted to download the free Windows 10. That
process required me to make some changes to my computer… I thought not a
problem, I could do that, but I was faced with new unfamiliar challenges, I thought, I can deal with that.
This morning I woke up got my coffee, after it finished brewing, sat down at my computer and entered the
password that I would never forget to turn on my computer… I got the message
that it was the wrong password! After repeated attempts to start my computer I
thought the end of my mind was near! Then I read the message on the screen
below my password box on how to reset the password. OK, no problem, however, I
needed access to the internet to reset my password. I couldn’t get my computer
turned on so what am I supposed to do! I fought down the crazy impulse to throw
my computer across the room, then I remembered I could log on to the web
through my smart phone.
I’m old; another process of aging is losing the ability to
see small print, i.e., web pages on smart phones! I took a stab at it anyway; I
grabbed my magnifying glass and logged on to my smart phone.
I used to work for the government; they warn you to never write
down passwords because people can find them and hack into your work computer! The most secure
web sites want you to create a password using numbers, upper and lower case
letters and special symbols… from 8 to 12 characters long, and you have to
change your password every 6 months or so… and you aren’t allowed to use any
previous characters you used in your last six passwords!
In addition, to recover forgotten passwords you are required
to list several security questions that you can use to recover your forgotten
password! The problem with this process is different systems use different
questions!
OK, I’m crazily drifting away… The small print on my smart
phone starts asking me the security questions, which I immediately get wrong
because they are the security questions I used for something else in my past!
I try it again, then when I get down the list of questions I start to become crazily paranoid! I am prompted to enter the last four digits of my
credit card, etc. I immediately hang up!
With my smart phone in hand with the Google log in box
staring at me I ask (pray) to Google to help me. Immediately I get a phone number that
Google automatically calls for me and I get a friendly young man on the phone
telling me not to worry; he will help me get my computer to operate again… he
takes me through some steps of which none work!
He again assures me that they can help but he has to get a level 2
technician on the line and their service is $120 for a year of protection or
$60 for this month only. OK, I willingly forked over $60, via my credit card, just to end my pain.
I’m sure Google will collect their share from the referral.
I’m now speaking to Level 2 technician whose second language
is English, however he is a very nice young man who is probably used to dealing
with old men who are mentally deficient when it comes to computer technology. I give him permission to remotely take control of my
computer. He takes my computer through
those screens that looked familiar and discovers that since I upgraded my new
computer just a few days earlier from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I was prompted to
enter a new password! Now I remember!
I take control and enter the new password that will open
Windows 10 vice Windows 7 or Windows XP! It works!
I knew that my paranoia of anything related to computers is
based on self-preservation and peace of mind!
I’m still fighting the urge to fling my computer across the
room, but now for an entirely different reason! I’m thinking the nice young man
just made a note on my account, “id10t trouble ticket solved = $60.”
No comments:
Post a Comment