Passwords

Modern life has given us many technical problems to solve. One of them is always knowing the password for the many places on the world wide web that we visit. I had a quandary accessing this site from my new computer I recently purchased. I tried every way I could to get in but it repeatedly told me that my user name and password were not correct. Only by repeated trial and error did I finally access the site and now I am typing for you to read.

One of our new favorite shows to watch on PBS on Saturday nights is the Frankie Drake Mystery show. It is produced in Canada by the CBC and it is mild by American standards but is very entertaining. It is set in the 1920s-30s during Prohibition Days and the group of detectives often visit a speakeasy. Those where the secret bars where people would gather to enjoy food and drink and music. In order to get in, you had to know the password that only the inside crowd could know. Frankie always knows the password and always gets in. It is usually a scene of merriment but sometimes it is a place where she gets clues or access to a new case.

Our passwords are much more difficult than the insider information necessary to get into a speakeasy. We can’t just say “Joe sent me” unless that is your password you assigned (I may have to use that next time I have think up a new one). We are often assigned a password by a website which consists of incomprehensible numbers, letters, and symbols which one cannot memorize. I never use that one but have to try to get one that is useful and easy to remember or how to write them down. I guess I could do that.

It is a shame that our world is a world of passwords because we fear someone may take advantage of us on the world wide web. Passwords are a necessary evil. We must have them but we must remember them also. Passwords remind us that someone has inside information and must keep it to themselves or risk the information getting into hands that may intend harm instead of good. We sometimes have to keep things secret even if we tend to be people open to all the world around us. Good luck negotiating the world and the web. Keep your passwords to yourself and tell only those whom you know you can trust.