Posts
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| Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst New York
( A suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.)
and has worked in the ophthalmology
field of medicine for over 30 years
|
Passwords rule our lives
I remember back in the 1970's when times were much simpler. When we got married there were no “passwords” to “get into” anything, no computers, no electronic banking etc. Everything was just
“Manual”.
If you needed cash to spend on the weekend, you had better get to the bank before it closed on Friday for a manual cash withdrawal.
There were no ATM's and when you made a deposit or
withdrawal it was written down in your bank book in ink. The checks were not even numbered, you wrote your own number on the check to keep track. Simple, simple days with no security securing your life or transactions. No terrorists to fear and not many citizens carrying a gun for protection.
What has our world come to in the last 40 years. Back in the day there was no fear of being in public places, such as airports, movie theaters etc.
My head is just bursting with passwords to get into my own accounts. I start the day at work entering 3 different passwords to get into three systems, health records, personal code punching in on the computer, Internet access etc. And those passwords have to be updated and changed every few weeks--better use a different combination because a similar one won't work. If I need to get into my bank, my phone, my computer etc, they all require passwords. They swirl around in my head all day; at times I do get locked out, having a brain “fart” and unable to recall those simple words I use day after day. Security is needed to re set the password, which causes a delay in my work.
Now we have expert hackers that try and gain access to our accounts; they can even get into large corporations or governments, they are so adept at this crime. Is any of our information really safe any longer? Our information is out there for anyone to steal or share. The world wide electronic highway is alive and well all over the world.
Yes, the Internet has made it easy to shop, bank, pay bills, get information...anything is accessible. Do you want to find someone, a long lost relative, a friend, personal records on someone, etc. It is all there for the taking.
We seemed to manage back in the 1970's just fine. Is it a mixed blessing or a danger to our lives now?
Time will tell in the future, maybe not in our lifetime but surely our children s' lifetime.
My children, like many born in the 80's have no idea what it was like to live the simple life unadorned with secret passwords and numbers to enter the electronic world. Computers only came out in the 80's for personal use and they were clumsy and expensive and could only do limited tasks for the common person. Now computers are shrunk down to a hand held size or even smaller like a watch, and are less expensive. They are loaded with new technology that is mind boggling.
We have let ourselves become so dependent on them that we can't manage without them; if the world would “shut” down today our children s' generation would be clueless.
Many have never looked up an address in something called a phone book. I can't believe they still drop them off at our doorstep.
Our technology today is both amazing and scary as it can easily be used against us as an individual or a country. Beware of hackers and suspicious e-mails and protect your information as it can change the direction of your life.
Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...
I remember back in the 1970's when times were much simpler. When we got married there were no “passwords” to “get into” anything, no computers, no electronic banking etc. Everything was just
“Manual”.
If you needed cash to spend on the weekend, you had better get to the bank before it closed on Friday for a manual cash withdrawal.
There were no ATM's and when you made a deposit or
withdrawal it was written down in your bank book in ink. The checks were not even numbered, you wrote your own number on the check to keep track. Simple, simple days with no security securing your life or transactions. No terrorists to fear and not many citizens carrying a gun for protection.
What has our world come to in the last 40 years. Back in the day there was no fear of being in public places, such as airports, movie theaters etc.
My head is just bursting with passwords to get into my own accounts. I start the day at work entering 3 different passwords to get into three systems, health records, personal code punching in on the computer, Internet access etc. And those passwords have to be updated and changed every few weeks--better use a different combination because a similar one won't work. If I need to get into my bank, my phone, my computer etc, they all require passwords. They swirl around in my head all day; at times I do get locked out, having a brain “fart” and unable to recall those simple words I use day after day. Security is needed to re set the password, which causes a delay in my work.
Now we have expert hackers that try and gain access to our accounts; they can even get into large corporations or governments, they are so adept at this crime. Is any of our information really safe any longer? Our information is out there for anyone to steal or share. The world wide electronic highway is alive and well all over the world.
Yes, the Internet has made it easy to shop, bank, pay bills, get information...anything is accessible. Do you want to find someone, a long lost relative, a friend, personal records on someone, etc. It is all there for the taking.
We seemed to manage back in the 1970's just fine. Is it a mixed blessing or a danger to our lives now?
Time will tell in the future, maybe not in our lifetime but surely our children s' lifetime.
My children, like many born in the 80's have no idea what it was like to live the simple life unadorned with secret passwords and numbers to enter the electronic world. Computers only came out in the 80's for personal use and they were clumsy and expensive and could only do limited tasks for the common person. Now computers are shrunk down to a hand held size or even smaller like a watch, and are less expensive. They are loaded with new technology that is mind boggling.
We have let ourselves become so dependent on them that we can't manage without them; if the world would “shut” down today our children s' generation would be clueless.
Many have never looked up an address in something called a phone book. I can't believe they still drop them off at our doorstep.
Our technology today is both amazing and scary as it can easily be used against us as an individual or a country. Beware of hackers and suspicious e-mails and protect your information as it can change the direction of your life.
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| "Judy, Judy, Judy!" |
