Stuck In Password Hell

I bought a fit bit, a watch-like device that measures footsteps, distance traveled, blood pressure, how well you are sleeping and all kids of other health related numbers. A friend recommended it as a help in achieving the better health I’m on a path to accomplish.

Seems like a great idea.

That is until you want to activate it. You need to link it to your cell phone to squeeze all the good out of it you can get. No problem… if you see a cell phone as an app machine and use it that way. Unfortunately, if you are like me it is a telephone not a toy or an alternate to your computer.

Spare me the long looks down noses that suggest I’m a Luddite. I only text when I must. I have never purchased an app from the Apple store and would prefer not to do so.

Nobody tells you

Nowhere in the information published online does it say that you will have to activate the device using your cell phone. Worse still, long ago and far away when you bought that smart phone, nobody explained that you would need a password to get into the phone. Worse still, no one explained that it would be linked to your e-mail and to the credit card you used at the time. Most importantly you weren’t advised to write that info down and put it in a vault so you could access it later.

Keep your settings up to date

If I had known about these security requirements I would have had a lot better day yesterday. The fit bit arrived. I was ready to activate it. My I-phone had as an Apple ID, an e-mail address I have not had for at least 5 years. None of the handful of passwords I could remember worked. I started the forgot password process and found myself stymied again. The way to access that service depended on knowing the security code on a credit card that had been cut in half at least three years ago.

Help is just a phone call away.

Sprint, my cell service provider gave me the 800 number for Apple Customer service. A young lady working out of their call center in Boise, Idaho tried to solve my problem working with me and even using one of those services where they can see your screen remotely. She, like me felt that using a phone as a computer was not the best idea.

Two hours later, we admitted defeat. Because I did not have the data written down or available in a file we could not change my password or my e-mail or the credit card or any settings that would allow me to purchase, use or blow out apps on the phone.

Catch 22

She put me in for a service having the company change my password through another process used to be sure I was the actual owner of the phone trying to make the changes.

This morning I went into the web address she gave me to check on progress. The first message was that I would be able to reset my password in 12 days. I tried the alternate offered and was told that I would be sent a message tomorrow.

The problem, as I see it. is that they are going to try to contact me using that out of date e-mail.

But wait, there’s more!

I managed to get into that old e-mail address. There were over 11,000 messages stacked up in that e-mail box! I began cleaning out the messages. The best I could clear at a time was about 400. Somewhere about 4800 a very commanding voice told me to call the number on the screen because I was under attack and all my financial data was about to be compromised and the only way to stop this was to be walked through the solution by calling the number on the screen.

I immediately turned the volume down and called Matt who runs the firm that supplies my Office 365 services and is an expert at computer security. Here is the advice he gave me:

1. Shut down the computer.

2. Reboot it.

3. Clear the cache.

Good to go

This blog is being written on that computer. I dodged that vicious phishing attack.

One nice thing about this whole affair is that my phone will continue to work both incoming and outgoing until the settings nightmare is resolved. And should I not be able to resolve it, I’ve reached the point of acceptance that if I must lose all the contacts on this phone, so be it.

And, so it goes.

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His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for Trust-based Brand development, Positioning and business development for independent professionals on and off-line.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
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