Life & Soul
Solutions Directory
Sign up for the weekly tips newsletter

Ask Real Simple: Keep Track of Your Usernames and Passwords

You asked, we answered

Ask <i>Real Simple</i>: Keep Track of Your Usernames and Passwords
Adam Howling
 Print  E-mail
 
Average Rating:  Unrated
Read Reviews of This Solution
Rate & Review This Solution
Q. What is a good way to keep up with all the usernames and passwords for a computer?
Kay Coleman
Cary, North Carolina

A. Use an encryption program to organize your information safely and efficiently.

Writing down random log-in user names and passwords is unsafe and leaves them vulnerable to getting lost. Use a spreadsheet or a word-processing document to keep track of all the information safely. List the link for each website you have an account with and the specific user-name and password information that goes with that account. Click the Save As option under the File tab and name the document. The Save As window will have an Options or Security Options key, which you should select. Navigate through the menus, entering the necessary password — for both opening and modifying the document — until you have successfully secured and saved your list. To retrieve the information, open the file and enter one password to access all the others.

Ask a Question
Got a practical dilemma? Send an email to askrealsimple@realsimple.com and the answer may appear on this page.

Your submission to Real Simple, including full name, city, state, and other contact information, gives us the right to modify, use, distribute, reproduce, publish and display the submission indefinitely in all media, means, and forms without any payment to you. Real Simple cannot guarantee a response to all questions and that submissions will not be acknowledged or returned. You hereby represent that you haven't copied the content from a book, magazine, newspaper, or other commercial source.
Related Solutions

Advertisement

REAL SIMPLE. REAL LIFE. Makeover Sweepstakes

Enter to win a personal consultation with beauty, fashion, fitness, and cooking experts, a trip to Los Angeles, and $3,000 spending money

Looking for Holiday Solutions?

Join Real Simple and its editors for this holiday's best tips, gift ideas, recipes, makeovers, and more