Marc,
Yes, those alerts, both from the bank and other sites as well, alerting
me to anything out of the ordinary, are very welcome by me. The other
big plus is the 2nd factor authentication that many sites employ now, including Amazon, eBay, LastPass and quite a few others. LastPass, for example, utilises my UbiKey; the others utilise one of the
authentication apps on the phone. I only wish *all* important sites employed that technology. It would put a virtual end to hacked
accounts almost overnight IMO.
Checking the bank statement electronically, and getting notices of
potential "fraud" has been a big help. I have 2FA on most everything
I use, although as you noted, some sites don't have that. I also use
a password manager, so I don't have to remember all these passwords.
Years ago, an area BBS Sysop set up a macro for his...he had to,
because he had numbers, letters, symbols, and high ascii characters.
Too bad we can't use the latter with our passwords.
As for passwords, CompuServe (who I spent several years with, and
spending lots of money <G>), said to use two unrelated words,
separated by a non-alphabetic character. I've gone further...I don't
even use words, but a combination of numbers, letters (upper and lower
case), and symbols. It'll mean something to me, but not to anyone else.
I also have a 13 digit PIN for the smartphones and computer that only
means something to me...if I forget it, I'm screwed. :P
People are stealing stuff out of mailboxes and off of front porches,
so that's why I have a Post Office Box. This way, I can pick up the
mail when I want. Plus, if there's a shipment from Amazon or somewhere
else, and it has to come via FedEx or UPS, I have it shipped to the
address of the Postal Facility where my Post Office Box is located, and
use the box number like an apartment. Then, I get notified that it has
been delivered, and I pick it up at my leisure...and not have to sit
here all day waiting for it to show up.
With my luck, nature would make an extended call, and they'd deliver
it while I was "on the throne", then someone would steal it off the
porch. Under the category, "Revenge is a dish best served cold", search
YouTube for "Glitter Bomb" and "Glitter Bomb 2". :)
Daryl
... Never drink and drive. Hitting a bump spills your drink.
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