WINDOWS 10 and ME

[w3526602]

Hi,

Some yonks ago, following Windows' warning that Windows 8 (or was it W9?) was going to be running without support, I bought myself a new, W10 friendly lap-top, and found myself a new, and local, Guru.

Cue the End of the World!

The said Guru was just starting out in business, having retired from being a telephone engineer.

He told me that I had to lengthen my eight digit User name from 8 to  10 digits, and my password had to conform to certain other rules.

I did as I was instructed ... and have not used Email from that day onwards.

Question 1 for starters ... was what he said correct?

Be gentle with me!

602

PS. I believe that W11 is lurking in the wings.

[Richard]

Not what you want to hear, I guess, but I think it is sound advice. The more and varied characters a password has, the better it is. Upper and lower case, numbers, punctuation. Or even whole pass sentences. Sentences are easier to remember. Easier than a password like H7u5&^%"i9KmT+.

Every computer hooked up to the internet is a possible victim of hacking. (Some in the cybersecurity universe are adament that every single computer is infested.) It's not that some [censured] in a dark attic in Outer-Siberia is trying to figure out your password. Programs written for that sole purpose are far better at that. Longer password means more security.

Compare it to your house: you use locks, maybe even an alarm, put a Doberman in the garden behind the fence, you no longer stick a "no 3 pints of semi-skimmed next two weeks, milkman" on your front door. Outsecure your neighbour and the burglar will go next door...

Richard

[Theshed]

Username is just a word I relate to, maybe add a number.
I have several passwords dependant on what I am logging onto.
Email password is straightforward, utilities are a little more complex and banking more so.
But, I keep them all similar so as not to confuse myself.
Ie. Email - Ashed1, Electric company - AelectricB&, Gas - AgasB& etc. Bank - X12345Y%
Because different sites have different rules you may have to alter a little but keep similar format.
Example again, Electric Co' -AmanwebB1, then in six months or whatever you can change the 1 to 2 and so on
For my bank I use my employee number with a couple of extra characters. Always substituting one character for another, ie - g for 9.
If you look at it, it is fairly straightforward, just do not try and think of a complex password for every situation.
However if you enable it Google will suggest and save passwords for you. That is not for me, but many use it.
Good Luck 602

[w3526602]

Hi,

Thanks Both.

I was brought up not to bother with security.

Our house (Blenheim Park Road, South Croydon, 1938 thru 1962), never , ever, had a locked door, and never had an unwanted guest.

My father never even took the ignition key out of his 1935 Austin 10. Then one day, he gave it a coat of Valspar. It was nicked from the Croydon Aerodrome car park that night. (He was in the Aerodrome Club), and had to walk home. The police found it at the Purley cross roads the following morning. Presumably somebody else didn't want to walk a couple of miles home? As I understand it, TWOCing ( (Taking without the Owners Consent ) is more serious than stealing.It was not unknown for such Perps to add a bit of petrol to the tank, so they could not be accused of stealing petrol. The world was a nicer place, then.

1935 Austin 10? Most people didn't have any sort of cars, in the early 1950s.

It was the London (only London Transport?) bus strike that provoked the ordinary man to buy a car ... with such people never returning to using buses. A huge "own goal" for bus drivers.

602

[w3526602]

Sorry, TWOCing was LESS serious than stealing the car.

In those days, driving without insurance would mean a 12 month disqualification. Driving while disqualified, was virtually bound to mean 6 months in prison.

I have never driven without insurance.

602

[Theshed]

Good point there 602.
From local 'paper reports it appears more serious for an owner to drive their own car without insurance than for a scumbag to steal one.
Sorry I meant a fellow to 'Take Without Owners Consent'.
Neither are acceptable but punishment should suit the crime.

[John]

It was the London (only London Transport?) bus strike that provoked the ordinary man to buy a car ... with such people never returning to using buses. A huge "own goal" for bus drivers.

602

Will it be a "own goal"  for train drives who strike....

[Theshed]

It was the London (only London Transport?) bus strike that provoked the ordinary man to buy a car ... with such people never returning to using buses. A huge "own goal" for bus drivers.

602

Will it be a "own goal"  for train drives who strike....

I fear you may be right.

[geoff]

Will it be a "own goal"  for train drives who strike....



 They earn enough to wait it out 

[Wittsend]

Windows 10 is dead meat.
If you can upgrade to Windows 11.

It won't solve your password problem.

Not all old PCs can be upgraded to Windows 11.

My iMac has finger print recognition 

My phone has facial recognition 

I keep my passwords and account details in the contacts list on my phone - all backed up in the cloud.

[w3526602]

Hi Alan,

Didn't they promise that W10 would be the final upgrade?

I knew W11 was coming, but are you telling me that the lap-top that I had to buy to access W10 will not be suitable for W11?

Isn't there some law that requires manufacturers to support their own products for a defined period? Imagine the uproar if a certain 4x4 manufacturer decided not to provide parts nor support for any model more than X years old.

There is something at the back of my mind, about an American manufacturer (I can't remember who or what, but definitely not cars nor computers) who "miffed" a lot of customers, so the customers boycotted their products. The company "went to the wall".

OT. Brough Superior manufactured quality motor cars until (I think) the early 1930s, and then ceased production. In the late 1930s, a lady ordered a new Brough Superior, not knowing that they were no longer in production. Brough managed to meet the order, building her a car from new spare parts.

[370abc]

I worked with an old boy in the sixties who owned a Brough Superior but this was a motorbike. I remember having a ride on the minimum pillion seat and the thump of its umpteen cc single cylinder engine was most impressive.

[Alchad]

You can check if your laptop can be upgraded to Win 11

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/not-sure-if-your-pc-is-compatible-with-windows-11-heres-how-to-check/

[Wittsend]

Windows 10 has been supported by MS, but it's time is up.

Windows 11 will soon be superceded by what comes next. It's a moving conveyor belt of developemet - if that's what you call it.
Or another way to make more PC sales.

[Craig T]

I've been using Windows 11 for sometime now, maybe getting on 2 years.

Although they say all my computers are not compatible with 11, there are ways around it and I have got it installed and running perfectly on all of them. It is possible if you are prepared to play around. A company however probably won't do that for you as it is in a way, going against Microsoft's advice and if you had future compatibility problems, they would have to sort it out.

If your computer works and does all it needs, leave it alone and carry on. I know systems still running on Windows XP and they are perfectly happy.

Craig.