We still need passwords

In a world where you unlock your car by pressing a button, it seems ironic that you need a password for just about everything else.

But you do.

Passwords are not going away any time soon. Even using a password manager doesn’t make them go away. It just hides them.

If you change your email password, you need to change it everywhere.

I often get calls from people who changed their email password “on the computer” and then could not get email on their phones or tablets.

Here’s the thing:

• You’re not changing the password on your computer. You’re using your computer to change the password that’s kept in a secure area on your email provider’s server.

You’re going to use that same user name/email address and password to access your email from every device. Everything has to match.

Once you change it online, change the settings for your email apps on your phones and tablets, and if you’re using an email program on your computer, change it there.

If you don’t do that, you’re not going to get your email.

Your Microsoft Account password is important. So is your Microsoft Account email address.

If you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 8, you are probably signing into your computer with a Microsoft Account.

A Microsoft account is an email address and password you use to sign in to your computer, and to access other Microsoft products like Office Online, Office 365, OneDrive, Skype, and even to access the Microsoft Store.

It’s the Microsoft version of an Apple ID.

You can use any email address for your Microsoft account. It’s critical to make sure the email address you’re using is one you still have access to. If you forget your password, Microsoft will send a reset link to the address on file.

If you originally used a Telus email and then switched your service to Shaw, you won’t have access to that Telus email.  

If you used a business email address to set up that account and you leave that company, or, if you just started using a different email for any reason, you should update your Microsoft account.

If you don’t do that and you forget your password, you won’t have access to your account or to your computer.

This page will step you through the things you can do. Click on the Set up and manage your Microsoft Account link to make changes.

A browser page will open and might prompt you to sign into your account.

Click on Your Info to change how your name appears when you sign in and to upload a nice profile picture instead of the grey head thing.

Click on Change the email for your Microsoft account to add another email address and remove ones you do not use.

Whatever you do, please be sure to write down the email and password for your Microsoft account. And write down what it’s for.

And don’t forget to use the new information to sign in to your computer, OneDrive, Skype, and Office365 on all your devices.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.