Dumb question for you smart techy people

[Backroads]

Today I spent three hours over two different calls on the phone with tech support for my work. The gentleman spoke with great kindness, patience, and intelligence towards my troubles. Passwords were reset over and over. Caches cleared. Notes jotted down. I eventually gave up in weariness with the hope of a new day. There is still an account I cannot get into. 

My heart is weary, my soul tired. I have finagled a few backdoor tricks to enable me to do my job that should give me a day or more. Perhaps I will even see if I can make it to Thanksgiving break this way, for I dare not call back the kind tech support guy who cannot solve my problem. My pride is too great.

You know what would solve my problem? Somehow remembering the answers to my security questions. Yes, this is the issue three hours can't get us past.

So, my question: is there some sort of program that could just run through every possible answer, perhaps based on a deep knowledge of me gleaned from the Internet, until the correct answers are generated?

I swear I'm only slightly off-kilter here.

[JohnsonJones]

If I understand correctly, the problem is that you forgot the answers to your security questions?

I am afraid I don't have an answer to that for you. 

From what I understand that information would probably be kept on your computer, but in a file that is locked in a secure file that, unless you can answer the questions correctly, will remain locked.  Normally with an algorithm that cannot be easily deciphered, which is why it keeps whatever information there...secure.

Hope and prayer is all I can suggest.  I have had this problem in the past.  I was lucky in that I had a moment of inspiration and remembered what it was that I had set the password to.

After that, I hate to admit, but I have some notebooks I keep all my information in these days.  Very insecure for security reasons, but I have to be able to remember the stuff somehow.

There WAS a program they used a while back that they could retrieve information from a hard drive that had been lost or locked.  Of course, if the information was scrambled behind a secure algorithm, it would just appear like a jumbled mess.  It could get most of the information though as long as it was more of a text type of document.

All I can tell you is good luck and hope that you figure out the answers to the security questions or the password to get to your locked files.

[Carborendum]

13 hours ago, Backroads said:

Today I spent three hours over two different calls on the phone with tech support for my work. The gentleman spoke with great kindness, patience, and intelligence towards my troubles. Passwords were reset over and over. Caches cleared. Notes jotted down. I eventually gave up in weariness with the hope of a new day. There is still an account I cannot get into. 

My heart is weary, my soul tired. I have finagled a few backdoor tricks to enable me to do my job that should give me a day or more. Perhaps I will even see if I can make it to Thanksgiving break this way, for I dare not call back the kind tech support guy who cannot solve my problem. My pride is too great.

You know what would solve my problem? Somehow remembering the answers to my security questions. Yes, this is the issue three hours can't get us past.

So, my question: is there some sort of program that could just run through every possible answer, perhaps based on a deep knowledge of me gleaned from the Internet, until the correct answers are generated?

I swear I'm only slightly off-kilter here.

I use mnemonic devices to help remember. And I use phone storage.

1. Passwords: I have a series of about a dozen passwords that I use.  I know them all intimately.  But I come up with really clear-to-me but compleletly-obscure-to-anyone-else clues.

Example:

Clue: Lightning fast answers
Word: Potter42
Relationship: Lightning reminds me of Harry Potter's scar.  42 is the answer to life the universe and everything.
Practice: In my phone, I create an entry for the company or website that I have an account with.  Then I type the clue into the notes.  If I know A, A leads to B, and I recall B.  Therefore, I know my password.

I have clues like "well, that's just great!".  That tells me a whole lot more than it means to anyone else.
"Lincoln Family".  That means absolutely nothing to anyone else.  But it is completely obvious to me.
"Planet"  No one in my family -- even knowing a lot of my tendencies, and realizing it only had 4 characters -- could figure out what that meant.  No, it is not "Mars".

2. I have a few that I use specifically for work because they require new passwords every 90 days or so.

Example:

Words: Apple, Buffalo, Charisma, Dragon
Number: usually, passwords require a number.  I use the 2-digit or 4 digit year; at the beginning or end of the word.  I choose at the beginning of employment which of those four options I will use.
Symbol: Some offices require a symbol as well.  So, I replace some letters with obvious symbols: Dr@gon, Chari$ma, etc.  This will not work in a situation like @pple becuase they usually require at least one capital letter and one lower case letter.
Practice: I use the words in alphabetical order throughout the year.  And every year the year changes, so it is a new password.  It passes the "old password" test.  HOWEVER, some high security places (My BIL works for a government contractor) only look at the first 8 characters for the "old password" test.  So, he had to shift the numbers from front to back each year.  He's a brainiac. So, he can remember stuff like that.

3. Verification questions:  I usually just type out my verification question answers in my phone.  But I put it in a specific order of entries that only I recognize.  To anyone else, they'd look like a jumble of words.  But I know which words are for which questions.

Example: Who was your kindergarten teacher?

Mrs. Smith. 

I'd put this in a list of completely unfamiliar names: Mr Foster (no one in my life is named Mr Foster); Mrs. Smith; Mr. James (No one in my life is Mr. James); etc. So, of that list, only I know which one makes sense for which question.

All this so that I can recall my passwords whenever I need.  But if someone else gets a hold of my phone, it won't do them any good.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Carborendum

[zil2]

13 hours ago, Backroads said:

Today I spent three hours over two different calls on the phone with tech support for my work. The gentleman spoke with great kindness, patience, and intelligence towards my troubles. Passwords were reset over and over. Caches cleared. Notes jotted down. I eventually gave up in weariness with the hope of a new day. There is still an account I cannot get into. 

My heart is weary, my soul tired. I have finagled a few backdoor tricks to enable me to do my job that should give me a day or more. Perhaps I will even see if I can make it to Thanksgiving break this way, for I dare not call back the kind tech support guy who cannot solve my problem. My pride is too great.

You know what would solve my problem? Somehow remembering the answers to my security questions. Yes, this is the issue three hours can't get us past.

So, my question: is there some sort of program that could just run through every possible answer, perhaps based on a deep knowledge of me gleaned from the Internet, until the correct answers are generated?

I swear I'm only slightly off-kilter here.

First, the tech support people's job is to help you do your job.  It doesn't matter how difficult or tedious their job is, it's their job.  (There's a reason they call it "work" and there's a reason they pay you to do it.)  So don't worry about calling tech support - they're getting paid.

Next, if the tech support person doesn't know how to reset a password without those security questions, something's wrong.  Does this tech support person work for the software manufacturer or your employer (assuming they are different entities)?  If for your employer, they should have some other way of verifying your identity and userID and should be able to then do a password change on the account (and either trigger the software to email you the new password or just tell you what it is and wait on the phone while you log in and then change it yourself).  If for the software manufacturer, the hoops for verifying your identity may be more difficult, but there has to be a way.  I guarantee you're not the first person to forget the answers to those idiotic "security questions".

(Of course, finding the person who knows the above can be a challenge - some tech support people can't do more than read the flip cards, others actually know the software.  And it may take a system admin rather than tech support to resolve the problem.  Finally, some people design really, really lousy software.)

Sorry I can't tell you more.  If you want to PM me to discuss specifics, I'll see if I can help any further - seems unlikely, but I'm willing to read whatever free / public info is available on the software and that might let me give you more pointers.

Edited November 16, 2023 by zil2

[Backroads]

15 minutes ago, zil2 said:

First, the tech support people's job is to help you do your job.  It doesn't matter how difficult or tedious their job is, it's there job.  (There's a reason they call it "work" and there's a reason they pay you to do it.)  So don't worry about calling tech support - they're getting paid.

Next, if the tech support person doesn't know how to reset a password without those security questions, something's wrong.  Does this tech support person work for the software manufacturer or your employer (assuming they are different entities)?  If for your employer, they should have some other way of verifying your identity and userID and should be able to then do a password change on the account (and either trigger the software to email you the new password or just tell you what it is and wait on the phone while you log in and then change it yourself).  If for the software manufacturer, the hoops for verifying your identity may be more difficult, but there has to be a way.  I guarantee you're not the first person to forget the answers to those idiotic "security questions".

(Of course, finding the person who knows the above can be a challenge - some tech support people can't do more than read the flip cards, others actually know the software.  And it may take a system admin rather than tech support to resolve the problem.  Finally, some people design really, really lousy software.)

Sorry I can't tell you more.  If you want to PM me to discuss specifics, I'll see if I can help any further - seems unlikely, but I'm willing to read whatever free / public info is available on the software and that might let me give you more pointers.

I did place another call today. We may actually be at the point where I may have to send my computer in and possibly get my employee account duplicated.

[zil2]

6 minutes ago, Backroads said:

I did place another call today. We may actually be at the point where I may have to send my computer in and possibly get my employee account duplicated.

Because of a lost password to a specific software?  That's absurd.

[Backroads]

1 hour ago, zil2 said:

Because of a lost password to a specific software?  That's absurd.

The best they can figure at the point is that some configuration is resetting the password and they want to look at the computer (Which is actually fine with me, I think I'm due for an upgrade). 

I just want to get into my Google drive is all... (it's not as simple as getting into Google, it's getting into the company program that happens to use Google)

Edited November 16, 2023 by Backroads

[NeuroTypical]

17 hours ago, Backroads said:

So, my question: is there some sort of program that could just run through every possible answer, perhaps based on a deep knowledge of me gleaned from the Internet, until the correct answers are generated?

  I am sad whenever I hear someone stuck in techie purgatory.   

My password-encrypted password file now has 80+ entries.  I use it at least 6X/month.

Maybe once or twice yearly, I have to endure a 45 minute call with a real human, where I say things like "I don't remember any of my password hints", and it's like I've just turned an air hose on them.  Sometimes they just don't know what to do.   So many "um, let me put you on a brief hold".   So much "Um... I'm going to send you over to tech support". 

 

You're not alone.  Take solace in that.

[mordorbund]

For a satirical take on password woes, create a new password using the Password Game! https://neal.fun/password-game/

[zil2]

3 hours ago, mordorbund said:

For a satirical take on password woes, create a new password using the Password Game! https://neal.fun/password-game/

This was even more fun than my random password generator.  (I used to have a random password generator on my website.  I also had a random decision maker that was very popular with a group of guys who used it daily to decide where to go to lunch.  They were quite distressed when I had to take down my server and switch to a hosted website (where the random applets wouldn't run).  Since I didn't want to rewrite the code in something that would run on the hosted website, I pointed them to random.org.)

[Traveler]

Greetings @Backroads :

I hate windows and Microsoft – that said there are ways to fix your problem, but it will require someone that has access to your computer and operating system’s back door.  Some companies have knowledgeable IT specialists that can operate within the scope of company hardware and operating systems license.  If you are not one of these companies, you are at the mercy of a 3rd party vendor.  Make sure they are legit – and get verification of who receives your computer.  Make sure your company authorizes your sending a computer to whoever.

In the future – I suggest you keep a copy of your usernames and passwords.  I keep them on my phone in a coded format that I know (so does my wife).  I realize that there is a prophesy in the Book of Mormon about society becoming so corrupt that personal things cannot be protected – the wording is that they become slippery and are taken.  If you are attached to things associated with your computer – realize that they are at risk.  I wish you well and hope your problems will not expand.

 

The Traveler

[JohnsonJones]

23 hours ago, mordorbund said:

For a satirical take on password woes, create a new password using the Password Game! https://neal.fun/password-game/

That is a rather crazy game.  Much worse than the experience of making a new one for the University Login.

Emoji's as passwords?

I have to delete fire emojis?

I have use wingding's font?

different sized fonts?

use the length of your password and it must be a prime number?

Okay...I give up...how many rules do they keep adding on?

This is rather insane of a game.

[Still_Small_Voice]

I only have to know two passwords to access about all of my user names and passwords.  There are encrypted volumes I create on my own hard drive to access all my user names and passwords.  And I have multiple copies on multiple hard drives and flash drives.

I also refuse to have copies of most of my stuff backed up on the Internet.  If it is not on your hard drives, you do not own it.