👍 #818 - Why Can't Online Services Tell Me My Password? (If They Can, There's Something Wrong) - Confident Computing

This week's articles & videos

"Can you tell me my password?"

No. I cannot, and neither can the services you use online. Or, rather, they shouldn't be able to. All you should be able to do is set a new one.

This week's featured article dives into why services that can tell you your actual password are doing security wrong.

Yes. Wrong.

Also this week: the way your old email address could be reused by someone else, situations where Wi-Fi could be faster than ethernet, and the chances of recovering email you deleted three years ago.

In video, I talk about Barbara Streisand (really!) and why her name comes up when you try to delete something online, and the usefulness of creating a backup administration account for your PC.

We've also got the edited video from last week's Ask Leo! Live on password vaults and LastPass.

The TEH Podcast

Gary solves his home Wi-Fi problems with Google Nest, I rant a little about clickbait headlines and the tech publications apparently embracing them. We both share the television shows we're watching right now. We also touch on the never-ending debate about ad-blockers (and how some might break YouTube). All that and the ubiquitous "more" in TEH 106: Nesting a big house, CLICK THIS HEADLINE! cool movies and a short ad-block rant.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Wear a mask. Be kind.

Featured

Why Can't Online Services Tell Me My Password? (If They Can, There's Something Wrong)

It's for your own protection, and the result of fascinating mathematical wizardry. And if they can tell you your password? They're doing security wrong.

https://askleo.com/13946

Affiliate Disclosure

This Week on Ask Leo!

Could Someone Reopen My Closed Email Account?

After an online account is deleted, the ID or email address is eventually made available for re-use. It's the same name but a different owner, and that can confuse people.
https://askleo.com/2991

•

Why Might Wi-Fi Be Faster than Ethernet?

It does sound strange that a wireless connection could be faster than ethernet. We'll start by looking at the obvious: the cable connection itself.
https://askleo.com/7637

•

Can I Recover Deleted Emails in Gmail I Deleted Three Years Ago? How to Side-step this Issue in the Future

Email deleted "a long time ago" can be impossible to recover from the provider and difficult to recover from anywhere else.
https://askleo.com/124105

This Week on YouTube

Subscribe to Ask Leo! on YouTube to get the latest on YouTube.com. Your subscription (and "Likes") help others find Ask Leo!, and the the answers they're looking for.

Can I Recover Deleted Emails I Deleted Three Years Ago? How to Side-step this Issue in the Future

?? Email deleted "a long time ago" can be impossible to recover from the provider and difficult to recover from anywhere else.
https://youtu.be/crnVH4BMfeQ

•

How Do You Delete Things from the Internet? ' Why the Internet is Forever, Except When It's Not

?? Realistically, it's impossible to delete things from the internet. Yet in an apparent contradiction in terms, if you happen to delete something in your control, you also can't get it back.
https://youtu.be/Zv8OKBahQ2M

•

Create a Backup Admin Account for Your PC - And Why You Want One

It might be useful to have a second administrator account on your machine that you rarely use.
https://youtu.be/WFOeGfQyTYE

•

Password Vaults and LastPass - Ask Leo! Live

A discussion of password vaults in general, and a demonstration installing and using LastPass, backing it up, and some of the common problem situations.
https://youtu.be/mWyQd5JfBF4

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