Personal Productivity Using IT

The reading on passwords opened my eyes to a lot of things I need to change. First of all, for many passwords, I’ll use consecutive numbers, simple names (sometimes even my own) and rarely use symbols. For example, on all my passwords, I have some form of my first pet’s name.  I do it to help me remember, but this is dangerous because if someone knew one password, they could easily guess others. Also, when I need to create passwords for things like voicemail, I use my favorite number 4 times.  After reading this, I realize I need to be more careful when creating passwords so that they cannot be easily decoded.  I will start using symbols, stop using consecutive numbers, and other creative combinations in order to keep my privacy.

The reading on managing files was humorous to me because everything it said not to do, I do. I put unique long names when saving files, which makes “My Documents” extremely cluttered. I will use abbreviations for names of classes but otherwise usually just write the name (sometimes lengthy) of the document on the folder. Also, I save things that are unnecessary, and still have documents that I will never need or look at again. If I follow the advice of this article and clean things up, I won’t be so stressed next time I look for a document. Also, I will start using recent documents to save time.

I’ve never really been concerned about backing up my files.  I would be devastated if I lost all my pictures and some of my important records.  After reading this, I realize that I’m lucky not to have lost important documents and I will try one of the methods of back up. I’ll probably start by saving important things on other locations than the C drive, and then invest in a flash drive or hard drive to back it up outside my computer.