IT support includes managing passwords.

Whomever you hire as your IT support pro, he needs a proactive solution that manages your passwords. If you forget one, a simple phone call should help you recover. I am sad to report…that is not always the case. I inherited a situation where nobody managed the company’s passwords. The boss thought he could do it himself. Recovering was a costly and frustrating process which should never have happened in the first place.

IT support is something you should contract out.

Set high expectations. Contract out your IT support.

Dick does not manage his passwords wisely. He thinks he can use the same one over and over and over. He has been doing this over 10 years. He also saves passwords in his web browser. He says, “I can do my own IT support. No need to pay anyone for their manufactured billable work. I can do this myself.”

Dick routinely accesses the company bank accounts and website. Dick had an issue. His Internet Explorer crashed. He needed his Internet Explorer working because that saved password lets him access his banking website. He called me. I asked him to launch Google Chrome, which was already installed on his workstation. Dick launched Chrome and visited the bank’swebsite. He did not know the password. He guessed the usual passwords. No luck.

We ended up chatting with the webmaster and going through a long, frustrating process to reset the password. Dick now has a new password which both he and I have in our notes. This could have been avoided. Here’s how.

• Dick could have a decent password manager app. I use LastPass. Some of my peers recommend Keepass. Regardless of which service you use, use something.
• Google Chrome offers to save passwords and store them in your Gmail account. Maybe you trust Google and maybe you don’t. If you do, use this service.
• Dick felt he could do his own IT support. Dick was proven wrong. Let’s hope Dick learned his lesson and then set the expectations higher.

Your takeaway.

Password management is not so tough. Your IT support pro should have a password manager solution and advocate you use one too. Use it for your company and your personal life. This is merely one reason why you should contract out your IT support. Suffering from lost and forgotten passwords is something you can avoid. A serious IT support pro can help. Call Cameron Park Computer Services to increase your expectations and avoid the lost and forgotten password nonsense. In the meantime, check out some of our successes.