Fatal Flaw in Internet Software


  1. Posts : 56
    Win 10 Home
       #1

    Fatal Flaw in Internet Software


    I will try to keep this short as possible. My problem is software vendors linking everything to email addresses, I use 4 email accounts and that makes one more thing I have to try to keep track of, along with constantly changing passwords, user names, registration names and whatever other roadblocks they can invent. None of the so-called password managers I've checked have the facility to record all the info one needs to do things like access your account, get help or whatever.

    I have a problem with Roboform Password Manager which I've used more or less satisfactorily for 5 years but I ran into a fatal snag, namely that I don't know what email address was used to register or whatever. I have the account #, I.D. password, user name but not the email. Thus, there is no way to contact them as there is no phone number available. This is a problem I run into very often, causing frustration and terrible loss of time and productivity.

    All they would have to do to avoid this problem is to record or make available your original start-up information. But they don't. As a result, I am unable to contact the vendor and therefore must abandon 5 years worth of internet log-in and email account information. This is worse than loosing your wallet. The amount of information one has to record manually, ON PAPER has become unmanageable, information that the software was supposed to handle, but does not. Making matters worse, this information is prone to changing frequently. The small notebook I used to try to record all this is a mess of cross-outs and changes to the point there is no more space to record changes, nor do I have the time to manage all this crap. Anybody know any way around this problem?
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  2. Posts : 42,735
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #2

    Hi, I've been using Roboform for years, and use multiple email accounts. So far no real issues.

    Two possibilities:
    1. If you Edit a login passcard, there is a Note field at the bottom, where you can add additional info not captured automatically.
    2. It supports Safe Notes.
    For example, I have a bank login, with two passcards associated with that, the second usually using the so-called Turing method where fields are ignored and a small dialogue prompt displayed for drop down variable character login pages.

    Corresponding to that I have a Safe Note, in which is all the contact info for the bank, pins, notes on the accounts etc. Likewise for all financial logins.

    I've never kept a notebook.
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  3. Posts : 56
    Win 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Greetings dalchina.

    Thank you for the response. I see by your profile that you have spent a lot more time learning not only Roboform, but stuff like the O.S. as well. I'm no guru, just an ordinary user who's reach is insufficient for his grab. I readily admit that I haven't spent many hours studying how to use the program. I find the manual complex and difficult to read-with-comprehension, without diligent study and the use of passcards has never been clear to me. I use the editor a lot and wished there were fields there for the addition the info I spoke of. As for safe notes, I don't see that they can be linked to anything in particular so I didn't find to be of much use. They aren't linked to anything.that I know of.

    I also have a problem with multiple entries for one web site, largely due to password changes. I try to remove stale entries but the problem is that when I get into Editor, how do I know which of one or more entries is the right one, unless I know the password? A good example of this are the Microsoft numerous email venues that sometimes have names not the same as the venue, such as outlook/live/hotmail/wlmail. I have 4 "live" entries, two of which are "good" and two not. It takes effort and time to figure out what's what.

    Whenever encountering a new website, initially I get two pop-ups asking to remember the password. One is the white box appearing on upper left, the other the Roboform menu bar across the top. Is there any way to stop the former from appearing? I've no idea from whence it comes. Windows, maybe?

    If passcards popped up immediately at the time of registering, and had the facility, one would then be prompted and could easily record the needed info.

    Moreover, the information that appears on the right side of the editor page is widely variable; usually it is just user name and password, but I have instances where as many as 16 data fields appear, and I have no idea how they get there - the program just decides. Entries that have three periods (dots) preceding each followed by prefixes such as "txt" and "ddl", example: txtfirstname.

    As the saying goes, my knowledge is just enough to get me into lots of trouble, but not out of it.
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  4. Posts : 42,735
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #4

    I find the manual complex
    - I've only ever found the need to refer to it briefly. (In its early days I even contributed to its anglicisation)! Yes, for reference, not light reading. I'm sure there are tips I would find useful.

    wished there were fields there for the addition the info I spoke of
    - there are e.g.
    Fatal Flaw in Internet Software-untitled.png

    Add Field - so you can add whatever you fancy

    Login tip - adds a small dialogue box that pops up with whatever text you want.
    (I use this where I need the password to prompt me for manual entry, coupled with Ignore field)
    e.g. my$passwo r d
    123456789 10 11
    - so I can pick out the characters I need for banks, for example, where they ask for variable characters of the password) like this (I've erased my data of course):

    Fatal Flaw in Internet Software-snap-2017-01-11-16.40.05.jpg

    You could use it to show an email address or whatever you need.
    This small box appears when I click the relevant card offered in Roboform's toolbar. This is incredibly useful to me, and no other passcard manager offers this unless updated in the last year.

    Note: - at the bottom of a passcard. You can only see it if you edit the passcard.

    Safe notes
    , I don't see that they can be linked to anything in particular
    I only 'link' them by name.
    For example, I might have a couple of passcard for a Nat West bank login.
    So I have a Safe Note entitled Nat West - so I can open that and find the phone numbers, my account numbers, card details and pin etc.

    I also have a problem with multiple entries for one web site, largely due to password changes. I try to remove stale entries but the problem is that when I get into Editor, how do I know which of one or more entries is the right one,
    Well, maintenance is up to you.
    If I change passwords for a site, I overwrite an existing passcard, or if I create an extra one, delete the redundant one.

    Note: if you find your passcards in file explorer - they are just files- you can check the dates they were modified and created- that may help you sort them.

    If passcards popped up immediately at the time of registering, and had the facility, one would then be prompted and could easily record the needed info.
    Normally, when you fill the fields on a new site, I am prompted- a bar across the top of the displayed page in my browser (Firefox)- to save the data in a passcard.

    If you are finding you always have to manually fill passcards with all data, there's something wrong.
    There's also this option to specifically save filled data:
    Fatal Flaw in Internet Software-untitled.png

    I have instances where as many as 16 data fields appear
    Agreed, sometimes there are more than you expect. But I've never had to particularly worry about that.

    Sometimes it's helpful to edit the match URL, as what's saved isn't always the most helpful. Shortening it sometimes makes the passcard available on other pages where the same data is needed. That's only applicable in complex financial sites, for example.

    Hope that helps a bit.
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  5. Posts : 56
    Win 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Sorry I asked! Hahaha. I've got to copy, print and study that but right off the bat I see what you're pointing to. I took a closer look at passcards yesterday but missed that Go Fill option on the taskbar, and a lot of other things as well. If you got all this without study, then all I can say is that you have something upstairs that I'm lacking. But, from the looks of it you are a much heavier user than I. I'm running a business and can't spend a lot of time with complex programs.

    It's bad enough that they keep changing the OS on me every few years. I just get to know one and then all that learning gets tossed out. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to help me out.

    My next issue will be how to clean up the horrid mess they made of File Manager which I still call directory, but I'm not quite ready to tackle that yet. Is it possible to get rid of the superfluous garbage and have only show the drives and contents thereof, getting rid of the likes of Libraries, One Drive, Non-Existant and/or Unused networks, and of course, those dozens of unused file folders that Msft, has set up for reasons unknown? Just asking for a yes/no whether that can be done. Thank-you.

    PS: I've always used, or tried to use, Directory as an Index/locator and as a filing cabinet/system. It has become very hard to do that these days bearing in mind that I still tend to think in terms of Win3.1
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  6. Posts : 42,735
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #6

    Onedrive- you can
    a. stop it running altogether - simply choose not to start it using its options.
    b. https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...dows-10-a.html

    File explorer:
    - you can hide the ribbon if you like.

    Libraries:
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...dows-10-a.html

    There are free dual pane file managers if you want something that looks different.

    Roboform: I've used it for years, and as it's such a time saver/necessity, just use it. Ideally user software would be relatively intuitive, so provide the features you think of or want to use. It's a focussed sort of program, so - other than learning about the 'Ignore field' and popup, just mostly used it I guess.

    There are a couple of annoying things
    - it pops up a prompt offering to save passcards at times when there already is one.
    - search (when you hover over the taskbar icon- sometimes fails to be displayed.
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  7. Posts : 56
    Win 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Roboform: Its a life-saver for me in many ways: one is that I have a mental block about typing in boxes filling out forms. I just can't do it. I have written 4 books and type around 80 wpm but when I have to fill out forms, its like I never learned to type - I make dozens of mistakes. I can't even type passwords correctly Therefore, I have taken the time to learn to set up to fill forms of all sorts. I also learned to make macros, too, and that's a big help.

    "They" say never use macros for passwords. I don't see why not. If you get hacked, they'll get your passwords regardless of how you store it. so I put my Master on a macro because there are some instances where you cannot use Robo for passwords but the macro will do what Robo cannot. The only instance where nothing will work is on windows log-in if you have one.

    Thanks to you I've been exploring Passcards and log-ins a little further. Its funny how simply asking a question can lead to answers even B4 someone answers. Causes one to think whereas previously one did not.

    Libraries - I unchecked Show Libraries in Change File Folders but it is still there. Do I have to click on Reset to activate a change? Was afraid to try it because I didn't know what would happen if I did.
    Last edited by DAVEY JONES; 13 Jan 2017 at 06:57. Reason: addition
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  8. Posts : 42,735
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #8

    Thinking can be bad for you... good in smaller doses maybe.

    Libraries- not tried this, but last line (8. ....) in the tutorial shows you can
    - restart explorer (launch task manager, rt click explorer, click restart)
    - log off/on would work
    - a restart.

    A reset is a completely different thing.
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  9. Posts : 56
    Win 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #9

    dalchina said:
    Thinking can be bad for you... good in smaller doses maybe.

    .
    I'm reformed from too often accused of being a thoughtless sob. Not, that it helps much.
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