Please return the favour !

[Teresa]

I've just returned from an enjoyable river boat trip along the Danube. The thought of dressing wasn't a problem as most people wore trousers and Tshirts . It wasn't until the first formal night when my wife asked me to zip her dress up that it hit me like a baseball bat, seeing her cleavage in that dress ! I so wanted her to return that favour and zip me up !!

When I returned I was then faced with the old chestnut again!!

My son was looking looking after my dog so he used the house for a few days with his family. I always switch all my computer stuff off, so I was surprised to see all my Norton and other connection information lying about . He said he tried to get online and had been looking for passwords, I usually keep forum details etc. well out of sight. So how much digging had he done ? I guess I just have leave it and see.

I'm getting tired of this of this continually cropping up !! My biggest fear is if has picked up something he may think I'm perverse enough to be unfit to be in contact with the grandchildren ! Even if he doesn't his wife may not see it that way !

[DeeArel]

I keep all my passwords in my head and delete the browser history and cookies before closing the browser.

[Chari]

Teresa, IMO best to leave sleeping dogs lie, rather than "guess" at what was discovered. If no-one brings up the issue, just be more cautious & secure next time! Enjoy.

[Teresa]

Dee that's my default setting, I know it takes longer to load but it's worth it !

[Amanda L.]

Sweep the path you have walked on. I agree with DeeArel and Chari. Privacy these days, it seems, is not a private matter
Amanda

[BLUE ORCHID]

I keep all my passwords in my head and delete the browser history and cookies before closing the browser.

Hi Dee, I do the same thing before shutting down.

[devida]

I use a password system (Dashlane) so I only have to remember one password. There are plenty of them around and I got tired of writing down all the passwords and I had too many to remember. That, clearing your browser history, and using porn mode is good enough for everyone except, of course, the NSA and I doubt they are interested.

[Adriana]

I recommend that you make a guess account on the same computer. Give the account limited access. This way you can work on your account freely, without fear of someone finding your "stuff". This also gives your son a way to get online without seeing anything you've done.

[Samantha Clark]

That's why I keep a gpg encrypted file with my passwords and the decrypt pass phrase is in my head not written anywhere.

[Golden God]

I agree with Chari, if no one says a thing, then they either know and don't consider it a big issue, or they don't and everything's cool.
Any way, just be more careful next time. Good luck!

Kind regards!

[Teresa]

GG I get what you're saying, but I guess I'm getting tired of one step forward and two back !
My stuff is pretty well hidden but it's the not knowing that's very wearing !!

[flatlander_48]

Agreed concerning the security of passwords. I use an iPad/iPhone/Mac app called Passwords+. It is all encrypted and automatically syncs between my iPad and iPhone and my wife's iMac. These days I only specifically remember a handful of passwords. I realized that with about 15 forum memberships, at least that many online retailers, 3 or 4 with my bank, private E-mail accounts, etc. that it was too many to remember. Plus, I think it is very tempting to use simplistic passwords in an effort to facilitate memory. Not a good idea...

[Crinolyn]

The "other" answer is have another computer.
We have two computers, two tablets and two smartphones in the house.

Or a dual boot operating system!
I accidentally made one of those on a computer and thought WOW! This could be so helpful to someone.

[Cheryl T]

I have developed my own shorthand for my passwords. Even my wife has trouble with them with me giving her the key. I doubt anyone would decrypt them, but at this point, if they do then Oh Well...

[Badwolf]

I also tend to keep most in my head. I also keep my computer password protected so it's not easy for someone to just poke around the files either.

[Maria 60]

I am always clearing and clearing and deleting and deleting and still when the kids use the I pad I am always sweating it out. The first time I added some pictures to the picture gallery, I didn't realize for about a month later that I forgot to delete them from the picture folder. I still sit here not knowing if anyone seen them, so I try to act normal and see if something comes out of it. What a life we lead, maybe next time someone else should shuffle the cards before they deal us our hand. We must be more careful and make sure we cover our tracks at all times.

[MichelleContura]

For Mac users be sure and switch to private browsing, the new OS is going to be great you can have a window open in normal mode and one in private browsing mode i can't wait.

[Nadya]

I'm sure he'll bring it up if there's a problem. My experience has been that if someone finds out about it, they usually don't want to bring it up and pretend they didn't know about it.

[Stephanie Sometimes]

Hi Teresa,

It's so difficult to cover your tracks on a PC these days if someone else has access to it. Giving them a guest account is good unless they know how to hack into your user account. But since you did not really expect him to use your computer you were caught off guard anyway. I don't expect anyone else to have access to my main PC but who knows what could happen someday.

At some level, for those of us who actively CD, we have to assume that eventually some friends or family members may find out about us despite our best efforts to keep it a secret from those people in particular. I think that comes with the territory and you just have to be willing to deal with it if and when it happens. I can see how the not knowing if your son has seen something can be the most stressful. I would think that if he did and doesn't say something to you then likely he is ok with it. If he has a problem with it then hopefully he will discuss it with you or drop some hints that he knows. It's so difficult to predict how people will react to our CD'ing, some folks are fine and others are totally freaked out so I can understand your concern about family members. Hope it all works itself out soon.

Hugs,
Steph

[Tracii G]

I'd get on his ass for going thru you stuff looking for passwords.
If he gets pissed so what? I'm sure he wouldn't give you his passwords.

[Badwolf]

Part of the reasoning in giving someone another user account to use, is that they won't NEED to get into your user account. If the person isn't someone you can trust to respect boundaries, then maybe they also have a problem.

As for covering your tracks completely. It is technically possible to do so, especially against the laymen most of us are up against when they nose around. You just need to know enough about computers to get it done.

[Eryn]

It wasn't until the first formal night when my wife asked me to zip her dress up that it hit me like a baseball bat...

Oh, that one hits me too. I'm normally OK with being out and about in boy mode, but when I see ladies enjoying themselves in their pretty outfits while I am stuck in drab it eats away at me.

As far as computer security goes, one of the best is to use a laptop and physically lock the computer away in a cabinet or drawer when you aren't using it.

If they can't see it, they won't want to use it. Even if they know it's there they have to break into the cabinet to look at it.

As far as worries about being separated from grandchildren, remember that that is a knife that can cut both ways. You have assets that will have to go to someone when you pass on and if your son and his wife decide to keep your grandchildren separated from you then you can decide to keep your assets separated from your son. I'm not saying that this is likely to happen, but you need to realize that you aren't powerless in this regard.

[donnalee]

Or....
You could boot from a thumb drive, which you can lock up or carry with you (up to 64 gigs).
From a portable drive if that is not large enough (2 tb or better).
Password protect at the bios, and then password protect the OS login.
Set up a guest account with no password required and no access to something you would like kept private (and with no access to account settings to change that).
How old is your son? He has no inherent right to use your computer; he certainly has no business searching your house for a password. He needs to know he screwed up badly this time; if he's underage I'd ground him or worse; if he's not, do not leave him alone in your home again and explain to him how badly he's just screwed up and how much he's violated your trust and hurt you by his actions.
I know this sounds a little harsh, but it is one of the most basic things he needs to know; he has no rights to do anything involving you (or anyone else) without express permission, or as we were told when young "Mind your own business. others can take care of their own."

[Tracy Hazel Lee]

For Mac users be sure and switch to private browsing, the new OS is going to be great you can have a window open in normal mode and one in private browsing mode i can't wait.

You don't need to wait for a whole new OS, Chrome can do this now. Hit ⌘-Shift-N (or CTRL+SHIFT+N in Windows) and a new tab will open called 'incognito'. All browsing history in this tab is immediately deleted once you close the tab, or the browser. And yes, you can have both normal and incognito tabs open simultaneously.

[Badwolf]

Drive encryption is overlooked but impotent if you want to completely avoid any possible leak vectors.