Sharing Passwords with Loved Ones Is Essential

As computers become more and more part of our daily lives, new challenges appear for the relatives of people who have passed away without getting a chance to let others know of their passwords, which are used to protect banking accounts, computer hard drives and so on. Now, an increasingly common situation is when, after the death of a loved one, people have to take difficult actions, sometime taking up to a year to complete, in order to access information left behind by their parents, children, or other relatives.

This is especially important in cases of kidnapping and suicide, where a single document found somewhere in the computer can lead the investigation on a totally new path that could culminate in getting to the bottom of the problem. However, most times, those left behind find themselves unable to access computers or mobile phones, as they don't know the password.

And the trouble is that more and more individuals are starting to protect their computers with passwords that have no connection to the things around them, such as the spouse's name, pet's name, or mother's maiden name. Some consider that these pieces of information can easily be accessible, and therefore do not take the risk of having their computers broken in with an easy-to-guess password.

In addition, more and more websites require that their users employ all types of special characters when setting up their control word. So, in most cases, we have letters, numbers and other signs of the keyboard, which can be arranged in an infinity of ways. And the longer the password, the slimmer the chances of a relative cracking it by accident. Furthermore, in an increasing number of cases, people don't even use words that make sense in their passwords, in that they set up a string of numbers and letters that only they can understand – usually mixes of various dates and words, seemingly unrelated.

Lawyers and computer technicians advise individuals to entrust at least one family member with their password. If that's impossible, keep it on a piece of paper in the family safe, and tell the combination to the safe to your legal representative. This type of agreement falls within the lawyer's attributions, and can spare loved ones the trouble and grief of having to go through court to recover valuable photographs and movies, as well as important banking account information.