The laptop's all set up - and dd received it on Tuesday. For now we'll try open office. She does have a desktop pc with word if she needs it. And at school they use Mac's. So no matter what we use at home, it won't be quite the same as in school. abreeze - thanks for the link. It's beyond anything she or I will do now - but one or both of us might get more versed in powerpoint over time. That's a helpful comparison. I created recovery disks - but when I went to create a password reset disk, the laptop kept asking me to insert a disk. There was a disk in there. I even switched disks in case one was bad. But it was birthday day - so I figured I'd get to this later. Well - it came back and bit me in the butt. Birthday night had some trauma. After dinner, my mother fell backwards and hit her head on the sidewalk. I took her to the ER. My daughter was distraught - and the parent controls had logged her off at 9pm. Husband thought this was a reasonable exception - so he logged into the admin account for her. She immediately eliminated the time controls. No big deal, I thought - I'll reset them another time. Somehow she tricked my husband into entering the admin password again - told him she'd restarted the computer by accident. Well - that sneak had gotten him to enter the password in a field that allowed her to change it. She changed the passwords and locked us out of the laptop. So this is where that password reset disk would have been helpful - to override what she did and reset a new admin password. So this is partly a note to people about the important of creating a password reset disk (or set up on flash drive). I'd never even heard of this before. We're at the beach with my daughter and friend - it's instead of a birthday party. So we're not having the confrontation with this weekend. Monday - we tell her she has to hand back the reins for the admin account (or no laptop). The joys of parenting preteens. It took her less than 24 hours to violate most of the terms of the contract she signed. Sure wish I'd had that reset password disk. When I get admin control back, I'll be sure to create one somehow. (I assume at this point my only option is getting her to give me that new password she created.) Thanks. Lynn.

There are some pros & cons on these two different comparison articles on password managers : http://lifehacker.com/5529133/five-best-password-managers http://gizmodo.com/5876508/account-hacked-these-password-managers-keep-your-everything-safe?tag=password-managers

When that happens it is saved into your browser and yes it can be accessed by anyone with access to the pc. I have a very nice notebook with plastic cover that is strictly for login details including passwords. You should have some thing other than a scrap of papers. Over time as you sign up for various sites you have a pile of papers. I don't put passwords in any program and don't use a password keeper. I have a copy saved on a flash drive, the notebook that is in a locked location. If someone makes it into my house, kills me and my husband, manages to steal my computers and also finds and steals the notebook too they can have it! I tape the router and wifi information on the bottom of the router.

I'm sorry, I am new to wireless computing. I have had my netbook and router less than a year. I do not know the proper terms. I set up the router and network security stuff and set the laptop to connect automatically and haven't given it another thought. I have never taken my netbook "on the road" so when we drove out of town to my parents house, I brought it. When I tried to connect to my mother's network it asked for a password, it may have said Key, she told me two that she uses and they didn't work. HER laptop is set to connect automatically too and she has no idea what the password is to let me on to her network. If it is going to be a big ordeal to figure out her password, I won't bother but when I get home I'm going to have to figure out my own. I am more likely to have someone come over with their laptop than my mother. I did read your advice to tape it to the router but I think I already forgot it by then. OOPS