I have an address book with all info. acct numbers passwords usernames security questions etc. everyone knows if we have any emergency, first thing to grab is the address book.

Most websites have a password reset function.

I'm sorry you've gotten a bit unnerved but as others have said, this is a self-inflicted wound. The Windows update isn't what caused the problem - it's your fault by apparently not keeping track of passwords. You should never rely on a browser to retain passwords.

Learn from this by following any of the above suggestions and being more attentive to thoughtful practice habits.

PS - your photos are never moved nor affected by a Windows update. I'm confident they are wherever they were before. It's good to back them up but not for the reason you've imagined.

I feel your pain. I got a new tablet yesterday. Every app needed the log in criteria along with double verification by texting codes to my phone. Yes. The extra level of protection is nice but rather annoying/time consuming.

I rebooted my computer and it's back to the way it was yesterday. Nothing lost. I am really good at putting everything on external hard drives (I have 2 3TB hard drives and 3 500gig hard drives full of files), so backing up is no problem for me. I just didn't save one file of pictures (I did find them on the memory card, yay me!), but when I restarted my computer and saw it was all back to the way it was, I was even happier.

I have a little black book for passwords, but I changed a couple and forgot to update that........... It was easy to get the new passwords: I just had to do a few password resets.

Bill Gates left Microsoft over 10 years ago - I don't think his ghost has any lingering impact on anyone's PC experience. Especially not for Mac or Chromebook users.

For those of you who want to have the lowest risk and best security and privacy experiences with your PC:

-Be sure your browsers are set to "erase" cache, cookies and browsing history when shut down or the PC is turned off, and

-Never use the "save password" feature of a browser.

To make password remembering easier (even though you do keep a log somewhere easy to find and use), try mnemonics or silly phrases that relate to the nature of the site, like

plantaseed1776 - for Houzz (use your favorite number)

spendlikemad1776 for your bank

monopolyinprogress1776 for your brokerage account

Itunes takes my money every week = itmmew

why is it so hard to get books at the library = wiishtgbatl

etc.

Mnemonic letter sequences from a phrase produce otherwise nonsensical passwords that are especially hard to break.

It's not that hard. Otherwise, you take your chances.

I use a formula......not to tell too much here.......but it is something like the first 4 letters of the website followed by a password you like and then 2 numbers. Then you can simply look at the name of the website and know your password is " houztunafish12" for example.

Excellent! But even better if what's commonly slipped in is nonsensical, like my house is white and the lawn is green = mhiwatlig

Nothing works across all sites. Many want a capital letter and some sort of character like a question mark. I write them down at my desk, then don't have my list when on my tablet. It's a pain.

I haven't gotten the Windows update notification.

So following the suggestions here, capitalize the first or last letter and add the special character you like best, for all passwords.

Most Windows versions update every month. Assuming my newer PCs have typical behavior, Windows 10 just does the updates without advance notice. There's no "notify but do nothing" option as in some prior versions.

I use a Bluetooth mouse or at least I did before the update. Now that the update happened my computer won't recognize Bluetooth at all so I had to get an old mouse. I googled the problem and there are some suggestions involving all kinds of commands but they are too complicated for me to bother. I get annoyed when new updates ruin something the previously worked. It isn't something as simple as going into settings to turn Bluetooth on the Bluetooth setting is totally blank and can't be turned on. Its a royal pain!

I do also include one upper case letter and a symbol. I have written my formula down on an index card in case of emergency but after years of doing it this way it just flies off my fingers for every site I use, except financial business. I have completely unique passwords for them and change them often. There is just the one index card then.

I thought my laptop was dying, it's several years old. For the past week or so, it is occasionally booting into a temporary profile but another restart rights everything. I need to make time to find out how to fix that.

And then there are the sites that make you change the password every few months and won't let you use a password you used previously. I get what you are all saying, but nothing is foolproof. I am surprised no one has mentioned the password management services.