Communicator Help: Using AOL<sup><font size=-2>®</font></sup> Communicator Identity Manager

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Using AOL Communicator Identity Manager

Managing Passwords

Turning on Your Master Password
Using the Password Quality Meter
Choosing a Good Password
Controlling Your Passwords
Changing Remember Password Settings
HOW IT WORKS: Passwords & Local Mail
What to Do If You Forget Your Master Password

Related topic:

Password Settings & Preferences

Turning on Your Master Password

When you set up a mail account in AOL® Communicator Mail, you can enter your passwords and leave the default setting "Remember password" selected. That way you don't have to retype them each time you launch AOL Communicator (as long as your Internet connection isn't interrupted).

This is convenient, but it also means that anyone with access to your computer can use AOL Communicator to send and receive mail or log onto your Instant Messenger™ accounts.

To prevent other people with access to your computer from using AOL Communicator, set your Master Password. When your Master Password is turned on, you must enter it each time you launch an AOL Communicator application for the first time (assuming that no other AOL Communicator applications are already running).

Security note: Setting a Master Password for an account means only that you must type the password before launching AOL Communicator. Without launching the program, someone who can access your computer may still be able to read local mail that you've stored on your hard disk. For details, see HOW IT WORKS: Passwords & Local Mail.

To set your Master Password:

1. In the Mail window, open the Tools Menu and choose Manage Master Password.
2. If you haven't yet set your Master Password, click Set Password. To change an existing Master Password, click Change Password.
3. Enter your new password. Check the password quality meter as you type.
   Passwords that can be easily guessed have little value. The password quality meter gives you a rough idea of the relative quality of your password as you type it based on factors such as length and the use of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
   For more information, see Using the Password Quality Meter.
4. Enter your new password again in the "Confirm new password" field. You must type it exactly the same way.
5. Type a password hint to help you remember it. This should be a word or phrase that only you can associate with your Master Password.
   Warning: If you forget your Master Password, you will have to reinstall AOL Communicator from scratch, including setting up all your accounts again. To avoid this, you can take two precautions:
   Memorize your Master Password.
   Supply a hint in case you forget it again.
6. Click OK.

Related topics:

Controlling Your Passwords
What to Do If You Forget Your Master Password
Turn Off Master Password
HOW IT WORKS: Passwords & Local Mail

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Using the Password Quality Meter

AOL Communicator may request a password before allowing you to set up an account, check messages, sign on to the Instant Messenger service, and perform other tasks that involve confidential information.

For example, you may be asked to provide one or more account passwords when Instant Messenger for AOL Communicator launches, since it needs to access your accounts to check mail status for your buddies.

Passwords that can be easily guessed have little value. Wherever you need to create a new password or type one in your account settings, you'll see the password quality meter:

The password quality meter gives you a rough idea of the relative quality of your password as you type it based on factors such as length and the use of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. It does not guarantee that no one will be able to guess your password.

If the quality bar doesn't move past the center after you finish typing your password, you should consider changing the password based on the guidelines that follow.

Related topics:

For password guidelines, see the next section, Choosing a Good Password.

For information on preventing other people with access to your computer from using AOL Communicator, see Turning on Your Master Password.

For information about controlling the frequency with which passwords are requested, see Controlling Your Passwords.

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Choosing a Good Password

To create a good password, don't use:

- Any part of your name - first, last, or middle
- Your initials
- Your social security number
- Names of people, pets, or places
- Birthdays
- Phone numbers or addresses
- Any other personal information that could be guessed
- Words in any dictionary of any language
- Your user name or login name
- Your computer's name
- Repetition of the same letter
- Sequences of keyboard keys, such as "12345" or "qwerty"
- Any minor variation of the above, such as spelling backwards or appending a character to the end of your name

To create a good password, do use:

- Special characters (*!$+) mixed with letters and numbers
- Mixed uppercase and lowercase letters—putting capitals in random locations throughout a password is effective
- Punctuation characters mixed with letters and numbers
- Nonsense words that are easy to pronounce but aren't in any dictionary
- Six or more characters

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Controlling Your Passwords

By default, AOL Communicator Mail "remembers" the passwords that control access to your mail account servers. This feature can be convenient, since the software keeps track of the passwords for you and enters them for you automatically whenever it sends or receives new mail.

However, remembered passwords can also be used by anyone who has access to your computer and can launch AOL Communicator. If you are concerned about other people using your AOL Communicator accounts, you can set a Master Password that's requested each time you launch the program.

Whether you set a Master Password or not, you can also turn off the Remember Password setting for individual accounts. Turning this option off means that you'll have to enter your account password whenever you launch AOL Communicator.

If other people can access your computer easily and you don't want them to be able to use your e-mail accounts, you should consider setting a Master Password, turning off the Remember Password setting for sensitive accounts, or taking both of these precautions.

Security note: Neither your mail server passwords nor your Master Password protect mail messages that you may have stored locally on your own computer. For details, see the How It Works section listed below.

Related topics:

Changing Remember Password Settings
HOW IT WORKS: Passwords & Local Mail
Turning on Your Master Password
Turn Off Master Password
What to Do If You Forget Your Master Password

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Changing Remember Password Settings

Before you change the Remember Password setting for an account, be sure to read about related settings in Controlling Your Passwords.

Note: If the "Remember Password" setting is selected, other people with physical access to your computer may be able to access your account.

To change the Remember Password setting for an AOL account:

1. From the main Mail window, open the Edit menu and choose Account Settings.
2. Double-click the name of the AOL account whose Remember Password setting you want to view or change.
3. In the Mail Settings tab, click to select or deselect the checkbox labeled "Remember password."
4. Click OK to confirm your choice.
5. Click OK in the Account Settings window.

To change the Remember Password setting for an ISP account:

Each ISP account has two separate Remember Password settings: one for the outgoing server and one for the incoming server. Follow these steps:

1. From the main Mail window, open the Edit menu and choose Account Settings.
2. Double-click the name of the ISP account for which you want to turn off your "remember password" option.
3. In the Sending Mail tab, click the Edit Server button.
4. In the Edit Server window, click to select or deselect the checkbox labeled "Remember SMTP password," which controls the password for the outgoing mail server.
5. Click OK to confirm your choice.
6. Click the Receiving Mail tab.
7. Click to select or deselect the checkbox labeled "Remember password," which controls the password for the incoming mail server.
8. If you have deselected the Remember Password option, look at the two "Check for new mail" options near the bottom of the window and make sure they are set the way you want:
   Check for new mail on startup: If this option is selected, you will need to type your password every time you launch AOL Communicator.
   Check for new mail every __ minutes: If this option is selected, you will need to type your password the first time AOL Communicator Mail checks mail after launching (unless your Internet connection is interrupted, in which case you'll need to enter it again when service is restored). You can change the number of minutes if you want.
9. Click OK to confirm your choices.
10. Click OK in the Account Settings window.

Related topics:

Controlling Your Passwords
Storing Messages for Offline Use
HOW IT WORKS: Passwords & Local Mail

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HOW IT WORKS: Passwords & Local Mail

Each password associated with one of your mail accounts control access to a mail server—that is, to a separate computer somewhere on the Internet that manages your incoming mail, outgoing mail, or both for that account. This is also true for your AOL accounts.

The Master Password, if you decide to set one, is required to launch the AOL Communicator software on your own computer.

However, neither your server passwords nor the Master Password protect mail that you have stored locally on your own computer.

As with most other e-mail programs, mail stored locally can easily be read by anyone who has access to your computer and knows where to look on your hard drive.

Mail stored locally includes messages in any of the following folders that you can view from within AOL Communicator Mail:

Folders in Local Mail (including archived AOL mail, if you use this feature)

Folders in POP accounts

Folders in IMAP accounts for which the "Store messages locally for offline computing" option has been selected.

If you are storing messages in any of these locations that you don't want people with access to your computer to read, you should create a separate Windows® system profile for your own use, and protect that profile with a password that's difficult to guess. Note that not all Windows systems support this capability.

Related topics:

Archiving Messages
Storing Messages for Offline Use
Controlling Your Passwords
Turning on Your Master Password

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What to Do If You Forget Your Master Password

If you can't remember your Master Password and you are still viewing the Sign On to AOL Communicator window, click the link "Need a password hint?" The hint you set when you first set your Master Password (if any) will be displayed.

Before going through this lengthy process, try again to remember and retype your Master Password. It's possible that you may simply have typed it incorrectly the first time.

If you are absolutely certain that you can't remember your Master Password, follow these steps:

1. If the Sign On to AOL Communicator window is still showing, click Cancel.
2. If the AOL Communicator Help window is still showing, close it.
   To print these instructions before closing the Help window: Click the Print button.
3. Open the My Computer icon on your desktop and navigate to the Application Data folder for your system user profile:

Windows® 2000/XP: C:\Documents and Settings\Windows_Profile_Name\
Application Data\
Windows® 98, single user: C:\Windows\Application Data\
Windows® 98, multiple users: C:\Windows\Profiles\
Windows_Profile_Name\Application Data\
Note: If you cannot see the Application Data folder inside your profile directory, open the Tools menu, choose Folder Options, click the View tab, and select the option labeled "Show hidden files and folders".

4. Inside the Application Data folder, open the folder AOL Communicator, which contains your user profile information (such as account settings and preferences).
5. Inside the folder AOL Communicator, find the local and pop directories, and drag them out onto your desktop or any other convenient location.
6. Click the Start Menu, choose Programs, then AOL Communicator, then Tools, then Uninstall AOL Communicator.

If the uninstall program asks whether you want to delete your previous user profile for AOL Communicator, click Yes. The instructions that follow describe how to move the `local` and `pop` directories (which you moved in Step 5) to your new profile directory.

7. Open this directory on your computer: C:/Program Files/
8. If the directory `AOL Communicator` is still present inside the Program Files directory, delete it.

If you see a message saying that it can't be deleted, go on to the next step.

9. If you already have the most recent installer file (ac_install.exe) for AOL Communicator, go to Step 12.
10. If you haven't got a copy of the AOL Communicator installer file (ac_install.exe) on your hard disk, launch your AOL®® client software, go to Keyword: AOL Communicator and click the button labeled Click to Download Now!
11. Save the file to any convenient location on your hard disk where you can find it again.
12. Double-click `ac_install.exe`.

You should see the AOL Communicator Setup screens described in the steps that follow.
If you didn't delete your previous AOL Communicator user profile in an earlier step, you will be asked whether you want to delete it and create a new one. Click Yes.

13. License Agreement. Click "I Agree" if you agree with the terms of the license.
14. Installation Options. Leave all items selected and click Next.
15. Installation Directory. For most people, the default location is fine—just click Install to continue with the installation.

If you want to specify a different location, click Browse, choose the location where you want to install AOL Communicator, click OK, and then click Install.
The Installing Files screen displays the progress of the setup program as it installs AOL Communicator.

16. Completed. The setup program closes and the Account Wizard opens. See Setting Up Mail Accounts for instructions on what to do next.

If you are asked to restart your computer, click OK. In this case, launch AOL Communicator after restarting to open the Account Setup Wizard.
You must start by setting up an AOL member account. If you have more than one account, you also need to set up any additional accounts after the main AOL Communicator Mail window opens.
For each new account that you need to set up, open the Edit menu and choose New Account, then fill in the requested information as appropriate for that account.

17. After all your accounts are set up, close every AOL Communicator window (including the Help window).
18. Inside the directory Application Data, locate the folder AOL Communicator (the location of the new user profile you just created).
19. Inside the AOL Communicator folder, delete these directories:
    local, pop, mcache, scache.
20. Move your old local and pop directories (which you moved in Step 5) into the new AOL Communicator folder.
21. Double-click the AOL Communicator icon on the desktop, or open the Start menu and choose Programs, then AOL Communicator, then AOL Communicator.
22. When the AOL Communicator Mail window opens, click the Local Mail folder, open the File menu, and choose Refresh Folder List. Then select each top-level POP account folder and refresh it in the same manner.
    All the Local Mail folders from your old profile should now be present, as well as any local POP mail you may have stored for your POP accounts.
23. If you want to set a new Master Password, open the Tools menu and choose Manage Master Password.
    Warning: Make sure you memorize the password you type, and supply a hint in case you forget it again.

Related topics:

Set Master Password
Turn Off Master Password

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The sections in this document that discuss security, encryption, and privacy are provided by AOL for your information only. They may help you take certain steps to protect the privacy and security of your personal information on the Internet. This document does not, however, address all online privacy and security issues, nor does it represent a recommendation by AOL about what constitutes adequate privacy and security protection on the Internet.

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Last Updated September 16, 2003