I was trying to see if I’ve officially graduated, as I’ve already completed all the units.

Email from my former university:

Please check your ***** supplied student email account as all official correspondence is sent to that account (this was advised on 4 March 2016 and again on 11 April 2016).

It is understood that all official graduation documentation (official academic transcript, testamur and AHEGS statement) is currently being dispatched to all students who did not register to attend the actual ceremony last week or elected not to attend.

My reply:

Hello ****,
Yes that would be good, but I haven’t had access to the ***** system and hence the email for quite some time.
It keeps saying that the password I’ve entered is incorrect, even though I’ve copied it from a saved place.
And then when it inevitably asks me to change my password because I’ve ‘forgotten’ it, then I have to change it to one I haven’t used before, which means as I’ve changed it more than 10 times now, it is ever increasingly likely that I won’t remember it, because it becomes more and more obscure.

I mean seriously what kind of secure system is that?  It is so difficult to get in, that you can’t use any of the functions because you won’t be able to get past the initial login.

But hackers can still get in, because they’re going to find a way around the system anyway. It’s just the person that wants to use the account can’t.  Brilliant!

Also, I seem to remember that this particular university system asks me really strange questions when you go to change your password.

Like ‘Please answer your security questions’

However I’m pretty sure I’ve never typed in those security questions.

So instead of ‘What was your Mother’s maiden name?’

It will ask something like ‘Where was your Aunty’s first apartment in Australia?’

Or… ‘What was your father’s childhood dog’s name?’

Or.. ‘How many pairs of socks did you own as of March 2015?’

Errr…. I don’t even know the answers to these questions.  And I’m pretty sure I didn’t choose them as my security questions.
Ok the last question is a bit ridiculous, but you get what I mean.

It will always tell me though, that I’ve answered it correctly, which makes me just assume that it’s somehow collecting information on me.
Yes my cynical, paranoid mind kicks into gear.

But then it say.. ‘OK please wait 24 hours whilst we clear this information for security concerns’

By which you forget the damn password you just changed it to, or…you forget to login again after 24 hour and then you even forget where you stored the password that you had the foresight to actually write down.

….Why does it have to be this complicated?