As an early adopter, I used aol for years (now on aol9) but lately, switched my isp
to another company, paying a very small fee for the priviledge of being allowed to continue with AOL's software and services. Recently this was changed by AOL so that (like many others) I was allowed free access, with no monthly charge. Then, AOL annoucned they were shutting down the Hometown journals/blogs service, which I rather enjoyed and everyone would need to export their stuff to another location. Most recently, I tried to update my password for security reasons - and as recommended by AOL - only to find I can no longer do this online and have to phone them. Now the operator sets a new password
How secure is that?

Actually, it's very secure. Tech support agents are allowed to reset a password but are not allowed to read someone's password. Yes, it is a trusted position, you just have to trust they are not stealing your password.

It's amazing how much trust we have i our society these days. Anytime you pay for something in cash, we all assume the person will give us change. What if they take your $20 bill and refuse? They could lie and say you never gave them money or something less. Yet we hand over the $20 and always get the correct change. Why? Trust!

Trust exists in almost every aspect of our day to day lives. Yet, we don't realize it.

Best,
-- Andy