Creating a Store Security Key

When you created your Merchant Solutions account, you had to either provide information about
an existing Yahoo! account or create a new account. The Yahoo! account has an ID (to identify
you), and a password (to ensure that only you can access the account). There’s one more form
of account protection that you’re going to need, a security key. The security key is required for
access to many, although not all, areas of your Merchant Solutions account. This allows you to
set up a store account that can be used by, for example, a web designer, but that will give you
sole access to important areas.

Do you have several people who are going to be working on your store? Maybe a couple
of web designers, someone who updates your product list, a staff member responsible for
inventory, and so on? You can create different accounts for each person, providing different
permissions to each. Each staff member must set up a Yahoo! account and check the Add this
profile to the Yahoo! Member Directory box in their Edit Public Profile page. You can then
set up an account in the store using the Access link in the Site Settings column.

The security key is required to view orders—for instance, to set up payment methods or to
change basic account information. It is not required for access to the Store Editor—where you
can create store pages—or to some other less sensitive areas.
It’s a good idea to set up your security key right away, before you allow other people access
to the Store Manager.
1. Click the Pay Methods link in the Store Manager.
2. Yahoo! will ask you for your account password, to verify that you have the right to create
a security key. Type the password and click Continue.
3. Provide a security key, another password. It must contain at least six characters and
cannot match or contain your Yahoo! ID or password, nor include your first or last name.
4. Provide all the other information requested. Yahoo! asks you to confirm some basic
information, including the credit card used to set up the account.
5. Click Submit This Form.

Spend much time online at all, and you’ll end up with a whole lot of account IDs and
passwords. Ideally, these should not be easy to figure out and should vary, so eventually you
have a problem—how do you remember them all? Write them down, and the paper may be
found; don’t write them down, and you’ll eventually forget some of them. A more effective
way to store them is to use a password-management program. One great program is Password
Depot (http://www.password-depot.com/). You can find others at any good download site,
such as WUGNET.com and Tucows.com.