I set up a local BBS-like system and used the real NetZero* dialer to call it and attempt to log in. Then I changed my password and repeated the process several times.

That gave me the key to the Caesar cipher they used for the password.. so I could create a fresh account with a scrambled password any time I wanted.

At runtime, in the OS-provided ad-free dialer, I'd use the unscrambled password.

I also pre-created some accounts with unscrambled passwords like "apple" and "bicycle" to share with friends.

NetZero* ceased operations mere weeks after I started this.. Hm.

(* Was it NetZero specifically, or some clone? I forget..)