Password Managers

Posted on Posted in Best Practice, Weekly Tip

Forward: Over the last year or so of researching and writing this blog, I’ve come to the conclusion that there really are only about ten cybersecurity tips, and they are mostly common sense. The rest are just minor variations. With that in mind, I’m going to repeat and rework a few from the last year over the next weeks. Please read on, as these are all really the essence of cybersecurity.

The Tip

The easiest way you can vastly improve your personal cybersecurity as well as improve all your password habits is to start using a password manager now.

The Detail

Passwords are the bane of online existence, but they’re not going anywhere in the foreseeable future. Most of us have to manage dozens or hundreds of different username:password combinations. Many solve this problem by using simple memorable passwords, or worse, using the same password on site after site after site. That’s just asking for trouble.

The fix is simple and cheap, in many cases, free. The fix is to start using a password manager now. The best password managers;

  • capture your credentials during account creation
  • capture credentials of existing logins upon first access
  • generate quality passwords for you when creating new ones
  • automatically log you in to sites
  • make your passwords available to you on all your devices, always in sync, online or offline
  • store other forms of information such as credit cards
  • warn you if you’re using weak passwords
  • warn you if your username:pass combination is part of a known breach
  • advanced commercial managers also offer features like team sharing of certain credentials

There are several very good free, commercial and subscription-based solutions out there. LastPass was one of the first ones and remains quite popular. I use 1Password for it’s robust features and also as it’s a Canadian product. KeePass, Keeper, Dashlane are also popular. They all offer similar features and most offer free trials, or completely free solutions.

If you want to make your life a lot easier and your security a lot better, start using one today!

Here are some side-by-side feature reviews.

If you have more questions about these topics, please contact UTS and we’d be happy to offer what guidance we can. There is also a wealth of information to be found using your favourite search engine.