It’s a reality that the login credentials of the majority are duplicated on various websites. Why is it so? How can one come up with more than 5 different strong passwords for different websites and still remember each of them correctly? With that question in consideration, most individuals resort to using one strong password across all platforms. This leaves most of the online community members at risk of losing everything in case of a cyberattack. If your credentials are leaked on one of the websites, then it means the hackers have the keys to all of your online activities and accounts. There are few who are smart enough to keep various cryptic passwords in their minds, but those are rare geniuses. What about the rest of us, then? Well, technology has our backs through the availability of password managers.
A password manager is a vital software tool that manages your login credentials across the web, keeping them safe. This tool is essential as it also saves you the time of filling in forms as it will auto-fill them for you. Just like a bank vault used to protect high-value documents and money, a password manager serves a similar purpose. It is a digital vault that is encrypted to protect the sensitive data stored in it. This can be data that is used to log in to various websites, apps, and services. With the help of a password manager, you can use unique passwords generated by the software. This ensures that you are not reusing the same password across platforms, hence increasing your cybersecurity.
Why Is It Necessary to Have Passwords?
Passwords are your last line of defense against cyberattacks. Thus, without understanding the importance of protecting your password, it is hard to prioritize the use of a password manager. Remember, a password manager helps you use unique passwords on each website, app, and service that you constantly visit or that holds something of value. Therefore, in order to understand how important a password manager is, it is best to first get informed why there is a need for an ultra-secure password. Here are some of the reasons that come to mind:
1. Vendetta: have you ever seen someone with a high social status posting some nasty things on their social networks? Things like porn, private pictures, such as nudes, etc. Well, people that want to get back at such high profile individuals and have been previously close to them will do that if they know the person well enough to guess their password.
2. Breach of Data: there are reports of popular companies being hacked on a monthly basis. And this results in the loss of an individual’s personal information stored in the company’s database.
3. Brute-Force Attack: this is a strategy used by hackers to crack one’s password using common guidelines. The cybercriminals will run a systematic check of possible phrases in order to come up with the correct password.
What Then – Fancy a Password Manager?
There are many reasons to justify having a super-secure password, but the ones mentioned above should be enough to warrant some sort of action from you. Now, how does one get a highly-secure password? That is where a password manager comes in. With a password manager, you do not even need to know your own password as the tool will generate a strong password and keep it safe in the encrypted digital vault.
The password manager will also insert credentials on your behalf. This also eliminates the possibility of leaking your passwords through keystroke logging, which is a technique that hackers use to monitor each and every key you enter on your keyboard. How do you use a password manager? Most of the password managers will give you one single master password, requiring use of a fingerprint or pin to unlock password manager services when auto-filling forms and login credentials. The function of a password manager is to record the credentials you use to log in on particular sites so that the next time you visit any of them, it will automatically fill in the details for you. In case of a website that does not allow auto-filling, the password manager lets you copy and paste the details to the required fields.
The password manager ensures that your password is hard to crack. When using more than one device, with a password manager, you can use your credentials across the devices. Other password managers will provide an encrypted storage vault to store the user’s sensitive documents such as copies of your identity, credit cards, etc.
To ensure that you are safe in case of any data breach, most of the password managers do not keep your master password on a remote server. Rather, they let you keep the master password locally so that it won’t be exposed in case of a breach. This means that if you are to forget your master password, there might be no other way of getting access to your account. There are few password managers that offer secondary recovery password methods to regain access.
What Is the Easiest Password Manager to Use?
There are many reputable password management services online that can be used depending on one’s preference. However, the easiest is the one that is user-friendly with a bunch of features that can prove to be handy when it comes to increasing your security online. Here are some of the easiest password managers to consider:
1. Dashlane
With a free limited version that offers up to 50 passwords on a single device, Dashlane presents some of the easiest ways to successfully manage your passwords in a secure manner. The software is compatible with macOS, iOS, Android, and Windows. It provides extensions for Firefox, Edge, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari. To unlock all features, the user can subscribe to their premium plan that costs $59.88 annually.
Features you will get from using Dashlane include:
- Storage – the password manager will keep all of your passwords and personal information in a secure encrypted digital vault.
- Autofill – this feature will let the software fill out forms with your login credentials on your behalf.
- Password generator – creates powerful passwords that are hard to crack.
- File encryption – protects notes and documents with patented security technology while providing real-time alerts in case of any breaches.
- Web monitoring – this feature scans the internet for your sensitive details, then alerts you if there are any that have been found leaked.
2. 1Password
1Password is among the easiest-to-use password managers, and it’s highly recommended. Although without an entirely free version for the users, it does provide a trial version that is free for a 30-day period. 1Password has a base price of $35.88 per year. It works perfectly with macOS, Chrome-based systems, Android, Linux, Windows, and iOS and provides extensions for most popular browsers.
This password manager presents a killer design with cool features. You can unlock it with Touch ID on macOS and iOS devices and Face ID on iPhones . There are no shared vaults as a separate vault is assigned to each of the family members, making it possible to control who can view what you have stored. Upon travelling, 1Password can remove all of your sensitive data from your local storage and restore it when you deactivate travel mode. At a price of $60 per year, you get a subscription covering up to 5 family members, which allows you to share sensitive details within the group.
What Is the Best Cross-Platform Password Manager?
1. Bitwarden
Bitwarden is among the best password manager software tools that can be used across platforms. This software is compatible with Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android and can be integrated into such browsers as Vivaldi, Tor, and Brave, as well as Safari, Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. Being open-source software, Bitwarden is lenient to users, offers free services and can be used across platforms. With a yearly subscription fee of $10, users can add extra encrypted file storage of 1GB.
2. Sticky Password
This password manager is also among the best when it comes to delivering services across platforms. It is a secure password manager with unlimited storage. It also covers all your devices on various platforms. It has handy features such as a password generator which creates strong passwords and stores them in a secure vault and secure password sharing that allows the user to safely share their login details with family members.
Are There Any Free Password Managers?
1. KeePassXC
This free-of-charge password manager has plenty of great features but presents quite a complicated user interface. The software is compatible with most operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, Chrome, iOS, and Blackberry, to mention a few. This open-source software was initially created for Windows and has since been exported to other platforms utilizing an identical code base. Although the software is a bit complicated for entry-level users, it is entirely free and will surely protect your personal belongings in an advanced manner.
2. Keeper
Keeper is among the top password managers that offer a free version. The free version of Keeper offers unlimited passwords on a single device. The software works across almost all platforms, including the likes of macOS, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android, and offers extensions for many popular browsers, such as Chrome, Safari, and Opera. The paid version will unlock features such as syncing passwords across devices for a fee of approximately $35 per year.
What Is the Best Password Manager in 2021?
They usually say the most reputable is the best in any industry. However, when it comes to the nature of the internet, this seems to have been changing as most of the newly established brands tend to outperform the old ladies of the industry. With that said, our pick of the best password manager in 2021 is based on the features as well as fluidity of their services.
LastPass
LastPass is an outstanding password manager that offers both free and paid versions. This pick works with most of the platforms, such as macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows, and provides browser extensions for most browsers, including Opera, Safari, Explorer, etc. The free version gives you access to most of their incredible features, such as being able to sync all of your sensitive data across devices.
The paid version, which costs $36 per year, comes with premium features, such as the ability to share login credentials and passwords. It also has a multifactor authentication system via YubiKey and TouchID and encrypted storage of up to 1GB. A family plan is also available at a yearly subscription fee of $48, and it comes with accounts for up to 6 individuals.
| Wait a minute. Security doesn’t end with using a password manager. Sharing your data in a safe manner is equally important if you want to achieve peace of mind. |
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| When it comes to sharing large files online, it’s possible to forgo subscriptions that often come with using paid storage and transfer services. How? Simply by using FileWhopper to share your documents, videos and other important files. Upload your file or folder on FileWhopper and get a quote based on its size. You pay only for what you send. That simple. FileWhopper allows you to send files and folders of any size and can be used at your discretion for all your sharing purposes. |
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