An individual on the internet makes tons of accounts on many websites and apps. Ideally, users prefer weaker passwords for signups, which are being easy to remember, and reuse them on many websites.
Is it a bad thing? Well, consider if a website database gets leaked (and this occurs every year) on the dark web, exposing your account details, then what? Hackers will try to login with the same credentials on other website accounts and may even end up signing in to your PayPal or bank account!
It’s not easy for an individual to set up a unique and robust password on every account. So what is the solution then? The answer is to create an account in some Password Manager, that will secure your passwords with encryption.
The need for a password manager?
Password Manager is a tool that stores a user’s account credentials and helps to log them in to their account quickly. All the password management applications store passwords in an encrypted form, which can only be unlocked by a master password. So, in a nutshell, you will just have to remember one password to unlock all of your passwords.
Password manager, PassCamp, is not limited to just storing your password but also helps in:
- Generating strong and secure passwords that will be remembered by the password management application;
- Easy sharing of credentials in your team;
- End-to-end encryption with two-factor authentication;
You can read more here about this software and improved security that it provides.
Why are Browser Password Managers not reliable?
Nearly all web browsers (Firefox & Chrome, etc.) — provide password managers to their users. However, every browser’s password manager is not comparable with dedicated password managers. Internet Explorer stores user’s passwords in an unencrypted form on its system. Hackers can easily access the password unless the user encrypts the hard drive.
Similar situation is with Mozilla Firefox, even though it provides a ‘master password’ feature, allowing the users to store their passwords in encrypted form on the system behind a master password. However, Firefox still lacks the functionality of a dedicated password management application, such as generating a random password or cross-platform syncing, etc.
Will my passwords be safe with the password manager?
Washington post published a review where they wrote,
“Yes, there is a risk in storing all your passwords in one place with a password manager. But it’s helpful to look at the risk like a hacker: There’s no “safe” and “unsafe.” There’s “safer than” or “better than.” Being 100 percent safe would require disconnecting from the internet and moving to an undisclosed bunker.”
Password manager performs a couple of routine operation to keep your account credentials secure such as:
- Reminding to set up two-factor authentication;
- Asking to create new password instead of reusing old passwords on multiple accounts;
- Forcing to create a strong password which consists of a symbol, number, uppercase, and lowercase letter;
People are often worried about security while they are using various password managers. The main question is, are there any possibilities for those companies to share your files or steal your data? While there also could be a positive answer to this question, we don’t know yet for such a case. On the other side, always look for software made by some official company with all the necessary licenses. The best way to check the reliability of some companies is to look for online reviews and experience of other users.
Improved Security and Warnings
The password manager is much more efficient in protecting your data, and it will warn you if your password is threatened in any way. Also, this software will evaluate the strength of your password and recommend you to add more symbols to it if it is too weak. While many internet browsers are implementing this technology, it is still not reliable like when you are using password manager software. Additionally, a password manager can generate a password for you, providing you with the safest combination of symbols.
Also, for people that need to store the password for some sensitive files, like some directors of banks, public attorney, inspectors, and other people that work with confidential data, it would be the best way to use various password managers, for having the only minor risk of someone breaking the heavy encryption and stealing those files.
You Can Save Additional Data Beside Passwords
Since the password manager is reliable and secure without any chance for hackers to jeopardize your data, you can store other files here as well. For example, you can store the data about the Wi-Fi connection, your bank account, personal files, scanned passport and driver license, and many more. This program is using encryption, which is the safest model for storing files online.
Best Ways of Using the Password Manager Properly
Since there is always a risk of potential cyber-attacks, you should use all available measures that will secure your online files. First of all, you should choose a password manager that doesn’t have a recovery. Also, use the ability of two-factor authentication with your smartphone. This option creates a huge barrier for hackers. The autofill option should never be turned on, and all of your passwords should be long, unique, and unpredictable. Moreover, in case that you are using the password manager in the browser, be sure that you have the latest version with all security upgrades.
Conclusion
Apart from storing credentials, password manager also helps in saving other types of data, from secure notes to credit card numbers, all password management tools encrypt data behind a master password. The password manager also comes in defense against a phishing attack. If you think you are on your bank’s website and password manager does not automatically complete your login credentials, then rest assure you are probably on a phishing website with a hacker waiting to take hold of your credentials.
The digital technology is under constant development, and there are always some flaws and improvements. With the rise of the need for various apps, we expect that more people will start using password managers shortly. With the introduction of smart homes, digital car keys, smart locks, and many other devices that require some kind of personalization, it will be necessary to use this type of software.
