Why You Should Use a Password Manager, and How to Get Started

The majority of people use weak or reuse passwords on different websites. How can someone use a complex, unique password on all of the websites and applications you use? The answer is a password manager.

Password Managers allow users to generate and store your login information for all of the websites and applications you use, and helps you log into them automatically. The password managers encrypt your password and use a single master password (passphrase) – the only password you have to ever remember again.

Never Reuse Passwords!!
Users often reuse the same password across multiple websites. This is a serious problem because of the many password leaks that happen each year, even on the big websites. If your password gets compromised, hackers attempt to use the username and password on other common sites.

Getting Started with Your Password Manager
The first big decision you will need to make with a password manager is choosing your master password. This master password controls access to your entire password manager database, so you should make it particularly strong – it’s the only password you’ll need to remember, after all. You may want to write down the password and store it somewhere safe after choosing it, just in case – for example, if you’re really serious, you could store your master password in a vault at the bank. You can change this password later, but only if you remember it – if you lose your master password, you won’t be able to view your saved passwords. This is essential, as it ensures no one else can view your secure password database without the master password.

After installing a password manager, you will likely want to start changing your website passwords to more secure ones. LastPass offers the LastPass Security Challenge, which identifies the weak and duplicate passwords you should focus on changing. 1Password and LastPass have a Security Dashboard built right in, that will help you figure out which passwords might need to be changed.

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