Yes, of course, you do; it’s one of the best ways to stay secure online. We’ll explain how to set one up.
It sounds troublesome, but every one of your accounts needs a unique password constructed out of capital and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. (Yes, using “password123” for everything isn’t cut.) As tempting as it may be, using one easy-to-remember code for all your accounts can jeopardize your online security, and no one wants to be an easy target for cybercriminals.
Password managers are vital tools that can help you stay safe online and be more digitally secure by simplifying the steps to using strong passwords. And they’re easier to use than you may think. Yet four out of five American adults don’t use a password manager, according to a study from Security.org.
We’re here to show you why you need a password manager and how to set it up.
What is a password manager, and why do I need one?
A password manager is an online service that stores your passwords and other data like credit card numbers, bank account information and identification documents in an environment secured via military-grade encryption. It takes one of the most significant potential vulnerabilities — weak or shared passwords — and does the hard work for you.
Bad password habits are dangerous for your digital security. Using weak passwords makes your accounts easy to crack, and reusing passwords leaves you open to credential-stuffing attacks that can compromise accounts that share the same password.
If you’re unsure how to create a strong password or don’t want to create one alone, your password manager can create one. But with a password manager, you only have to remember one single master password and the password manager takes care of the rest — allowing you to create strong, unique passwords for each of your online accounts. Many password managers also include a feature that analyzes your current passwords and lets you know which ones are weak or reused and must be changed.
You can also securely share passwords and sensitive documents with family and friends if you need to. And if you’re shopping online, you can quickly fill in your credit card information to make purchases without needing your physical credit card.
Your password manager can also help you fight against phishing scams. Even if a phishing attempt tricks you into clicking on a malicious link, it won’t fool the password manager. Your password manager will detect that the URL is different than the site you usually log into — regardless of how similar it may look to the naked eye.
If you’re worried about storing sensitive information in one place, you don’t need to be. The top password managers use a zero-knowledge approach to securing your passwords and other information you store with them — meaning that even the password manager itself can’t access your passwords or other data because everything is encrypted before it leaves your device. And if your password manager can’t access your data, neither can anyone else.
Five Good Password Managers – No Specific Order
(Credit: cnet.com)
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