My biggest and best argument for using ANY Password Manager is this: passwords are by definition a security measure meant to ensure that your accounts are kept as secure as possible by being as complex as reasonably possible. However, making a password as easy to remember actually runs counter to the entire idea of security. So why bother challenging yourself to remember any password at all when a Password Manager could do this part of the job for you. And if a Password Manager performs the “manage” portion of the job correctly, then they can actually make your life a whole lot easier by automatically inputting the username and password at the appropriate times.
About a year ago, a person I knew had their entire checking and savings account emptied by an unknown 3rd party. Those funds were transferred overseas where they couldn’t be traced or reclaimed. This happened because the user was recycling his passwords, in order to make it EASIER for him to remember his own passwords. In the end, he had to go down to their local Bank’s branch office with Picture ID and prove that he was who he said he was to his own bank, because who ever emptied his accounts also changed the password and security questions. He refused to talk about details further than the admission that he had used the same password on all of his accounts.
My password manager of choice is LastPass, which has recently been updated to version 4.0, and now provides a shiny new User Interface. What’s the single best reason to use LastPass over the competition?Did I mention that it’s FREE for personal use? You can’t beat free. And it has an Android App in the Play Store, which plays very well with other applications that require credentials. And the Android App is free too! The best news for any LastPass user? If you end up using and loving LastPass as much as I do, and you want to support the developers by buying a subscription, it’s only $12 a year! Absolutely one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.
I use the Samsung S7 fingerprint feature as one of many factors utilized to unlock my device, and LastPass is more than happy to utilize that same function each time I need to use it, so even if my device is stolen while the device unlocked (extraordinarily unlikely!), the thief will still find it impossible to gain access to my LastPass vault. I especially enjoy the Password Generator, which can kick out a randomized password of any length, with any combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. All of my passwords have lengths of greater than 16 characters, and use all three character types. This ensures that if someone wants to attempt to hack my password, their time spent sitting behind a keyboard would be measured in Trillions of years, not dozens of minutes. Care to pit your password’s complexity against it’s hackability via this website. See how long it would take to hack your favorite password.
So the final word folks, if you want to test your memory skills, then please buy a Memory Training App instead, and leave your password protection and security to an actual security program like LastPass. Even if you don’t choose LastPass, please pick a Password Manager and start ensuring both your future security and your overall comfort using any of your credentials…