Cybersecurity Awareness Tip 5: Use a password manager with unique passwords for all accounts

Although addition methods of authentication, including biometric, One-Time Password (OTP) and multifactor, are increasing, passwords are and will continue to be critical to securing your online accounts for personal finance (banking, credit cards, cryptocurrencies, investing), social media, shopping and many more. Everyone should know the importance of using complex password (or pass phrases) that are unique to each account, to prevent hackers from guessing. Since most people have more than few online accounts, a secure password manager is necessary.

Different Approaches

Password managers take one of these approaches, based on where the passwords are stored and whether or not they can be accessed on multiple devices:

• Modern browsers offer the ability to store and use passwords. Some offer the ability to synchronize across devices. None have the ability to generate passwords or to check the security of your passwords. Because they are built into the browser, no browser extensions are required. However, because they're built into the browser, browser-specific password managers won't work with other applications on your devices.
• Offline password managers store your passwords on your device, rather than online. Some of these allow you backup or synchronize across devices, but that requires you to have the knowledge to set up sync yourself or to manually sync - one you might often forget. And one you can't recover if you lose the device or forget the master password. But offline password managers can work with browsers and other apps.
• Cloud-based password managers offer the most functionality, and most have strong security, too. Many offer secure password sharing. Some offer 2 factor or multifactor authentication for added security and convenience. Some offer tools for checking to see if your passwords have been shared on the dark web, if you're using the same password in multiple sites, and if you haven't changed your passwords in a while. Most have browser extensions and can also be used with other applications.

SwampGeek Recommends...

SwampGeek recommends (without affiliate or any other compensation):

• LastPass (Cloud-based) https://lastpass.com - offers powerful functionality for free, and even more for a small fee.