Staying Safe + Organized with a Password Manager

Kait Sykes
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read

Even though I’ve heard about several great password managers and the importance of choosing strong passwords many, many times, I was put off from actually signing up for a password manager because the initial set up seemed like a big hassle, plus some password managers require a paid subscription. I’ve finally set mine up after reading some pretty compelling arguments that you should probably know about, too. (PS — turns out it’s actually not that bad to set up, either.)

Password Best Practices

Allowing your web browser to “remember” passwords can be dangerous, because if someone steals or has access to your computer, they can easily gain all of your login credentials.

Browser-based password managers can also offer a false sense of security. None of the major web browsers have been upfront about their cryptography and implementation details, and most do not support random password generation, weak password hunting, password reuse identification, etc., all of which are important features of password managers.

You shouldn’t be using the same password for multiple accounts. If someone cracks your password on one site, they now have access to dozens more of your accounts. Password managers make it easier to do this because you don’t need to remember each unique password.

It’s hard to think of good passwords that are easily memorable, because they should ideally contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. You should also avoid using easily guessed words, such as the names of children or pets, birth dates, addresses, etc. that can be easily guessed by someone looking at your Facebook profile or a Google search. Most password managers have a password generator feature which will allow you to tick all these boxes easily.

As a web developer, you’ll likely have more accounts and passwords than the average person. Especially if you’re a freelancer, in which case for a single project you might have account information and logins for WordPress admin, SQL database, FTP, hosting, Google Analytics, MailChimp, and more. You’re free to create complex and secure passwords for clients knowing your password manager will remember them.

Also, password managers typically include additional features that will ensure security. Most support two-factor authentication and fingerprint authentication. It’s also often possible to include collaborators on accounts, allowing you to share passwords with clients.

Main view of 1Password (1password.com)

1Password

Some popular password managers include LastPass, Dashlane, and 1Password. My personal preference is to use 1Password after LastPass had a security breach, plus it’s a local company for me and I like supporting them.

You can use the Convert to 1Password Utility to get your passwords out of Keychain, if that’s where you kept them before. 1Password will also import passwords from most other password managers.

You can manually add in passwords as well as other sensitive information like credit cards, drivers licenses, passports, social insurance numbers, and secure notes.

Installing the browser utilities makes it easy to enter your passwords from 1Password onto the sites you use. This utility also allows you to use a password generator, which is handy when setting up new accounts or being required to change your password. (🙄)

The setup isn’t as bad or time consuming as you might think, especially if you just add passwords on an as-needed basis. I’d encourage you to give it a try and make your internet security a bigger priority!

Sources

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Kait Sykes

Written by

Web developer via @hackeryou. Slytherin. Popcorn & books are my vices. https://kaitsykes.com || kaitlyn.sykes@me.com

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