Are you tired of having to memorize dozens of Passwords for all the different online accounts and services you use each day? You’re not alone. Most people struggle with remembering even 3-4 alphanumeric (a combination of letters and numbers) passwords, and as a result, they end up using weak/simple passwords to make the task or remembering them easier. For obvious reasons, this isn’t a good security policy, as weak/simple passwords make it easier for hackers to get access to your personal information online. So what’s the alternative? The answer is a Password manager. Password managers are, not surprisingly, programs that manage your passwords. Basically, they act as a sort of password database. You secure this database with a single ‘master’ password that is used to encrypt (scramble) the contents of the password database, so that only you have access. There are numerous password management solutions currently available, but today I want to focus on one of the most popular, LastPass.
LastPass is a password management solution that serves as a sort of online ‘vault’ for your passwords. You save the various passwords for your online accounts in the Lastpass program, and it securely synchronizes these passwords across the various computers and devices that you own. The killer feature is that it integrates seamlessly with your favorite web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.), so once you save your passwords in LastPass, it can automatically fill them in when you go to log into your favorite websites.
When you sign up for LastPass, you choose a single ‘master’ password for your account. Because this master password controls access to all of your other passwords (stored in LastPass), you want to make sure that you choose a very secure password for your LastPass account. You should also strongly consider implementing one of the multifactor authentication options that LastPass gives you, which requires both your password and another authentication method (such as Google Authenticator, which works in conjunction with your mobile device) to log into your LastPass account. Other security-focused features include local-only decryption (“All sensitive data is encrypted and decrypted locally before syncing with LastPass. Your key never leaves your device, and is never shared with LastPass. Your data stays accessible only to you.” as the company’s website states), AES 256-bit encryption, and the ability to configure automatic logoff after a certain number of minutes (when the computer is idle), or when web browsers are closed (thereby requiring you to re-enter your master password again for additional security).
LastPass also offers users the ability to generate random (secure) passwords using the LastPass web-browser extension, and you can even use LastPass to store other notes/information you want to keep secure using its ‘Secure Notes’ function.
Overall, LastPass is a great password manager that integrates seamlessly into all of the major web browsers. Best of all, the basic edition is completely free! But, with LastPass Premium (currently $12 a year) you can get full access to the LastPass mobile apps, more multifactor authentication options, removal of all advertisements, and priority support.
You can find out more at the LastPass website, by clicking HERE.
