🤔 Doesn’t my device/browser already have a free password manager?

Browsers like Chrome and Firefox as well as mobile operating systems like Android and iOS have free built-in password managers, but they just aren’t as useful as third-party password managers. All third-party password managers provide better features and security than the ones already built into Chrome, iOS, and Android. Free third-party password managers include a variety of unique features that aren’t on built-in password managers, like: Password auditing. If your passwords are simple and repetitive, it’s super easy for a hacker to crack your logins. Password auditing scans your entire vault for simple and repeated passwords, and LastPass and Dashlane even offer to automatically replace some of them. Two-factor authentication (2FA). Many password managers, like LastPass and Bitwarden , are compatible with third-party authenticators which use a one-time password to verify your identity. This means that your password vault stays secure, even if your Master Password gets stolen. Secure encryption. Password managers use 256-bit AES encryption, which is the same encryption used by banks and militaries around the world. Many built-in password managers don’t have as good encryption. Built-in authenticator. Products like RememBear include a built-in authenticator, saving time when trying to log into 2FA-enabled websites.

🤔 Are free password managers good enough?

Free password managers have a lot of great features, but every free password manager has some limitations that will affect your user experience and security. For example, LastPass Free doesn’t include emergency access, which means that no one else can access your account in the event of a crisis. And Bitwarden’s free version doesn’t include password auditing or encrypted data storage. Paid password managers aren’t very expensive, and the best ones include dark web monitoring, encrypted chat and storage, unlimited password sharing, and emergency access in case you’re unable to access your account. Dashlane Premium even provides a surprisingly fast VPN! Free password managers may be good enough for some people, but I still recommend paying a few bucks a month for a high-quality premium password manager.

🤔 Are third-party password managers safe?

Password managers are designed to protect all of your passwords, as well as credit card information and private notes. It can be scary to trust all of this sensitive information to one program, but password managers actually make you safer online . Here’s how: Secure encryption. Most password managers store your vault on their servers, which makes it easy to sync between devices. Before your data leaves your device, it’s encrypted using end-to-end 256-bit AES encryption, which scrambles your data so thoroughly that it’s impossible to decipher. Zero-knowledge architecture. End-to-end encryption means that only the device which generated the encryption can read the encrypted data — no one but you knows what your password are. Even in the case of a data breach or government subpoena, there’s no way to decrypt your data on the password manager’s servers. Auto-fill. Hackers often steal user passwords using screen logging and keylogging spyware — this dangerous malware can record what’s happening on your screen, as well as every keystroke on your keyboard. By auto-filling your passwords, password managers keep your login data from being seen on your screen or entered into your keyboard. Password generators. If you aren’t using a password manager, then your passwords are probably easy for you to remember and easy for a hacker to crack . Password generators are built into every password manager, and they create completely random and complex passwords with tons of symbols, numbers, and letters that your password manager can easily remember, but which are super difficult to crack. Password managers increase your security by protecting you from screen loggers, generating hyper-complex passwords, and protecting your data behind secure encryption. It’s much safer to use one of these password managers than to try and juggle all of your passwords on your own.

🤔 How do accounts get breached?

Password breaches most frequently happen because of user error. Passwords can be stolen using keylogging malware or cracked through brute force attacks — which throws thousands of passwords in the login field until one of them clicks. LastPass allows you to protect your password vault using authenticator apps like Authy, which generate a temporary one-time password — you need both the one-time password and your Master Password to log into LastPass. This means that anybody using your Master Password to hack your vault remotely can’t do it without also having your physical device with the authenticator app on it. Large websites can also succumb to data breaches — hackers will break into a company’s servers and release all of their users’ login information to the dark web. Hackers can then access your account on the breached site and use the information from your account to crack into more and more of your accounts. This is why it’s so important to use a password manager that provides breach notifications — like Dashlane and LastPass .

How Do I Stay Protected Against Cyber Threats?

As we continue to provide more and more personal information about ourselves on the internet, it is important to keep in mind that relying solely on a browser’s security and privacy settings may not be enough to keep data safe. Here are some additional tips that can help you stay safe online: Limit the amount of sensitive information you give out. Always give the bare minimum of information that you can — if a site lists a required field like a phone number, ask yourself if you can get away with giving a fake number. Use common sense when browsing. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. If a normally expensive product or service is being offered for free, it’s probably connected to malware or hackers. Always check the URL of the site you’re visiting to ensure you aren’t being phished (hint, fascebook.weebly.com is not Facebook’s official URL) . Choose strong passwords and use a password manager . We have all been guilty of using the same password over and over again, and we’ve all used passwords that even the most amatuer of hackers could guess . Make sure you use a password that is difficult to decipher with a mix of lower and upper case, numbers, and special characters. And as you should be using different passwords for different sites, to help you remember your passwords, consider using a third-party password manager like Dashlane or 1Password . Keep your antivirus program up to date. Your browser can keep you protected from some web-based threats, but if you want to keep your device and online presence safe, you need to invest in a good internet security suite . Only shop from secure websites. Hackers are quick to target online shoppers and their credit card information. Make sure that whatever site you are choosing to send your information through has an HTTPS connection — you can easily find this by looking at the address bar (most browsers have a “Lock” icon which will let you know if the site you’re on is secured). Use a virtual private network (VPN) to hide your location. A VPN will hide your true location so that websites, ISPs, and government agents won’t be able to know where you are. This creates a sense of anonymity. Update your software and applications. The majority of updates are related to security patches — this is why Firefox, Brave, and Chrome all auto-update. As I said at the beginning, it’s nearly impossible to be 100% secure and private online. However, you can protect yourself on the internet by purchasing a trustworthy antivirus software , downloading a VPN , installing a password manager , and using a secure browser . By doing this, you will have protected yourself as best as you can!

Which password manager is more secure than LastPass?

Like LastPass, all of the LastPass alternatives on this list are very secure. But some of them do provide additional features that LastPass doesn’t have — Dashlane has a virtual private network (VPN), RoboForm has secure bookmarks storage, NordPass uses high-security encryption, and 1Password and Bitwarden both provide local data sync.

Which ones offer local data storage?

1Password and Bitwarden offer local data storage, so you can sync your data via your local Wi-Fi network, and not via the cloud. LastPass stores all user passwords in the cloud and does not offer local data storage.

Is LastPass’s free plan still worth it?

It depends. LastPass’s free version makes users choose whether they want to use LastPass on their mobile devices or on their desktop devices — syncing across both mobile and desktop devices is now only available for paid users . But if you only have mobiles and tablets or desktops, then it won’t matter. And since most password managers offer use on only 1 device on their free plans, LastPass is still one of the best free password managers out there — LastPass’s free plan also includes unlimited password storage, one-to-one password sharing, 2FA with authenticator apps, and even its own TOTP generator. That said, LastPass Premium is one of the best password managers on the market, with extras like password strength auditing, dark web monitoring, emergency access, multiple account recovery options, an automatic password changer, and more. But if you don’t want to upgrade to LastPass’s premium plan or switch to a premium LastPass alternative , I recommend Bitwarden Free — it provides unlimited password storage across an unlimited number of devices, as well as one-to-one password sharing, 2FA with authenticator apps, and the option to store your data locally or on Bitwarden’s servers.

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