In a world where cyber scams and internet hacks have become prominent, creating a self-inspired password is no longer enough to protect your vital information and data. For a fact, we all know the extent to which passwords safeguard our devices, data, information, and transactions. And up until this moment, many of us are still in the habit of creating passwords that are prone to human error. Even with the inception of mixed characters passwords, humans are still prone to choosing passwords that are either too weak or too predictable. What then, is the ultimate password solution in this world of internet threats and cyber scams? The simple answer to that is Password manager. Not only do password managers keep your passwords safe, but the way in which they help you generate strong passwords through active randomization is second to none. That being said, this article will now intimate you with some of the fundamentals of password managers. Perhaps you’ve once seen the phrase “Keeper Vs. Lastpass” somewhere and you couldn’t really grasp what it meant, or maybe you’ve never even read or seen anything relating to managers before. Have no worries; by the time you get to the end of this article, you will surely know how best to keep your passwords safe.
Why are passwords so predictable these days?
According to some annual studies conducted by several companies, it was discovered that many passwords actually follow a certain predictable set pattern with only a few alterations year after year. Whether it is a date of birth, a string of consecutive numbers, say 6789, letters (qwerty), or a simple alteration of any of the aforementioned examples by adding a number or an additional letter, say “1 or A.” In fact, in countries like UK, it was discovered that people even choose to make football club names their passwords, with results like Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool turning up in the study box. Not only are these password structures predictable, but the owners also risk having their accounts hacked.
How best to keep your passwords safe
The best and undisputed way to keep your online accounts, profiles, and transactions safe is to use a password manager. Basically, password managers act as a centralized hub wherein password information are saved, stronger passwords are generated, and randomized passwords are created too. At the very core of password managers, all you need to do is remember one password of your own, which is the master password, and the manager does the rest of the job by creating a stronger, randomized password for you to log-in to your various accounts. Beyond helping you store your randomized passwords, managers will even auto-fill log-in information for you whenever you want to access any website or platform that requires you to provide your login details. The reason for the master password is for you to have access to the password manager software; that is, you have to first log-in to the manager before it can help you handle your details.
Now here comes the trust-test. You may be wondering whether or not password managers are indeed safe with all your information locked away in their software. Well, the fact remains that password managers are quite safe because most of them use the best encryption available, and they also adopt a zero-knowledge policy, which means that your information are only known to you. Additionally, most password managers are subject to an annual audit from Independent Security Evaluators, meaning that if there is a breach or flaws on the companies’ part, it will be quickly addressed.
However, it should be stated and noted that nothing is absolutely safe within the internet realm, as there are always flaws and loopholes to be exploited. But, even at that, password managers are still much better than any other presumable alternative.
Create a strong, memorable master password
Needless to say that it is not only up to the manager to safeguard your information, as you also have to create your master password yourself. As expected, your master password serves a way to protect and keep your information personal in case of a breach. In fact, some password manager services don’t even store the master password on their servers and as such don’t offer recovery options, which means that you have to choose a master password that is memorable. Typically, you can go for a 12-character master password composed of lower-case letters, capital letters, digits, and symbols.
Uday Tank has been working with writing challenged clients for several years. His educational background in family science and journalism has given him a broad base from which to approach many topics. He especially enjoys writing content after researching and analyzing different resources whether they are books, articles or online stuff.
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