Password Managers

Password managers take the most frustrating part of security — remembering all your passwords — and remove it from your plate. PrivacyJournal has the lowdown on secure, user-friendly password managers you can integrate into your browsing today.

Why We Need Password Managers

Passwords are a foundation block of online security, but we neglect them far too often because of how inconvenient strong passwords are. Without help, nobody can possibly remember a 10-character nonsense phrase with uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols, for the dozens of online accounts they might need to use in a given day.

It’s hard to blame anyone for making their password “12345” or “password” (unless they work for an organization that should know better, like a bank or the U.S. government). We’ve all got a lot to think about, and besides, there are so many accounts online. What are the odds that someone will be trying to guess yours in particular?

Data Breaches & Hacking

Unlikely as it may seem, the danger is quite high. In 2021, over 60% of all data breaches traced back to a weak password. Hacking isn’t about genius programmers launching slick attacks with code written on the fly. With a list of the 100 most common passwords, anyone can be a hacker — all it takes is one lucky guess.

Then there’s the threat of data breaches. Most of us have used the same password more than once. If you use the same password on five sites, and one of them doesn’t take precautions with its data, that password could get dumped onto the dark web for anyone to buy. Suddenly, all five accounts are now compromised.

Social Engineering Attacks

Plus, that’s assuming they don’t find the password some other way. Social engineering attacks can trick you into giving up your credentials freely; all the hacker has to do is trick you into thinking they’re an expert. Why bother trying to break encryption when they can get you to hand over the keys?

What Are Password Managers?

Password managers (also called password vaults) are a simple solution to every problem we just mentioned. They can generate strong passwords immediately, then save them for every website where you have an account. All you have to do is remember the one password to the password manager itself.

Since the password manager can generate a password instantly, responding to data breaches becomes a breeze: just whip up a new password for every account compromised in the breach. Thanks to the password vault’s help, you won’t have to reuse passwords any longer.

Conclusion: Password Manager Reviews

Privacy Journal’s team members have narrowed down the best password managers, including LastPass, 1Password, Zoho Vault, Dashlane and more. We put these apps through their paces, reviewing their features, ease of use, security and other aspects. Safety is at the forefront of our minds — we’ll never recommend a vault that doesn’t protect your passwords.

Once you’ve perused this section, aggravation over remembering strong passwords will become a thing of the past.