It wasn’t so long ago that the only passwords you needed in life were the PIN code for your bank card and the one for your lone email account.
Today, however, we carry out so many online transactions that we need passwords for almost everything, from shopping websites and entertainment apps to utility accounts and social media. For many businesses, most work is now carried out online too, from emails and accountancy to project management and file sharing.
If only we could have one password for all these accounts then life would be simple. Sadly, with sophisticated hacking and identity theft scams commonplace, it’s wise to have different passwords for different sites. The tricky thing is, unless you’ve got a photographic memory it’s impossible to remember more than one or two, and that’s where password management apps come in really handy.
A password management app can store all your log-ins and passwords for all the different online accounts and apps you use. Your passwords are then encrypted within the password management app and to access them you just need one master password – the only password you have to remember.
At NB, we use LastPass to manage log-in credentials for a wide range of our online services and we recommend it for its power and security. We did find that it took a little time to become familiar with some aspects of the user interface, but we have no significant problems now that we are experienced with this system.
There are a number of different password management options available and at various price points. Here are a few to consider…
LastPass
LastPass can be installed as a browser extension on your desktop or as an app on an individual device. What we like about it is the level of security it offers. It stores passwords on LastPass’s servers in encrypted form, this information is then only decrypted on your desktop or device when you log-in. This means that LastPass has no access to your passwords at any time. LastPass also offers two-factor authentication, so no one else can log-in to your passwords remotely. It is supported on Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Discover more about Lastpass.
1Password
Similar to LastPass, 1Password uses encryption and two-factor authentication to protect multiple passwords, which you can access using a master password. Unlike LastPass your data isn’t stored remotely in the cloud, it’s stored locally and only copies it to the cloud for syncing across multiple devices. One of the key bonuses of 1Password is its Watchtower feature, where it keeps an eye on websites that have been hacked and it will let you know if you need to change your password if you have an account on them. Discover more about 1Password.
Dashlane
Dashlane is very similar to LastPass, with excellent desktop software and supported on Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Microsoft Edge. A key advantage is the bulk password changer, which can reset lots of your passwords at once across multiple devices in the event of a data security breach. It also has a scanner that goes through your email inbox on iOS or Android to find online accounts you might have forgotten about. The one downside to Dashlane is the cost; it starts to get pricey if you plan to store unlimited passwords across multiple devices. Discover more about Dashlane.
Do you use a password management app for your business? If so, what do you recommend? Share this post on Facebook or Twitter and let us know your thoughts.