5 Apps That Never Forget Your Passwords and Require You to Remember Just One The most common mistake people make with their online security is to have one password for everything but now you can do it safely.
By John Boitnott Edited by Dan Bova
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As more and more of our lives move online, the number of passwords we're tasked with maintaining continues to grow. It can be difficult to keep up with a variety of usernames and password combinations, but experts warn against using the same password for every site and device.
With so many passwords, keeping a list is a necessity, but even that is risky. If that list should fall into the wrong hands, your financial accounts and sensitive network files will be compromised. Using technology, professionals can keep passwords safely stored in a protected location, with only one password to remember for everything. Here are a few password management options that can work for your business.
Related: 3 Biometrics Startups Heating Up the Password Security Race
1. LastPass
One of the most popular password management apps is LastPass, which is free for the basic version. Employing encryption technology, LastPass works as an extension on your browser, storing all of the passwords and online shopping profiles in one location. You need to login to LastPass each time you launch your browser and the app fills the information using the information you've stored in it.
While LastPass has proven itself secure, the site did have a hacking scare in 2011. When it happened, LastPass notified users immediately to change their passwords. This article recommends using two-factor authentication with any password management service. The company also offers premium accounts that let you use the services on your mobile devices, among other things.
2. KeePass
This open-source solution works similarly to LastPass, storing passwords in a secure vault. Passwords are the only things KeePass will store, however, so you'll still be required to enter your payment information when you're shopping. You'll also be required to manually enter your URLs, usernames, and passwords into the app rather than allowing it to be captured automatically as you're surfing the web.
KeePass also uses encryption to keep passwords secure. As you create passwords in the KeePass vault, the software will notify you if a password's complexity needs to be improved, letting you do so in the app. From within cloud-based storage apps like Dropbox or a USB drive, KeePass can be set to run on a variety of devices.
3. Norton Identity Safe
With the well-known name of Norton behind it, Identity Safe already has an advantage with people who believe that is an indication of quality. The software is downloaded to each machine but passwords are stored in a cloud-based vault. The product can be loaded on a variety of devices, with information synced to all of the connected PCs, tablets and smartphones as it changes.
Like LastPass, Norton Identity Safe captures a user's credentials as he or she navigates from one site to another. However, the app doesn't have the ability to recommend passwords or generate a report to let a user know when passwords are weak. In addition to encryption, the product also lets you know when the site you're visiting might be unsafe.
Related: 3 Tips for Beefing Up Password Security (Infographic)
4. RoboForm
RoboForm has the ability to capture and utilize URLs, passwords, and shopping information. There are a couple of extra clicks with RoboForm, whereas other password managers automatically see the information and fill it in, but otherwise this product works similarly to other password tools.
Password information is safely stored, with the master password never saved on the app's servers. There are also multi-factor authentication options available for users who would like an additional layer of protection. RoboForm is not free, but it does cost only ten dollars for the first year for a single-user license.
5. 1Password
1Password goes beyond storing passwords and usernames to holding a user's payment information, network passwords, wills, investments, sticky notes and more. The developers of this app want it to be a vault to store all of the data a user wants to protect. A password ingredient creator lets a user enter certain favorite elements that can be used to auto-generate complex passwords.
Plans for this app start at a cost of just under 50 bucks for a single-user license. Once a license has been purchased, 1Password can be used on all of that user's devices, with data synced between all of them.
With so many free options, it's a good thing that you don't have to pay for password encryption. However, for more advanced features like enterprise functionality, it may worth opting for a paid version for the convenience of protecting all of the devices within your organization.
