Should You Use a Password Manager?
Nov 12, 2021
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Are your accounts secure enough? Keeping your accounts safe is important, but unfortunately many people don’t use the correct practices and tools to ensure that they are as secure as possible.
In order to keep your accounts safe from cybercriminals you need to use strong and unique passwords. We’ll cover those in further detail in this article as well as why it is so important to the security of your accounts.
A password manager is an essential tool to have installed on your device. If you are using the default password manager on your phone or browser your accounts may still be at risk. Read on to find out why.
What is a Password Manager?
A password manager is a cybersecurity tool that you can use on your device. It will allow you to safely and securely keep track of your passwords. Third-party password managers are much more secure than the default ones already found on your device.
A good password manager will be more secure than a standard one in several different ways. Firstly, it will require you to create an account with a strong and unique password. As long as you have these login credentials you will be able to access your list of passwords.
You will also be sent a ‘master key’. This is a randomly generated password unique to your account. Anyone who tries to sign in to your password manager from a new device will need to enter this key before they can gain access to it.
Your password will be kept safe in the password manager and it will never be shared with anyone else. You can rest assured that all your login credentials will be safe and if your password manager is accessed from an unknown source you will be notified.
Once you receive your master key from the password manager it is best to write it down and keep it somewhere safe. You then need to delete the email in case your email account is breached by a hacker who will snoop through your emails to find your password manager’s master key.
Why Do You Need a Password Manager?
Many people overlook the importance of a password manager. This is because they tend to use passwords that are easy to remember and they use the same password for multiple different accounts. However, this is a mistake that could put all of your accounts at risk.
You need to create strong and unique passwords for all of your accounts. Strong passwords are made up of random words, letters, numbers or symbols. These must never relate to any of your personal information such as your name or date of birth in any way.
Studies have shown that passwords that relate to your personal information are weak and can easily be cracked by a skilled cybercriminal. Your personal information can be found on social media, email accounts or in your device’s data.
You also need to ensure that you are using unique passwords for all of your accounts. This means using a different password for every account that you create. If you use the same password for multiple different accounts, they could all be breached at the same time if a cybercriminal were to gain access to one of your account’s passwords.
Creating strong and unique passwords means that they are nearly impossible to remember. This is where a password manager will come in handy. Having all of your different login credentials securely stored will help you to keep track of them.
Why You Should Avoid Using The Default Password Manager
Nowadays most of our browsers and mobile phones are able to store our passwords for us. Many people love using this feature as it allows you to sign in to your accounts much faster and with little effort.
However, cybercriminals also love this feature as it is not secure. If they are able to hack into your device they can gain easy access to all of your passwords and begin to commit their crimes.
Cybercriminals will often target the most important accounts first such as your bank accounts or email accounts. This is where they can do the most damage. They can use your bank accounts to approve fraudulent transactions or even transfer money. They can use your email accounts to gain access to your contacts and send phishing scams to your family and friends from your account.
They can also change your passwords which will prevent you from accessing your accounts. This will cause you some headaches especially if you are locked out of your bank accounts and email services.
It’s always a good idea to stop your device or browser from saving your login information and switch to a secure password manager. You will be less likely to become a victim of cybercrimes.