So many *choose your own explicative* passwords to remember with different requirements!!! Ugh, there must be a way to remember them all without writing them on post-it notes!! Hello Password Manager!
What is a password manager and why should I use one? According to Wikipedia, a password manager “assists in generating and retrieving complex passwords, potentially storing such passwords in an encrypted database or calculating them on demand”.
Here’s how it works:
- Install the Password Manager
- Enter all your passwords you want it to remember
- When visiting a website, the password can be pulled from the password manager and automatically filled in to the fields.
When you are required to change a password, you can use the password generator, built into most Password Managers, to generate a long complex password. Now, you can be secure and compliant without having to remember that password.
When selecting a password manager you should ensure that it *does* store your passwords in an encrypted format and has multi-factor authentication. For the top Password Managers in 2019, including complete features and reviews, check out this article from PC Magazine here.
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This is great information! I’ve wondered about these – if they generate complex passwords and you somehow lose the ability to log into your account (you forgot the password!!) then how will you get into your accounts? Thanks for always having our backs.
Excellent question! Generally, you want to make a long but memorable password for the password manager itself. Something like a phrase that has 4 or five words with spaces. That way it’s very secure but easy to remember. The downside is that if you forget the password manager password, you lose everything. An idea we’ve seen floated around is to write down the password and then put it in a safe or safe deposit box, somewhere very secure that isn’t easy to access but still gives you the ability to “recover” your forgotten password.