Research has shown that the average Internet user has to remember passwords to 25 different accounts. Even for people with high IQs, it is next to impossible to remember so many different passwords. The shortcut that has become popular among Internet users is to use the same passwords for all the different online accounts. While such a strategy makes it easy for people to remember passwords, it increases the risk of security breaches.
For example, if the password to any one of your accounts gets stolen, then it basically means that the cybercriminal can access all your other accounts as well. To prevent that from happening, users end up using weak passwords for their different accounts. Hackers on the other hand have started using even more sophisticated password cracking tools to crack passwords.
This means that the only way to secure your online accounts is to use a different and stronger password for each of your accounts and then keep changing each of these passwords regularly Unless you are a memory expert, you will struggle to do this without taking the help of a password manager.
1. One of my favorite password managers is the LastPass app (www.lastpass.com) which allows you to generate strong passwords, manage them, and store them securely, It is available as a free browser app for desktops and laptops (for both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox) and as a premium paid app for mobile phones.
2. Before you can start using the LastPass app, the first step is to create an account for yourself and choose a strong and difficult-to-crack master password. Make sure you choose a strong master password because that will be the only layer of security protecting all your other passwords. Your master password should ideally be a combination of alphabets, numbers, and special characters. The longer the length of the master password, the harder it will be for a cybercriminal to crack it. As LastPass says, the master password may just become the last password you will ever have to remember!
3. Once you have completed the registration process, click on the LastPass button in the right top corner of your browser and log into your LastPass account.
4. The next time you visit a website that requires you to enter sensitive information (like usernames, passwords,. credit cards, etc.) the LastPass app will ask you whether you want the app to remember the information for Click on the Save Site link to save the form data to the Lastpass app.
5. The next time you visit the same website again, you will not have to remember and type in your details again. As long as you stay logged into your LastPass account, it will automatically enter all the details for you.
6. The LastPass app also allows you to generate secure difficult-to-crack passwords for your online accounts, Just specify the password length, the number of digits, and the type of characters you would like to choose and click on the Use Password button.
7. If you are using an untrusted public computer and are worried that some malicious user might use a keylogger, spyware, or Trojan to steal your master password while you are typing it, then LastPass gives you the option to log into your LastPass account using a One Time Password instead of your usual master password.
