A quick guide to Password Managers

We’re often told that the passwords to access our online accounts should be really strong, and not to use them anywhere else. This is especially true for the password for your email account. If you’ve used the same password across different accounts, cyber criminals only need one password to access all your accounts.

Always use a strong and separate password for your email; that is, a password that you don’t use for any of your other accounts, either at home or at work.

If you have re-used your email password across other accounts, change your email password as soon as possible. It should be strong and different to all your other accounts.

Ideally, you should use unique passwords for all your important online accounts (such as banking accounts, shopping/payment accounts and social media accounts), not just your email account. You should also provide additional protection by setting up 2-step verification (2SV) on your email account, which will prevent a criminal from accessing your email account even if they know your password.

Weak passwords can be cracked in seconds. The longer and more unusual your password is, the harder it is for a cyber criminal to crack.

The trouble is, most of us have lots of online accounts, so creating different passwords for all of them (and remembering them) is hard.

This is where a password manager can help. A password manager can store all your passwords securely, so you don’t have to worry about remembering them. This allows you to use unique, strong passwords for all your important accounts (rather than using the same password for all of them, which you should never do).

In addition, many password managers are helpful because they can:

• synchronise your passwords across your different devices, making it easier to log on, wherever you are, and whatever you’re using
• help spot fake websites, which will protect you from phishing attacks
• let you know if you’re re-using the same password across different accounts
• notify you if your password appears within a known data breach so you know if you need to change it
• work across platforms, so you could (for example) use a single password manager that would work for your iPhone and your Windows desktop

To find out more about LastPass, Cobweb’s Password Manager Solution, get in touch with the team today!