How password managers work

 If you’re like many other people, you may have kept track of your passwords with a pen and paper for years now. Maybe you’ve heard of password managers, but you were wary of them because you weren’t sure how they worked.

Why are password managers useful?

For years, IT professionals have been advising everyone to use more secure passwords. There have been some recent changes in what really constitutes a secure password, but chances are good your passwords could be more secure.

And even if you’re using long, simple passwords, each account you access should have a different password. All these passwords are hard to remember!

Unfortunately, writing your usernames and passwords down in a notebook next to your computer isn’t terribly secure either. That method can actually cause a lot of problems.

Fortunately, password managers are useful because they’re a digital, secure version of that notebook without all the shortcomings.

What are the features of a password manager?

At a very high level, password managers store and organize all your passwords in one secure location. We recommend LastPass, which also lets you manage other team members and what login information they can access.

If you have the web browser extension set up on your computer, it can actually automatically fill in your usernames and passwords. And while many browsers have that capability built in now, using a password manager is more secure.

You can also set up your password manager to prompt you to change your passwords on a regular basis. And whether it’s an existing account or a new one, your password manager can create secure passwords for you as well.

While there are alternatives to passwords, they don’t show signs of going away any time soon. So if you want to stay secure, it’s time to consider a password manager. Now that you understand how they work, what’s holding you back?