The more we live and work online, the number of passwords we have to manage also grows. Personally, I’ve never considered using a password manager; in my experience, most frequently used passwords are eventually committed to memory and others can be easily recalled with a  good system in place. However, recently I’ve decided to give it a shot.

What Changed my Mind?

  • The convenience of smartphones – you can look up a password anytime, anywhere
  • Cross-platform compatibility (i.e  it works across your Windows Desktop, iMac, mobile phone, iPad etc.)
  • Emergence of the [tipso tip=”A business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for”]freemium[/tipso] business model
  • An increasingly tiresome list of requirements for password to have a combination of upper/lower case and special characters which exponentially increases the brain power required to remember them.

Choosing a Password Manager

I chose LastPass as a password manager as it was listed as the best in 2018 according to this article.  It is available as an extension to most popular web browsers and apps available for smartphones.

It offers these convenient features common to many password managers:

  • Automatic password capture – By adding a browser extension, it’ll capture login details when you first login
  • Auto-fill of login details – Avoids inevitable typos if you can’t see what you’ve typed
  • [tipso tip=”Every LastPass user generates a public/private key pair once (client side). The public key is sent to the server, the private key is encrypted (with their standard local encryption key) and sent to the server.”]Secured[/tipso] sharing of password – A more secure option to emailing your password to a friend
  • Generates secure passwords – Is able create a strong password at a click of a button
  • Form Fills – Auto-fills online forms, makes checkout simpler at online shops

Here’s what a populated password Vault looks like. If you highlight a site, it’s just a simple to click to launch it from here.

Or just select all and launch all at once!

Want other options?

Dashlane is another password manager that often comes up alongside LastPass and a name that always comes up in these “Top 10” articles. It has extra features like VPN and more security features but only for the paid version, otherwise its basic feature set is very similar to LastPass. And as you can see below, it looks much slicker and cooler compared to LastPass.

You must be wondering why I’d still choose LastPass over Dashlane. The answer is simple – Dashlane only offers storage of 50 passwords and limits you to one device for their free version, while LastPass has no such restrictions as far as I can tell.

An offer you can’t refuse..

LastPast is a solid password manager and it’s FREE!

All this is based on my personal requirements, there are many others out there with more focus on other aspects , eg. on sharing and security. Do share with us in the comments below.