Password Managers: Store (and Safely Share!) Your Passwords

Tired of keeping track of all your usernames and passwords?

Password Managers store and save all of your usernames and passwords in an encrypted file or encrypted in the cloud.

With an extension/plugin on your browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.), the password manager will provide the correct username/login combo for a particular website or login URL. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it, and you’ll never go back! Here’s two to try (Roboform and Last Pass):

Roboform – I’ve been using Roboform for a couple of years now and I’ve never had a problem. Roboform will attach itself to non-web applications, such as Microsoft Office products and Skype, which I like (Last Pass cannot do this, at least at the moment). The premium version will sync info between computers and with a phone app.

Roboform does not allow you to export your information (one policy that prompted me to try Last Pass).

Last Pass – On the whole, I find Last Pass more convenient than Roboform because it pre-fills login fields — once fields are pre-filled, all that is required is to select ‘login’ (Roboform, on the other hand, requires that you select the login information from a menu, after which the login is automated). Having said that, you must log in to Last Pass on each browser separately (e.g., Chrome and Firefox), whereas Roboform only requires a single login.

Last Pass syncs between multiple computers, and with Last Pass you can also share passwords in an encrypted vault with other Last Pass users – you can give other users access to a specific password without actually sharing the password – pretty cool (although, note that keystroke software can recover the shared password!). The premium version of Last Pass syncs to a phone app.

1Password – I know one prominent marketer who uses 1Password. As of 1/15, the cost for a license was around $60 to $70 (?).

These are useful tools that will liberate you from the nightmare of all those usernames and passwords!! By the way, the premium versions are quite reasonable ($15-20/year).