RealP Posted September 18, 2014 Posted September 18, 2014 I mean to increase the security around my private data and I'm considering installing a Password Manager. I looked into a few and the best ones seem to be 1Password and Dashlane, but I am no expert on the subject. I read that a some of these Password Managers were hacked into, so clearly they are not all equally safe. I would appreciate the input from the more knowledgeable members of the boards and anyone who's had experience with this.
Guest NateC Posted September 18, 2014 Posted September 18, 2014 Check out LastPass https://lastpass.com/ Security expert Steve Gibson endorses it: http://blog.lastpass.com/2010/07/lastpass-gets-green-light-from-security.html
shirgall Posted September 19, 2014 Posted September 19, 2014 I've been using Lastpass for a while, too, and it has the added benefit of allowing me to share passwords with my spouse.
Lingum Posted September 19, 2014 Posted September 19, 2014 Look up the features of the different password managers to find one that meets your needs. I've used KeePass for a few years, and I'm very happy with it. I keep a standalone version with a password protected database on my Dropbox. KeePass keeps all your passwords locally. In addition, I use Firefox to remember login information so I never have to enter them. With Firefox sync you can share passwords, bookmarks, settings on multiple devices. That service is encrypted and inaccessible even to the Mozilla crew themselves. I still use my password manager as an archive of passwords and personal information, and backup. Using a password manager can increase the security of your private data tremendously. However, it does require some work and effort on your part. I had to spend a few hours going through all my online accounts to change passwords and other security details. You typically want to seperate your online accounts and their passwords Don't use the same password and username several places Don't use the same password on a site that is connected to your e-mail If you're going to use an online based password manager (keeps your data for you), you should do some research on it first. Is it a reputable software? Have they had security issues in the past?
RealP Posted September 19, 2014 Author Posted September 19, 2014 NateC, shirgall, Are you premium users of LastPass? Expert endorsement is a big plus. I'll give it a try. Lingum, I think you're right about the questions one should ask when going for an online based password manager. I visited KeePass' website, but my gut doesn't allow me to trust a website that is not very corporate-y, although the ratings (http://keepass.info/ratings.html) seem to be pretty good. So many choices make me anxious, we need the state to come up with a password manager and ban the others!
shirgall Posted September 20, 2014 Posted September 20, 2014 Are you premium users of LastPass? Expert endorsement is a big plus. I'll give it a try. Yes, I'm a premium subscriber to lastpass (mostly because I wanted the mobile app integration and the shared folders).
magentawave Posted September 21, 2014 Posted September 21, 2014 I've been using the free version of LastPass on my Macbook Pro for a few years and I'm very happy with it. I paid for the mobile version for my iPad and Android phone but it wouldn't automatically log me in like the computer version does so I stopped paying for it. I can still use the free version on my iPad and phone but it requires more work to log in.
shirgall Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 I've been using the free version of LastPass on my Macbook Pro for a few years and I'm very happy with it. I paid for the mobile version for my iPad and Android phone but it wouldn't automatically log me in like the computer version does so I stopped paying for it. I can still use the free version on my iPad and phone but it requires more work to log in. Getting it to automatically log in does take a little bit of setting up, including some changes to security settings. Because of the possibility of losing my phone, I don't have it enabled but I did try it at one point. Often the lastpass keyboard gets disabled by updates of other keyboard apps, as they love to reset your settings.
Magenta Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 I've been a premium subscriber to LastPass for about 3 years now and it's treated me great on both my work PC, home PC, and smartphone. Having an offline password manager is inherently more secure, but significantly less convenient, so I use LastPass and I haven't heard of any security breaches.
FriendlyHacker Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Don't use a password manager that keeps the passwords anywhere outside of your own computer, if you manage passwords from a browser plugin that saves the data on a cloud server, that adds quite a few more breaking points in security. And make sure that access to your password manager is password locked too.
magentawave Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 So you don't recommend using something like LastPass? Don't use a password manager that keeps the passwords anywhere outside of your own computer, if you manage passwords from a browser plugin that saves the data on a cloud server, that adds quite a few more breaking points in security. And make sure that access to your password manager is password locked too.
RealP Posted October 13, 2014 Author Posted October 13, 2014 Don't use a password manager that keeps the passwords anywhere outside of your own computer, if you manage passwords from a browser plugin that saves the data on a cloud server, that adds quite a few more breaking points in security. And make sure that access to your password manager is password locked too. Thank you for your tips. Do you have any software suggestions?
FriendlyHacker Posted October 13, 2014 Posted October 13, 2014 http://sourceforge.net/projects/passwordsafe/files/?source=navbar
magentawave Posted October 13, 2014 Posted October 13, 2014 Do you have any recommendations for a local password manager that works on OSX? And preferably one that is free? http://sourceforge.net/projects/passwordsafe/files/?source=navbar
shirgall Posted October 13, 2014 Posted October 13, 2014 I used to use PasswordSafe, but when I needed to share passwords with my wife, it was unwieldy, which is how I ended up with LastPass.
Recommended Posts