How many passwords do try to remember each day?
How many ways have you tried to manage them?
The madness can be managed better through software than by using your memory, sticky notes, or excel files.
LastPass is my preferred freemium software solution.
Allow me to give you a tour of this better option.
Stop the Madness with LastPass
For a long time I used an excel spreadsheet to manage my passwords. Then I moved to a free download application that ran on my machine where I could hand key in each password.
It still required me to have it open while I would simultaneously hand key in the password into a browser. Example your credit card login.
Look up password, type in password, when required, change password, type in new password change in software for storage.
Why LastPass?
LastPass is a Cloud based web browser application. What does that mean? No software actually runs on your machine.
Why is that important? No passwords are actually ever stored on your machine.
Why does that matter?
Your passwords cannot be stolen by someone logging into your machine, virus, etc.
All passwords are stored with LastPass in the Cloud instead of on your local PC.
How does LastPass works
You want to pay your bills and you log into your bank.
- LastPass recognizes that you are at WellsFargo.com.
- LastPass auto-populates your username and password.
- In a similar manner when your browser asks you Do you want me to remember this site?
The difference is that when you clean your machine of all of the cookies the Remember part of your browser gets a lobotomy.
With LastPass there is no memory lapse each time you clean up.
When a password or user name change is required
LastPass recognizes there is a change and asks update now?
You can then choose to allow LP to update the information automatically or you can login directly to Lastpass.com and manage your accounts there.
I have found LP to be highly accurate and reliable with detecting when a username or password change is occurring.
As a result I am no longer messing around trying to remember what I changed and when.
Complexity of Password Requirements
I continue to find that different institutions are each requiring a different password security structure. For example:
- My bank-Username/Password minimum of 8 characters but requires Alpha and Numeric combination.
- 401K-Username/Password/Unique PIN
- WordPress-Username/Password very forgiving and does not require password resets
- Company Credit Card-MASSIVE PAIN. Username/Password/Keyword that is scrambled and requires forced change every 90 days
- SalesForce.com -Username/Password with automatic resets required every 90/120 days and you are unable to use the previous two passwords
Use Modern Technology Instead
You too have a similar story of Madness.
It is time to use modern technology to manage a problem that will only continue to get worse.
The more your life is digitized the more complex this hassle will become.
Make the leap and download a solution that can fix it today.
Setup is a breeze
Once you download the browser plugin, LP will go through your machine and say Hey I found these passwords for these websites, do you want me to remember these?
And would you like me to erase these off your machine so hackers can’t get to them?
I was shocked at how much was on my local PC. It was a bit scary actually.
Once installed the plugin simply runs in your browser and engages you when login to a new site.
LastPass can give you a better sales pitch than I but let me give you a quick overview of why you should stop trying to remember any passwords.
View LastPass Screencast of how it works and why.
Good luck and feel free to post your favorite password manager in the comments section.
Alternative to LastPass-1Password
I learned of another option 1Password. Their claim to fame is only needing to remember one password for all of your websites.
Check them out as well and decide which you prefer.
*I am not an affiliate or receive any reward or compensation for this pitch.
