{"id":9409,"date":"2018-03-19T15:36:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T22:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/stage\/?p=9409"},"modified":"2018-03-20T13:27:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T20:27:50","slug":"selecting-a-password-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zubairalexander.com\/blog\/selecting-a-password-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"Selecting A Password Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my last article, I discussed\u00a0The Advantages of Using a Password Manager<\/a>\u00a0to keep you secure and protect your privacy.\u00a0This article will provide some tips on selecting a password manager. There are so many password managers out there, it can be difficult to figure out which one is right for you. Most password managers have a free version and a paid version. The paid version adds some additional features that you may or may not need. Password managers usually work on multiple platforms so you can use them on a PC, Mac, Android, iPhone, iPad, etc. The following are some of the most popular FREE password managers, listed in alphabetical order<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 1Password<\/li>\n
  2. Dashlane<\/li>\n
  3. KeePass<\/li>\n
  4. LastPass<\/li>\n
  5. LogMeOnce<\/li>\n
  6. mSecure<\/li>\n
  7. Roboform<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Although many Web browsers include built-in password management functionality, compared to the password managers, the features offered by the browsers are very limited.\u00a0The developers of most reputable password managers,\u00a0including the seven listed above, clearly state that they won\u2019t be able to access your account even if they wanted to. That should alleviate any concerns that you may have about them getting into your personal information. Executives of 1Password, LastPass, mSecure and Roboform all told\u00a0TechRepublic\u2019s Michael Kassner<\/a>\u00a0pretty much the same thing, that they don\u2019t have any backdoors and can\u2019t get into your password database. For example, when asked\u00a0\u201cIf the government orders you to turn over someone\u2019s passwords, is it possible?\u201d, LastPass Vice President of Marketing Erin Styles said \u201cSo, to answer your question, there is nothing we could do to obtain someone\u2019s passwords. If ordered by the government, we would hand over a blob of encrypted data that they could attempt to brute force. As everyone knows, with a strong master password, brute force would be virtually impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"LastPass<\/a><\/p>\n

    PC Magazine has a list of\u00a0The Best Free Password Managers of 2018<\/a>. They evaluated eight password managers and the only two\u00a0Editor\u2019s Choice<\/em>\u00a0were LogMeOnce and LastPass. Of all the reviews that I have read over the years, the majority of them have rated LastPass as the best password manager. Having said that, you may find some features in other password managers that you\u2019ll like better, or you may find the interface more appealing. That\u2019s why it\u2019s best to try some of these password managers and see which one you like.<\/p>\n

    Some password managers are installed locally, others store data in the cloud. Some, like LogMeOnce, don\u2019t even require you to remember a master password. They call their password manager PasswordLess<\/em> because you can use your image (selfie), rather than a password, to login. On mobile devices, the use of biometrics (facial recognition, fingerprints, etc.) is pretty common. But before you setup one of the biometric options, you may want to read my article How Secure is Biometric Authentication on Mobile Devices<\/a>. You can also use the free Microsoft Authenticator app to sign into your phone without a password.<\/p>\n

    What Should You Look For in a Password Manager?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    When it comes to password managers there are too many options to choose from and that\u2019s why it is easy to get confused. A good password manager should encrypt the database and never store your master password on the servers. Only you should be able to access your data. This means that even the employees of the password manager should not be able to hack into your data. In addition, at minimum it should\u00a0allow the following features:<\/p>\n