Using A Password Manager Drives Hackers Crazy!

How do password managers work?

A password manager is an application that stores and organizes passwords. You add passwords and usernames for your various accounts and label them so they’re easy to find. You usually need a master password to unlock access to your password database. Once you open up your password manager, you can usually find whichever account you’re looking for, copy the password, and paste it into the password field of your sign-in credentials. Some will even auto-populate your login information.

Some of the most popular password managers are:

Sometimes the solution to a common problem, like having poor password management (which puts you at risk of a hack), is to do something simple…like start using a password manager.

“The single best thing someone can do to better protect their accounts is to choose and use a password manager,” explains Chris Parker, CEO of WhatIsMyIPAddress.com. “With that simple decision, you significantly improve your account security.”

Most people don’t know it, but passwords didn’t start as “secret codes.” Instead, they started out as access codes at a workplace to allow individual employees access to the organization’s network. With their own “entry code” a person could log in and use the system when they needed to instead of waiting for the system to be free.

Could you imagine waiting your turn to log into Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or the hundreds of other networks you use? Passwords have been the solution. So, right from the beginning, passwords were only needed to differentiate one user from another while providing network access. The problem was solved, but it created another one.

How Using a Password Manager Makes Your Life Easier and Drives Hackers Crazy!

The perpetual password problem.

The problem is most people still create their own passwords (all of them or hundreds of them). And they don’t think much about security.

In other words, they make themselves easy (or easier) targets for hackers.

In an article we created for WhatIsMyIPAddress.com, we covered the ABCs of creating and using passwords. What’s amazing is that these mistakes have been the top mistakes ever since passwords were created to access online accounts, computers and networks.

How to get smarter with your passwords.

Here is a look at some things that you should be doing regarding your passwords to keep hackers out of your accounts!

Using a password manager can create complex and virtually unbreakable passwords for you.

Create unbreakable passwords. You should at least put up a strong defense, so a hacker moves on to someone else. Simple passwords are like a treat for hackers. They know that millions of people still use simple (dumb) passwords like “1234” and “ABCD.” That’s still a fact.

If a person still thinks of passwords as a simple “access code”, it makes sense why they don’t bother to create something secretive and strong. Also, if someone hasn’t been hacked yet, they may feel invulnerable. We all know we could have a car accident one day, but the longer we go without one, the less likely we think it will happen. Then again, we still use seatbelts.

It’s the same thing as being careless with passwords.

A password manager remembers every password you have.

Remember and recall every password you have. Let’s say that you follow the experts’ advice. You create complex passwords for all your accounts and you don’t use one password for different accounts. That’s terrific!

Well, statistics say that some people have as many as 100 passwords. The average number might be 25 or more. If you’re creating unique passwords for every account, as you’re supposed to do, you have to store all these passwords SOMEWHERE. So, where are yours stored? In your phone, on your browser, in a notebook somewhere? The real question is, could someone find them and log into your accounts?

The likelihood is you’re using very simple passwords or versions of the same password over and over. Also, you’re probably not changing your password too often. Those aren’t good habits. You’ll have to find a smart place to store all your unique passwords, whether you have 15, 25 or 100 or more.

A password saves you time when you log in.

They save usernames and passwords too. Oh, by the way, remember that you’ll need to know what account that password goes to! In other words, you have to write down the account name with the password. So, you’ll need to write down “Facebook” and the password, or “LinkedIn” and its password and so on.

Let’s say you created 50 complex, impossible-to-guess and unlikely hackable passwords. You decided to write them all down—the account identifiers (banks, credit cards, social media accounts, etc.) in one place.

You might be tempted to carry a little black book with you, but that would be too risky.

Or you could have someone else, a family member or friend, get you the passwords you need when you need one, but that is a breakdown in security. The point is, you’d want to store them in a safe place so no one else could get to them.

A password manager is a vault with a “combination”/password only you know.

Where would you store all your login credentials? What comes to mind? Maybe a locked drawer, a safe deposit box at a bank, or a vault at home. That would work. Then again, anytime you wanted to log into an account, you would need to go to the vault, enter the combination or secret code to unlock it, and retrieve the password you need.

In real life and in real-time, that just isn’t practical and wouldn’t work. The answer is, you would need to carry a vault with you so that you have access to all your passwords when you need one. Also, that’s the only way you could make sure no one has access to the combination to open the vault but you.

Well, there is a way to store all your passwords in a vault —have that vault with you at all times.

Using a password manager is the solution to that.

A password manager is a virtual vault that travels with you around the clock.

And to open the vault where all your passwords are stored safely, you enter the one and only very secret password.

As we’ve been stating throughout this article and illustrated in the infographic above—a password manager is the best way for you to create, save and protect all your passwords. So, here’s what your job is; start putting pure protection on your accounts.

Explore the top password manager options.
Choose the one that seems right for you and your family.
Create the ONE password that you’ll remember and no one else could figure out.

Is using a password manager safe?

Know that your information will never be 100% private or secure online. But there are ways to mitigate risks, and a password manager is one of them. Before you start using a password manager, you should know what some of the risks and disadvantages of using them are.

Do password managers have disadvantages?

While password managers have several advantages for privacy and security, there are downsides to using them:

All passwords are in one place: All of your sensitive data is kept in one central place, so if anyone ever happens to get access to it, they’ll have your passwords for everything.
Risk of no backup: If the company that runs the password manager has a server breakdown, you can’t access your passwords and you may not be able to recover them. You can keep your copy of your data on a disk drive or in the cloud, but you’d need to encrypt these storage areas somehow to make them effective.
Don’t guarantee the security of your device: If you’re running a password manager on a device that is easily exploited, it doesn’t matter that you’re using a password manager. Your device might become infected with malware that can log your master password as you type it in, giving hackers full access to your password database.
Some have weaker encryption: Some password managers have weaker encryption standards than others, making them more vulnerable to attack. Check what kind of encryption the password manager uses before choosing one.
You might lose or forget your master password: Your master password should be strong, a random series of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks. Obviously, you won’t remember this password right away and you’ll have to write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If you lose your master password or forget it, you lose access to all your other passwords.
Using a password manager on work computers: If you use a password manager on your work computer, the administrator who has access to it can access your passwords as well. Once you start using a password manager, be careful about where you install it.

Keep Hackers Out of Your Accounts.

Below, is a link to an article that lists the top password managers. Click the link and start exploring. It’s that easy, and one of the smartest moves you can make to protect your accounts, your privacy and your identity.

See Password Managers