What do you mean we shouldn’t write our passwords down?
A password manager securely keeps track of all your login credentials, so you won’t have to remember each of them. More than just making life easier for you, password managers help keep your data protected by allowing you to create strong and unique passwords.
It minimises the chance of people writing passwords down or using the same passwords consistently which is a huge safety issue, not only for potential theft but also the potential innocent loss of materials housing passwords.
How weak is your password?
Despite the growing awareness about cybersecurity threats, a majority of online users are still using weak passwords or reuse their passwords on different online accounts. Such poor password habits put you at risk of identity theft. Computer hackers only need to crack one password to gain access to all your other online accounts using the same credentials.
To prevent potential catastrophe, you need to use unique and strong passwords for each online account and use multifactor authentication for added protection. The problem is, remembering and keeping track of each access code can be very difficult, if not impossible, especially if you own numerous accounts.
Password managers are meant to do just that: store all your passwords securely in a “vault” and allow you to access each credential automatically just by using a master password. Needless to say, a password manager lets you create strong and hard to crack passwords and then forget them.
Using LastPass to manage your passwords
One of the most popular cloud-based password managers around, LastPass makes it easy to manage passwords just by using its browser extension. LastPass supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge and Opera.
To start benefiting from the features of LastPass, you need to set up an account, then download and install LastPass in your browser.
Click here to set up your LastPass account
Please note: This is an affiliate link.
- Set up a LinkedIn account via the link above.
- Enter the email address that you would like to use and create a master password. It is important to set up a strong password, but it should be something that you can easily remember as well as you need to remember this separately to your LastPass vault as you need it to log in.
- When you have created an account, find the extension through your browser install. You should be able to see this icon
on your browser once the installation is complete. Click the icon and Log In.
We recommend using a non-business specific password as if you leave your organisation you may not be able to easily receive recovery help.
Tips to make your passwords strong
Tips to make a strong password:
- Make your password long and complex. The longer and more complex the code is, the harder it is to crack.
- Include random words or phrases, numbers, symbols, and a mix of upper and lowercase letters.
- Do not include personally identifiable information such as date of birth, obvious personal numbers, or address.
- Do not use sequential letters or numbers (e.g. “qwerty”, “1234”).
LinkedIn allows you to generate passwords even without a login – click here to access the LinkedIn password generator. You can set the length, customise your password needs and change the type of password offered if the characters aren’t suitable.
Now, it’s time to save your online account passwords to your LastPass vault. The fastest way to do it is by visiting the website and log in as usual. Click “Add,” once LastPass prompts you. Alternatively, you may click the LastPass icon from your browser and choose the option to “Add Item.” Select “Password,” fill out the form and then hit “Save.”
That’s it! You’re good to go. The next time you log in, LastPass will auto-fill the form for you. It may request your master password regularly – make sure your master password is one you can remember and do not rely on LastPass to provide it to you!
The LastPass browser extension, desktop, and mobile versions are free to use. To unlock more features, paid plans are also available (Premium, Families, Teams, Enterprise, MFA and Identity) to choose from.
Sharing passwords
There is an excellent function in LastPass to be able to share passwords. For those that use LastPass for business, you could create a shared folder or you have the ability to share.
Make sure you are clear on why and what you are sharing with others and if you finish your business with that person that you then remove their access and change the password. This will help you to manage your own passwords as well as with the support of others.
You can also use LastPass on Apple / Android devices and the app is very easy to use. It can be used with a biometric option to log in.
As with all security tools, nothing is fully protected and you should be very vigilant about your passwords. LastPass is a simple tool that can make a huge difference in protecting your security and passwords.
Disclaimer: whilst we suggest LastPass as a great tool, Blue Ninja Business Support are not responsible for the use of this tool nor any potential threats from the use of LastPass…we use it too! We have provided an affiliate link in this article and have disclosed this.
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