Why do we all need a “Password Manager”
Introduction
All of us must be using some passwords on each and every website for logging in. Most of the time we as humans cannot remember complex passwords or even if we do, we will be remembering one or two passwords, we tend to use the same password on each website.
Now the fun part comes into play, suppose one of the websites is breached (which is very common nowadays) and the password which you are using in common somehow gets into the hands of the bad guys then they might go to some websites randomly and try that password and boom they can log in as you which is very dangerous.
Strong Passwords
Even if you are not in favor of using any password manager don’t worry, I have your back! Try using “PassPhrases” now the difference between a passphrase and password is very simple :
Let’s take an example :
Password: Qwerty@12345
Passphrase: I want to work in X company someday
Now I will tell you why I am asking you to use a passphrase instead of a password. One of the reasons being “Brute-force”. A brute-force attack consists of an attacker submitting many passwords or passphrases with the hope of eventually guessing a combination correctly. The attacker systematically checks all possible passwords and passphrases until the correct one is found.
Now generating the password and cracking it becomes much easier than cracking the passphrase.
Why Password Manager?
Ok by now you must have understood the importance of the password. So password manager is a computer program/software that allows one to store, generate and manage passwords for local applications and online services. A password manager can assist you in generating a long complex passwords and most importantly store them in an encrypted database.
The Password Manager I use : [ this is only a personal opinion]
I use the “KeePassXC” password manager. The reason being it’s cross-platform so you can easily use it in Windows / Linux / Mac. Your database will be stored on your hard disk only so it is not vulnerable to hackers over the internet (if your computer/laptop gets compromised your database will also be compromised)
Advantages of Password Manager :
You just need to remember one strong password to access your database and then you can store 100’s of strong passwords for each of your websites. This is definitely better than remembering 5 strong passwords.
So, If you have read this far you need to change your habit and start using a “Password Manager” of your choice — there are plenty to choose from free as well as paid.
