We all have dozens of online accounts. All of them require a password. Complex and unique. Password re-use is a huge problem with large data breaches becoming more and more common these days, with billions of data records lost or stolen since 2013.
So what can you do to protect yourself? You can create a complex and unique password for each and every online account you own and then write each of those passwords on a piece of paper for reference. But that’s just insane. The best way to approach this is to use a password manager.
A password manager is like a digital vault where you can keep all of your important info ( like logins, credit card numbers, PINs, IDs, notes etc. ). The password manager will also allow you to create unique passwords for all of your accounts. What’s an unique password generated by such a manager? Here’s one: 6u3Z386%$%!^*yhVxMAL.
NOTE: But my browser has a built-in password manager. Why can’t I just use that one? Because they suck…
There’s a lot of password managers available. I’m 99% sure the name “1Password” sounds familiar. Or LastPass, Keeper, Enpass, mSecure, Password Wallet, eWallet, KeePass?
If you use any of those, or any other password manager and you’re happy with it, this article is not for you. Maybe, only, for future reference. I don’t know, when you’re license expires…
If you don’t use a password manager, I strongly suggest your start using one today. Do your own research. See what all of them offer ( features and price ) and pick which one suits your needs the best.
Here’s one you might want to try. bitwarden.
If you take a quick look at all the password managers available, they all offer ( more or less ) the same functionality. So most people choose a password manager based on 1. price and 2. “because this is what I was told to use.”
So what’s the difference between bitwarden and other, more popular, choices? Bitwarden is free, open-source, cross-platform and uses AES 256 bit encryption as well as PBKDF2 to secure your data.
A free account offers:
- Access & install all bitwarden apps
- Sync all of your devices, no limits!
- Store unlimited items in your vault
- Auto-fill items from your vault
- Logins, secure notes, credit cards, & identities
- Two-step authentication (2FA)
- Secure password generator
You can also upgrade to a premium account for only $10/year which will get you all of the features above and:
- 1GB encrypted file storage
- 2FA with YubiKey, FIDO U2F, & Duo
- TOTP key storage & code generator
- Priority customer support
One downside with bitwarden, for macOS users at least, is that there’s no support for Safari. However a cross-platform dedicated app is coming soon.
That being said it offers support for all other major desktop browsers ( + Brave, Vivaldi and Tor ) and comes with dedicated iOS and Android apps.
The dedicated mobile apps work like a charm. At least the iOS one ( i don’t have any android device to test ).
The app syncs instantly with your account ( remember all your info is encrypted locally before it flies around ).
You can manage all of your logins from a secure, encrypted vault.
You can easily add new logins to your vault when creating accounts on websites or other apps.
Generate strong, unique passwords for every login.
Auto-fill your login credentials into websites and other apps.
Lock down your bitwarden account with your master password, fingerprint, PIN, and two-factor authentication.
To learn more and create a free account, check out the video below and visit the official bitwarden page.