Experts break silence on doing better passwords

The 123 of Passwords Managers

Passwords, Boring but safe.

A good password manager keeps, creates, and updates a password for you with the press of a button. For a few quid a month, synchronise your passwords on all your devices. Boring but safe, much safer when you are running a business. As Banks' branches close, with reduced cash use, main street shops dying off, and people opt to work online from home, password management is the backbone of business online protection. Find out more, email us

When someone leaves.

90% of organisations leave former staff members connected to systems for several days with access to everything, including the Bank! 

• It's easy to onboard people and set up new passwords
• When people leave, delete them from the password manager in 2 seconds. No more access.
• Running an organisation, you need a proper password culture 
• A Cyber-secure business is a better, more valuable, safe business
   

Only one password to remember:

You only have to remember one password when typing it into the password manager, unlocking the vault with your actual passwords. Make sure it's a good one, your password.

I used to think I was insecure until I saw my passwords.

Password managers are something that nerds use.  

If you use '123456', 'LiverpoolFC', 'password', 'admin' or 'qwerty', it's easy to remember. Then we double down and use the same old passwords in loads of different accounts. It is like leaving your front door open and ten grand in cash on the kitchen table.

Apps and extensions:

Most password managers comprise apps or browser extensions for all of your devices (Windows, Mac, Android phones, iPhone, and tablets). You can create secure passwords, store them, and prompt you to improve your password security. Once stored on the password server or vault, they are encrypted and available to all your devices.

Fixing compromised passwords:

Password managers create secure passwords safe from prying eyes. When organisations like Microsoft, LinkedIn, British Airways or Sony PlayStation get hacked, a password manager will advise you to change your password immediately. 

Most cloud-based password managers alert you to potentially hacked passwords. Password managers also make it easy to change a compromised password quickly and search through your passwords to ensure you didn't reuse any compromised codes.

Some of the better commercial password managers like Keeper will inform you of breaches like BA, Audi, Easyjet and recommend immediate action. Threat protection features will highlight password security levels and duplicate usage. For example, are your Gmail and bank password the same?

Check your passwords here - https://haveibeenpwned (dot) com

Disable auto form-filling:

Some password managers will automatically fill in and submit web forms for you. Whilst very convenient, consider disabling this feature as it is dangerous. Automatically filling forms in the browser means password managers are vulnerable to attacks. 

Don't worry about hacks:

All software is buggy, even your password manager. What do you do when your password manager has a flaw? Normally, bugs are reported and fixed before anyone can take advantage of the security gap. If someone gains access to your password manager's servers, your passwords remain safe and sound. Most services store only encrypted data with none of them store your encryption key, which means all an attacker gets will see on their password servers is the encrypted data.

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