Password Manager

First step – open a MySpace account and note your password on a post-it. Second – change it every 3 months, crossing out the old one and noting the new one below. Third, fourth, fifth steps – keep crossing out passwords until you’ve run out of space on the post-it and need a new post-it. Then repeat.

It’s embarrassing, and if you’ve honestly never passed through this stage in life, consider yourself not so much lucky, but rather to have lived in a world where electronic passwords were always prevalent and never new. However, for those of us over 45, this was a reality. We remember the days when the internet never existed, turn-dial phones, ping pong in our grandparent’s stinky basements, etc. That was a reality, and in a way, it was a simpler time. No passwords, no hackers, but also no connection with the wider world at the drop of a finger. Let’s be honest – the internet is a win-win all the way around.

But this win-win comes at a price, and that price (among many) is having to remember passwords. You can keep noting them on post-its or use what´s known as a password manager. A password manager is an encrypted vault that keeps all login information safe and secure. The beauty of a managerial service like this is long gone are the days of trying to figure out unique twists on your birthday and goldfish’s name. The password manager conjures up a strong password that nobody (famous last words) can hack. A good manager also keeps you abreast to security breaches and things to look out for. Of course, there is a cost to all this, but nowadays with everything in the cloud, the investment is more than worth it. Let’s take a look!  

LastPass

With an optional free version, and compatible with Linux, Android, iPhone, MacOS and Windows, LastPass will let you use this version across multiple devices. The ability to store passwords, credentials, and user login info across your mobile, desktop and browsers, this is serious value added. Like any company however, LastPass prefers you upgrade, and at $36 per year the Premium version will allow you to share passwords, memberships, logins and more. Additionally, YubiKey is a cool fingerprint scanner with 1GB of encrypted storage.

A word of caution – in September of this year (2019) the company discovered a flaw that could compromise data. But it was patched before anything could be leaked.

1Password

While LastPass comes with a best in the business free version, 1Password does not. But you can sign up for 30 days and try it out. Once that initial 30 days runs out however, you are routed into paying the same amount as LastPass - $36. At this price point you get 1GB of document storage plus an optional two-factor authentication for additional security.

Bump up to $60 annually and you can get the whole family onboard. Five individual accounts, a dashboard interface and shared folders await. Moreover, each user also gets their own vault which can be easily controlled alongside alarm codes with guests.

To be honest, these two are the best in the game. There are others of course but try one of these two out first. If they don’t click, move on from here.