In today’s video, I compare LastPass, KeePass, and 1Password password managers. I don’t recommend LastPass, but I do show you how to download and use KeePass and 1Password.
It can be difficult for a non-techie to know where to start when thinking about taking back your digital privacy. There is no one right answer because privacy isn’t a switch that is either on or off; it’s a sliding scale – sometimes you’re more private based on your digital habits…and sometimes you’re less. So anywhere you can improve your digital habits is a step toward taking back your privacy.
One of the places I like to start with new people learning about these tools for the first time is with password managers. Passwords are fundamental to securing access to the various applications we use, whether they be websites or programs running on our computers. Yet most people that I know use extremely weak passwords (8 characters or less), and they reuse the same password across all their applications. Hacking software readily available to everyone can brute force guess a password of 8 characters or less within a matter of seconds to within a few minutes, and if that password is reused across many sites, then the hacker has access to, essentially, your entire digital life.
A password manager allows you to use randomly generated, unbreakable passwords (30 characters or more) without ever having to worry about taking up brain space to remember them – simultaneously increasing privacy, security, and convenience. Password managers even allow you to randomize your account usernames (if the site or application will allow you to use something other than your e-mail address), which greatly increases your account security because the username is 50% of the information a hacker needs to access your data.
Using a password manager means only having to remember one good password instead of dozens of weak ones. And the great thing is that it is easy for human beings to create very memorable passwords that are impossible for computers to crack. The example “master password” I use in the tutorial video is:
“I went skydiving for the first time in 2001.”
That password has over 40 characters in it (spaces, punctuation and everything), making it impossible for a computer to guess, but it would be extremely easy to remember because it is (hypothetically) relevant to the actual history of my life.
The next logical question is: “Which password manager should I use?” There are really only two criteria for selecting a password manager:
- Is it secure, and;
- Will I use it?
The most secure password manager in the world is worthless if you stop using it because it’s too inconvenient. I recommend using one of two password managers: KeePass or 1Password.
KeePass is a free, open-sources password manager. Its code has been audited by privacy and security experts all over the world, and it is the tool that those experts (and hackers) use themselves. It really is the standard by which every other password manager is judged, and since it is free, it cost you nothing to try it. Its only draw backs (if you can even call them that) are that the user interface looks like a basic computer program built in the early 2000s, and you have to manually transfer your passwords between your devices (such as your computer to your phone), which is easy for anyone to learn to do in a matter of minutes. In fact most privacy and security experts prefer the fact that you have to manually sync your passwords between devices with KeePass because it reduces the chance that passwords may somehow be exposed during the syncing process, and it allows you to only sync the few passwords you might actually need on the device rather than copying the entire database (multiple copies of the database increases the number of opportunities to steal the data and mobile phones are often much less secure that desktop computers).
1Password works in essentially the same way as KeePass – all the encryption and data storage take place on your computer and not in the cloud – but is a proprietary software that requires a monthly subscription. So why would anyone pay every month for 1Password when KeePass is free? In a word: convenience. 1Password has a nice user interface, extensions that build password management into all the popular browsers on the market, and well supported mobile apps on both the iPhone and Android. And it will automatically sync to all these locations through Dropbox, which most people are already familiar with using. I have to admit that I still use 1Password because I bought a lifetime license before it switched to a subscription model and because it works in the Brave web browser, which I love.
My only plea is: pick the password manager that is right for you and actually use it.
If you do decide to go with 1Password and you use Apple products, please sign up for your subscription using CryptoTech.Solutions’ Apple affiliate link to help support the show at no additional cost to you: https://www.cryptotech.solutions/1password/
Sponsor link: https://www.cryptotech.solutions/nord/
Other links in the tutorial:
Privacy tools resource page: https://privacytools.io
KeePass: http://keepass.info/
News articles about LastPass hacks:
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/06/16/bad-news-lastpass-breached-good-news-you-should-be-ok/
https://betanews.com/2016/01/16/lastpass-lostpass-passwords/
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