Have you realized how many passwords we have nowadays?
One for each bank account, one for each social network, one for each email account and who knows how many other services.
In some cases, we reuse the user account information, which isn’t very secure, but still they are too many to memorize them all. So, some time ago I had to search for a password manager. But…
What is a password manager?
Software that allows you to save all your passwords in a secure way, by encrypting your data. It also helps you to keep them all organized and available from different devices.
Why do I need one?
Sometimes we underestimate the use of such applications, but considering the number of password we manage nowadays, it is difficult to memorize them all and store them in a safe way -PLEASE, do not write your passwords on post-its around your computer, where everybody can read them! You need to store them in a safe way. Password managers do that.
How do they work?
Every application has differences, but in general all of them have some basic functionalities in common: They Encrypt the data and Share it so that we can have access from different devices. Besides, they also have the possibility to share the data with other users, for example, team members.
Which ones are the most popular?
In this quest, I found at least 4 different apps I could use: Dashlane, StykyPassword, Roboform and Password Boss. Each has a paid membership version with full functionality, and some have a free version with access to one person from one device only, so you can decide which version suits you better, based on your requirements.
A Useful Suggestion?
My friend Priya Abraham, from Cyberconnecting, suggested something different. Keepass. This is an open-source app, available for desktop and mobile.
The application itself is not online, but the database with all your passwords can be shared online, so you can have access to the data from any device with the app installed. Actually, from my point of view, the main advantage of this app is the format of the database (.kdbx). Why? Because, there are different others application which also use this format, so you can create a database and share it using the application most convenient for each case (SO, device, etc.) and access the information from the device you want, whenever you want.
That’s why I decided to use Keepass!
Which is best for you?
In order to make your decision process easier, take a look at this comparison chart with a quick overview of all of them:
| Features | Dashlane | StickyPassword | Roboform | Password Boss | Keepass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser integration, so it is not necessary to type the password | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic password recording | – | Yes | Yes | – | No |
| Secure Password generation (optional) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Search option | – | – | Yes | – | – |
| Free version | One user + One device | – | One user + One device | One user + One device | Unlimited |
| Paid version | Multiple user + multiple devices (price per user) | Multiple user + multiple devices (price per user) | Multiple user + multiple devices (price per 5 users) | Multiple user + multiple devices (price per user) | – |