Staying secure online and protecting your personal information is sometimes easier said than done. One of the ways you can help to protect your information and accounts is by creating a strong, unique password for each of your online accounts. Ideally, this means at least eight characters, with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Here’s why you need a password manager and how to set one up.
You can also securely share passwords and sensitive documents with family and friends if you need to. And if you’re shopping online, you can easily fill in your credit card information to make purchases without needing to have your physical credit card on hand.
Your password manager can also help you fight against phishing scams. Even if a phishing attempt tricks you into clicking on a malicious link, it won’t trick the password manager. Your password manager will detect that the URL is different than the site you usually log into — regardless of how similar it may look to the naked eye.
If you’re worried about storing all sorts of sensitive information in one place, you don’t need to be. The top password managers use a zero-knowledge approach to securing your passwords and other information you store with them — meaning that even the password manager itself can’t access your passwords or other data, because everything is encrypted before it leaves your device. And if your password manager can’t access your data, then neither can anyone else.
How to set up a password manager
The first thing you’ll need to do is choose a password manager and set up an account (CNET’s list of top password managers is a great place to start). Some password managers have a free tier that usually includes all the basic features you’d need, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $35 to $60 per year for a premium plan that includes things like access across multiple devices, expanded file storage and family sharing.
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