We always hear that our accounts are not secure because of bad passwords. However, even using the same, memorable password for every account I make, I still have a hard time remembering how to log in to my accounts.
Last Pass to the Rescue
Last Pass is a password manager. It stores any username/password combination you have for any given site inside its secure "vault". To enter the vault, it requires one master password. Once this password is entered, it will auto-fill any request for a username and password.
This allows you to have many different passwords. You only have to remember one master password, your "last pass", and the rest will be filled out by the vault. Last Pass also has a password generator, so you don't even have to come up with the password! Anytime you are creating a new account, Last Pass will offer to generate your password and save the site. The next time you go to log in to the site, Last Pass will fill it out for you.
This 1-minute video explains it very well.
Password Syncing is Awesome
Password syncing is my favorite feature of Last Pass. The Last Pass vault is available through a browser extension, website, and app. This is better than using a web browser's built in password functionality; if you save a password on your computer's browser, you can only load the saved information from that computer! Your phone's browser will not haved the password saved! But if you sign in to your Last Pass vault, you can access any account credentials on any computer.
Even better, you can have multiple accounts saved for one site. Previously, when I needed to log in to my wife's Gmail or Spotify account, or if she wanted to log in to our bank account, we would have to ask each other for the credentials. With Last Pass, we can both easily log in to any account one of us has created!
Is Password Security Important?
I have never been hacked; therefore, I have always had a hard time caring enough about securing passwords. I'll never get hacked!...But, what if I did? What could happen? Well, my money could be transferred to a different bank or PayPal account. My Facebook account could be used to say horrible things to friends. My email could be used as a spambot. I could keep going.
But what is worse, if an attacker gets one account, and you use the same email and password for everything...the attacker has all your accounts! After getting into one account, they can go to all the major banks, credit card companies, social media sites, and email sites, trying that email/password combination. They would get into any of the sites you have an account for!
In fact, this xkcd comic illustrates how some attackers set up websites for that very purpose!
So yes, password security is important.
Conclusion
I hope this post has at least made you consider securing your accounts. Last Pass is a great option. I highly recommend looking into it. However, there are many other great tools that accomplish the same goal. If you use the same password for every site, take the time to look into a password manager and start securing your accounts. It took me little effort, and I have already paid off the time through the password syncing!
What do you think? Do you want to start using Last Pass, or do you already use a different one? Feel free to tell me about it below! Also, if you have any more in-depth questions about Last Pass, ask away. I am happy to answer as best I can.