Only one in five of us use a password manager, despite cybercriminals being able to crack a weak password in seconds with specially automated software. Up that weak password to one of a more complexly put together 11 characters; a mix-up of upper and lowercase letters, special characters and numbers, and you increase the crack-time to about 400 years.
Here’s why, if you don’t already, you need to start using a password manager.
But who can remember a complex 11-character password?
No one. That’s why we all need to use a password manager. And particularly if you’re a business owner, a password manager that you and your team can use to keep you free from risk.
The best password is the one you don’t know
This is what we always say at Cultrix. “The best password is one you don’t know,”
What do we mean by that? We mean, that if you don’t know your password, you can’t forget it. And if you don’t know it, then a cybercriminal is unlikely to be able to crack it.
Plus, the only way you can ‘not know’ your passwords and be able to access everything you need to, via safe and complex passwords, is by using a password manager.
We each have approximately 100 online logins
Yes, the average person utilises around 100 logins online. It’s no wonder that many people just use the same password for everything, since it would be too hard to remember so many.
By the way, we do not recommend using the same password for multiple logins. And yet so many people do this. A study by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) revealed how millions pf people still use extremely insecure, easily discoverable passwords, such as their pet’s name, football team names, ‘password’ and “123456” to access their online services.
Using a password manager easily enables you to avoid using guessable passwords and increases your online security from the moment you start using it.
How does a password manager work?
The beauty of a password manager is that you don’t need to remember any password, complex or otherwise. You don’t ever need to know what they are – except one – your password to the password manager itself.
The password manager is a fully encrypted store of all your passwords for all your logins. And it will generate new complex passwords for you, remembering them until needed, and then automatically populating the password field in any login you use.
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Password managers are safe to use
While some may think it seems risky to have all your passwords in one place, it is far safer than reusing passwords or using easy to remember, weak passwords.
With all passwords fully encrypted they are never held in plain text either on your device or on the password manager’s servers.
And any passwords used and stored by the manager are safe from phishing attacks, since they do not contain any personal references, such as your children’s names, dates of birth, and other typically personal information.
Which password manager should you use?
There are many reputable password managers on the market, each with different technical capabilities and some useful extra security measures. The NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) has a useful buyer’s guide to help you in deciding which product is best for you and your organisation.
“We use Keepersecurity.com for our clients, and we also use it internally, because it has excellent security credentials. It allows us to share passwords with each other but in a way that they are not even able to be viewed.
This means, we can store all our own and customer passwords in there and share them with the team members who need them. It also checks the dark web for any logins or passwords that are compromised, and gives warning of any weak or duplicate passwords,” says Shaun Wilders, MD at Cultrix.
Use a password manager – the sooner the better
Password managers are safe and easy to use. You can be up and running in a few minutes, transferring all your logins to the manager by following simple instructions.
Need help to get up and running with your organisation’s password manager? Get in touch.
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