By Maggie Lamb – Executive Assistant Marketing and Events
My position here at Platte River is a very busy one. I wear many hats and am constantly working within numerous websites and programs on a daily basis. I find logging in to be a huge chore especially when I am up against a deadline or have someone breathing down my back to produce something immediately. Many times I find myself racking my brain trying to recall which password I used, is it the old one or did I create a new one last week and now I have forgotten it? Sticky notes and spreadsheets work to help keep passwords at a quick glance for me but it is obviously not the safest, most secure route for anyone.
Then I realized that I work for the best IT firm in Denver, so I reached out to our team for help. Their solution; install a “password manager”. These are programs that allow you to keep your passwords safely stored and accessible across all your devices. Think of it as your personal electronic vault! All you need to do is install the browser extension, create a strong master password and then start adding any sites you would like saved. Your master password, and the key used to encrypt and decrypt the data will never be sent to servers nor will they be accessible by them. All you have to do is remember one strong password and once you login to your vault you will have access to all your logins.
There are a lot of programs out there but here are the three that I feel would be a good fit and have some of the highest ratings. Keep in mind that nothing is appropriate without a 2 factor authenticator and that these programs are NOT completely flawless and nothing is one hundred percent secure but they are by far safer than my old system. Give one a try…and save those sticky notes for less critical messages!
Here are a few that were recommended to me:
- Dashlane – Higher price point but works very smoothly and not many hiccups: https://www.dashlane.com/
- LastPass – More affordable, does everything Dashlane does but not as smooth. Most advanced 2 factor authenicator: https://www.lastpass.com/
- 1Password – This was originally mac based but is now available for PC’s, it offers a family plan as well: https://1password.com/
