Digital Nomads

In the last blog post, I explained the importance of Password Security. If you haven’t read that yet go back here and give it a read. In the last post, I gave some great hints on how to choose passwords and then I turned around and told you to make sure they are unique. That is a lot of passwords to remember! What if I told you, you don’t have to actually remember them all? The solution to this is a Password Manager. A Password Manager stores details such as usernames, passwords, URLs and notes in an encrypted database. You access this database with one password. My recommendation is to make this password something that no one else but you will know and make it secure.

Local Password Managers

An offline manager is an application installed on your computer which saves the passwords locally. Choose this option if you want to have complete control over your data. However, be aware that if you lose access to your computer data (theft, loss or hardware fault), you will lose access to that data. If you choose this option, ensure that you have a backup. In the past, I have used the free version of KeePass which worked fine if you are happy to store it locally.

Cloud-based Password Managers

Cloud-based services store your details in the cloud. This may sound scary, but the data is encrypted, so even if the information gets stolen, it can’t be accessed without the master password. Again, please make sure this is unique, hard to hack and easy to remember. Features of cloud-based managers include:

• Securely store passwords
• Use across multiple devices
• Extensions on web browsers offer auto-fill abilities
• Create complex and secure passwords
• Check if a password has been exposed in a breach
• Autofill passwords via an extension in the browser
• Ability to sort and organise passwords into folders

There are many different companies offering Password Managers with paid and free plans. It is worthwhile doing some research to find what suits you best. Personally, I have been using the free version of BitWarden and have found that it does everything I need it to do. At work, I have used the business version of LastPass which has extra features for businesses, for example, to share passwords and folders if required.  

Password Managers are definitely worth looking into to help protect your data and make your life easier. On top of this, I would also recommend using Multi-Factor Authentication.