As someone who previously didn’t put too much emphasis on online security, I didn’t bother coming up with varied passwords for my multiple accounts across the Internet. In fact, I used the same three credentials for everything. If I needed to change a password, I'd just pick one from the rotation of three passwords I had. Unfortunately, reality came knocking.
Somebody from overseas tried to log in to my Steam account. I soon discovered Google had a Password Manager. Then I decided to utilize a standalone password manager to finally secure all my online accounts efficiently. Here’s my personal experience using a dedicated password managers, to help you consider using one, too!
My experience using Google Password Manager
From Google
Google Password Manager allows you to store your passwords and auto-fill your login credentials on your browser. It could also generate strong passwords when I attempted to update my login credentials–which was the exact feature that could have saved me from having to reuse passwords previously. With that, I could just rely on Google to save that generated password and autofill my login credentials for multiple sites.
However, I came to realize the possible limitation to Google’s Password Manager: accessibility across all my devices and browsers. Yes, Google is accessible from any device, but Password Manager isn’t. Each device or browser has its own password manager that handles the auto-fill function for my login credentials. I then switched to a more robust and accessible alternative: a standalone password manager.
The shift to a dedicated password manager
From LastPass Official Website
LastPass was my third-party password manager of choice, because it had a downloadable app, and it could access all the browsers I used. Granted, other services also have this feature, but what set LastPass apart for me was its ability to redirect me to the website where I had a particular password saved. From there, I could easily update my password and save it again on the app.
The free plan also allowed me to share my credentials with another user, in case I didn’t have access to my phone or computer. It also came with a password analyzer, so I could assign stronger alternatives for old, weak, and duplicate passwords.
Since I started using LastPass this year, I’ve been able to stop worrying about online security breaches that put my accounts at risk. I was able to easily transition all my devices to autofill my passwords. I also have an easy way to regularly update my passwords since the service can redirect me to the website where I can change my login credentials for that account.
Make the most of your online security with a password manager
I hope my experience encourages you not just to reuse your old passwords, but consider downloading a dedicated password manager. After all, online safety is paramount, especially in these times!
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EDITOR'S NOTES:
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This article is part of our social experiment on nextupgrade.ph. We call it: "So I Tried It" (stylized via hashtag as #SoITriedIt).
#SoITriedIt is a special series featuring the personal experiences of the Next Upgrade Editorial Team as we embrace the smart home lifestyle ourselves. As we take that first step to do things better and smarter, we hope we will inspire all of you to jumpstart your smart home journey.
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In December of 2022, LastPass had a major data breach that compromised their users’ encrypted data. While this article was based on the writer’s personal experience, we also recommend using other password manager alternatives such as 1Password and Bitwarden.
With additional reporting by Karess Rubrico