Board 8 > I don't think I "get" password managers...

(+) Yeah! (+)

I understand that password managers are useful because you get to store all your passwords in one place, so you are then free to create more complicated passwords since you have a somewhat secure, central hub to see them. But, don't you need to create a password for the manager itself in the first place? So if someone guesses THAT password, isn't that even worse than before since now they'd have access to all your passwords at once? So instead of a manager, if you just used slight variations of the same password for every site you used (which is pretty bad to do), that still wouldn't be as bad in the event of someone getting hold of one of those passwords since there's at least a chance they wouldn't get the rest?

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Password manages presumably invest more in security and have better practices than a cooking blog which you couldn't be bothered to make a unique and secure password for, and only having to memorize one complex password is far more viable than having to remember dozens

Presumably, some also have offline modes
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A majority of password managers are going to have two-factor verification to stop such a thing from happening.

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C:\Users\<username>\Documents\passwords.txt is my password manager

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FL81 posted...

C:\Users\<username>\Documents\passwords.txt is my password manager

you fool now i control your bank account

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When you sign up for those they usually give you an emergency password you're supposed to keep physical somewhere.

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I use keepass which is an offline database thats password protected.

So in order to steal my passwords they first have to get the db off my computer and then get the password to unlock it. You could also use a key file if you want even better security but thats a bit much for me.

LastPass is the one i hear about a lot. I believe it has 2fa and pretty good technology behind it.

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FL81 posted...

C:\Users\<username>\Documents\passwords.txt is my password manager

I keep mine on my desktop.

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FL81 posted...

C:\Users\<username>\Documents\passwords.txt is my password manager

This, but in a subfolder in another folder so if someone ever needs to use my PC they can't just happen upon it.

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Same but it's the only document i regularly use so if they go to the recents then it'll be right at the top for them!

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Colegreen_c12 posted...

I use keepass which is an offline database thats password protected.

Same, and it's the only password manager I'll recommend for exactly this reason

Cloud-oriented ones have a convenience factor, but nothing beats knowing that nobody else has my passwords while still having all of the upside of a password manager.

My entire life including personal banking info and all passwords are saved on Chrome's password manager so Google essentially owns me. If someone hacks Google I think we've got bigger problems than my Amazon account temporarily being in someone else's hands, so I'm not worried about it.

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All my passwords are just a series of mnemonics that only make sense to me. So I never have trouble remembering them, and nobody is able to guess them.

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Colegreen_c12 posted...

I use keepass which is an offline database thats password protected.

So how does that work when you're logging into something? Does it add a 'fill in password from keepass' button to your browser, or do you have to look it up and type it manually?
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BlackMageJawa posted...

So how does that work when you're logging into something? Does it add a 'fill in password from keepass' button to your browser, or do you have to look it up and type it manually?

Either you install a browser extension to add a button like you mentioned, or the program itself lets you copy the password to your clipboard (with auto-clearing after a few seconds) to paste it in

the thing that annoys me is.. ok, i give up control to a password manager, no problem. log in to all my websites on my desktop, happy days. some time later, a mobile app needs to connect to facebook to authorize something and asks me to enter my facebook password - um, i've no idea? similar for amazon, paypal, any manner of things i may use on mobile. or even things i'm opening that just aren't in chrome - say i'm making an account for a game, then download the game and run it. I only used a password manager for under a month and encountered all these issues - god knows what i've not even thought of

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Steiner posted...

the thing that annoys me is.. ok, i give up control to a password manager, no problem. log in to all my websites on my desktop, happy days. some time later, a mobile app needs to connect to facebook to authorize something and asks me to enter my facebook password - um, i've no idea? similar for amazon, paypal, any manner of things i may use on mobile. or even things i'm opening that just aren't in chrome - say i'm making an account for a game, then download the game and run it. I only used a password manager for under a month and encountered all these issues - god knows what i've not even thought of

I was thinking about this very thing when people started mentioning the offline manager. If I need to enter a password on my phone, what then? I need to go to my pc to get to my manager to look it up? I mean Im assuming under the manager my passwords are too hard to memorize, since thats the whole point of it.

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I switched to using a password manager after some of my accounts got hacked and it's been a surprisingly huge quality of life improvement.

GANON1025 posted...

If I need to enter a password on my phone, what then? I need to go to my pc to get to my manager to look it up? I mean Im assuming under the manager my passwords are too hard to memorize, since thats the whole point of it.

I use LastPass and at least with that, you can use their app to autofill everything on your phone with a quick biometrics scan.

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Chrome will also autofill passwords for phone apps.

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yes, chrome will. but there's a lot of log ins, like for games, or where you authorise an app through facebook or twitter, or log in to paypal while in a browser frame creates by an app, etc. where your password manager suddenly becomes a huge encumbrance

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Chrome does have some of my passwords saved. So its pretty convenient, though I know its also probably a bit unsafe. So I guess Im already used to going to chrome, finding a password and copying it onto the app. LastPass sounds interesting if it does the same thing.

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I tried using Keepass and it didnt work for me for the reasons you just listed. I switched to LastPass which has an iOS app and it hits the perfect balance of safe and convenience for me.

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Does LastPass cost money to use?

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just be cool like me and use the same password for 90% of stuff because I dont care if someone breaks into my dominos pizza account

then just remember some other important stuff in your brain zone
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MoogleKupo141 posted...

just be cool like me and use the same password for 90% of stuff because I dont care if someone breaks into my dominos pizza account

then just remember some other important stuff in your brain zone

the part that's hard to index is when you come back to a website three years later and have to sit and think "now how important did i think this site was"

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Steiner posted...

the part that's hard to index is when you come back to a website three years later and have to sit and think "now how important did i think this site was"

easy

Not Important:
Dominos
Cooking Blogs
Discord
Steam

Kinda Important:
Email
Google
Banks

Important:
Gamefaqs

very clear tiers
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also when a site gets ideas above its station and thinks i'm gonna use a symbol and a number when it is NOT important......... i'm probably just giving up there

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Steiner posted...

also when a site gets ideas above its station and thinks i'm gonna use a symbol and a number when it is NOT important......... i'm probably just giving up there

just make your non-important site password include "F#ckY0u"
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Steiner posted...

also when a site gets ideas above its station and thinks i'm gonna use a symbol and a number when it is NOT important......... i'm probably just giving up there

I just broke down and made my unimportant stuff password meet the basic criteria that any website could ask for, unless they get really crazy and ask for ten or more characters... then Im boned.
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GANON1025 posted...

Does LastPass cost money to use?

Its free. It has some paid features but theyre not necessary.

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MoogleKupo141 posted...

I just broke down and made my unimportant stuff password meet the basic criteria that any website could ask for,

i refuse to default to including a symbol, those sites can just burn

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I have a few default/unimportant passwords with symbols

but the worst is when I try using one and the site says symbols are not allowed in passwords
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You also don't need to disclose to anyone that you are using a Password manager or which one it is.

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