Chances are the second that you first touched a computer, you had to create a password. Not a big deal… Until you go on the internet. Now, it seems, every site needs to know something about you; your name, your address, sometimes even your credit card info! And to safeguard this information they ask you for a username and password. Soon you’ve got a million username-passwords combination rocketing around in your head, running into each other, getting messed up and even misplaced.
So then comes the dreaded temptation: using a single password for several sites.
[cue scary music now]
Unless of course your one of the over one million people who’ve created a LastPass account and said good riddance to confusing jumbles of passwords and hello to a simple and secure password manager… That does more than just manage passwords!
That’s right, it can save any kind of important information – from full-fledged notes to drivers licenses and membership information and it does so using a security scheme strong enough to make software engineer and security analyst Steve Gibson drool, stutter and fully endorse it over any other password solution in this Security Now podcast. In addition, any form information that LastPass knows like names, addresses and credit card info can be automatically applied to any website form with a couple swift clicks.
In addition to this, LastPass also has plugins for every browser, on most operating systems (mac, linux and windows), and bookmarklets for those that do not support plugins – making it so that you can use this service on nearly any computer, browser or platform that exists (including cell phones!) And to those that don’t have these features? You can still access your LastPass data securely through a browser or a number of desktop programs that can run independent of a browser, even from a flash drive! Also, when using the plugin in your browser of choice LastPass automatically offers to generate and store complex random passwords when you sign up for websites so you no longer have to worry about insecure passwords either.
Find yourself detached from the interwebs often? Well good news, whether you travel allot, or are planning your contingency plans for when robots take over the global network, all of your data can be securely backed up and accessed from your computer, allowing you to get your passwords and information without an internet connection (except the initial download of course). In fact, every time you use apps like the browser plugins or the desktop apps, LastPass automatically downloads a copy of your data in case an internet connection is lost.
Oh, and did I mention that its FREE. No 30 day trial, no gimmicks, just good ol’ 100% free juicy goodness. Of course, I highly recommend paying the $1 a month subscription fee (which allows access to things like the iPhone apps) even if you don’t need the premium features because these developers deserve it for such a fantastic service. And.. Well… You know.. If you don’t have the LastPass app, well, you don’t have the LastPass app!
So head on over to LastPass for more information on these amazing features and to sign up. If you want to know more about exactly how secure LastPass is, Steve Gibson explains exactly why its amazing in this Security Now podcast.
Hmm, this will be a life saver for the older peoples who have a note book or two full of random username-passwords for the multiple websites and services they use. Guess i’ll have to tell my Mum about it, she has one note book that is pure username-passwords dating back to the dinosaur age of Windows 95. Thanx for the heads up Mike:)
I must admit, my mother does the same thing! I suppose its a decent enough system for her, but with the password manager it can be set to automatically log you in when you visit a website — that way you don’t have to worry about re-typing all of your password in after looking them up with your book!
All i can say is that she’ll never go back to the pen and notebook:)