Fraud Prevention Month: The Ultimate Guide to Using a Password Manager

What is a password manager?

A password manager program helps you to create and store the passwords for all of your accounts in one secure place.

Do I really need to use a different password for every account?

The simple answer: yes! The best way to be secure online is to use a unique password for each account. Having weak or repetitive passwords makes it easy for fraudsters to gain access to your accounts, putting your data, money, and even your identity at risk.

The most secure passwords contain a unique and complex combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, special characters, spaces, and words that are unrelated to your personal information. It’s often recommended to use a phrase you can easily remember, and to avoid dictionary words which are the most easily guessed.

Understandably, when you have dozens of accounts all requiring a unique password, creating and storing them all can become quite the challenge.

Why should I use a password manager?

Password managers do the heavy lifting by creating and securely storing your passwords for you. Some managers feature generators that allow you to adjust the length and what type of special characters are included and provide a strength score of the password being created.

They can also keep track of the lies you use for security questions allowing you to stay pseudonymous online.