Overview
Password managers can help you remember and secure all of your passwords.
Password managers are applications that store information for you (conventionally passwords, but they will also work for passphrases, PINs, and security questions). They encrypt that information and use a single strong master password that you enter when you want to access your other passwords. This means that you can use a different, strong password (many password managers will generate these for you) on every site that you log in to, without needing to worry about remembering more than one master password. Each of the products we're recommending can also complete online forms for you, simplifying your entire online experience.
As long as you remember that one master password and do not use it anywhere else, you get the benefits of using very strong, unique passwords on every site, with only having to remember one password.
Why should you use a password manager?
Passwords, passphrases, PINs, and other forms of authentication have become a fact of life for modern computer users. Almost everything that you do on a computer from banking to blogging to checking your email requires you to prove your identity.
While it is widely acknowledged that writing down your passwords on a scrap of paper or post-it note and storing that near the computer is a bad idea, picking one single password and using it for everything can be just as dangerous. If you've used one password for all of your accounts, it just takes one data breach at one of those accounts to expose that password you rely on for everything. The solution to this problem is not to go back to a stack of post-it notes, but rather to use a password manager.
Using a password manager with an integrated browser extension can serve as a valuable tool to safeguard you against falling victim to phishing attacks. If you encounter a login page where your password manager fails to autofill the credentials, this could indicate a potentially fraudulent website. In such cases, it's advisable to pause, carefully inspect the webpage's URL, manually enter the URL, utilize a saved bookmark from your browser or saved in your password manager, and subsequently continue with caution.
We do not recommend using your browser's native password manager feature.
Password manager recommendations
We recommend a password manager for anyone that has more than one system or account that requires a login and password.
Bitwarden
Bitwarden is an open-source, cross-platform password manager, providing both free and premium service tiers. With mobile applications available in iOS App Store and Google Play Store, as well as the capability to function as a browser extension or as a webpage, Bitwarden offers comprehensive accessibility.
Get Bitwarden
KeePass
KeePass is a free and open-source password manager that can be installed on any computer or even on a USB drive. It works with Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD. KeePass has also been reviewed for accessibility and received a strong thumbs up for its use with screen readers.
Get KeePass