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When it comes to safeguarding your Internet security, installing an antivirus software or running a Secure Linux OS on your system does not mean you are safe enough from all kinds of cyber-threats.
Today majority of Internet users are vulnerable to cyber attacks, not because they aren’t using any best antivirus software or other security measures, but because they are using weak passwords to secure their online accounts.
Passwords are your last lines of defense against online threats. Just look back to some recent data breaches and cyber attacks, including high-profile data breach at OPM (United States Office of Personnel Management) and the extra-marital affair site Ashley Madison, that led to the exposure of hundreds of millions of records online.
Although you can not control data breaches, it is still important to create strong passwords that can withstand dictionary and brute-force attacks.
You see, the longer and more complex your password is, the much harder it is crack.
How to Stay Secure Online?
Security researchers have always advised online users to create long, complex and different passwords for their various online accounts. So, if one site is breached, your other accounts on other websites are secure enough from being hacked.
Ideally, your strong password should be at least 16 characters long, should contain a combination of digits, symbols, uppercase letters and lowercase letters and most importantly the most secure password is one you don’t even know.
The issue is that today people subscribe to a lot of online sites and services, and it’s usually hard to create and remember different passwords for every single account.
But, Luckily to make this whole process easy, there’s a growing market for password managers for PCs and phones that can significantly reduce your password memorizing problem, along with the cure for your bad habit of setting weak passwords.
1. Keeper Password Manager (Cross-Platform)
Keeper is a secure, easy-to-use and robust password manager for your Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices.
Using military-grade 256-bit AES encryption, Keeper password manager keeps your data safe from prying eyes.
It has a secure digital vault for protecting and managing your passwords, as well as other secret information. Keeper password manager application supports Two-factor authentication and available for every major operating system.
There is also an important security feature, called Self-destruct, which if enabled, will delete all records from your device if the incorrect master password is entered more than five times incorrectly.
But you don’t need worry, as this action will not delete the backup records stored on Keeper’s Cloud Security Vault.
Download Keeper Password Manager: Windows, Linux and Mac | iOS | Android | Kindle
2. Dashlane Password Manager (Cross-Platform)
DashLane Password Manager software is a little newer, but it offers great features for almost every platform.
DashLane password manager works by encrypting your personal info and accounts’ passwords with AES-256 encryption on a local machine, and then syncs your details with its online server, so that you can access your accounts database from anywhere.
The best part of DashLane is that it has an automatic password changer that can change your accounts’ passwords for you without having to deal with it yourself.
DashLane Password Manager app for Android gives you the secure password management tools right to your Android phone: your password vault and form auto-filler for online stores and other sites.
DashLane Password Manager app for Android is completely free to use on a single device and for accessing multiple devices, you can buy a premium version of the app.
Download DashLane Password Manager: Windows and Mac | iOS | Android
3. LastPass Password Manager (Cross-Platform)
LastPass is one of the best Password Manager for Windows users, though it comes with the extension, mobile app, and even desktop app support for all the browsers and operating systems.
LastPass is an incredibly powerful cloud-based password manager software that encrypts your personal info and accounts’ passwords with AES-256 bit encryption and even offers a variety of two-factor authentication options in order to ensure no one else can log into your password vault.
LastPass Password Manager comes for free as well as a premium with a fingerprint reader support.
Download LastPass Password Manager: Windows, Mac, and Linux | iOS | Android
Best Password Manager for Android
1. 1Password Password Manager (Cross-Platform)
1Password Password Manager app for Android is one of the best apps for managing all your accounts’ passwords.
1Password password manager app creates strong, unique and secure passwords for every account, remembers them all for you, and logs you in with just a single tap.
1Password password manager software secures your logins and passwords with AES-256 bit encryption, and syncs them to all of your devices via your Dropbox account or stores locally for any other application to sync if you choose.
Recently, the Android version of 1Password password manager app has added Fingerprint support for unlocking all of your passwords instead of using your master password.
Download 1Password Password Manager: Windows and Mac | iOS | Android
For Extra Security, Use 2-Factor Authentication
No matter how strong your password is, there still remains a possibility for hackers to find some or the other way to hack into your account.
Two-factor authentication is designed to fight this issue. Instead of just one password, it requires you to enter the second passcode which is sent either to your mobile number via an SMS or to your email address via an email.
So, I recommend you to enable two-factor authentication now along with using a password manager software to secure your online accounts and sensitive information from hackers.
