The best way to store passwords ever existed
Have you ever wondered how many passwords you have?
Not that much, you would say? 5? 20? 50?
Each person has about 100 passwords on average. Ideally, that means 100 different combinations of usernames and passwords.
Naturally, remembering them all without risking security becomes a tough challenge. What is the best way to store passwords?
How do people store passwords? Pros and cons.
Does the most popular method mean it is provenly the best way to store passwords? How do and should people keep their passwords?
Rely on memory.
Surprisingly, remembering passwords is the most popular strategy to managesensitive data. Every second person keeps track of all their passwords in their memory. Unless you have an excellent memory, remembering unique, long passwords for each account is impossible.
Therefore, people usually fall into one of the two traps. They either start reusing the same password on a few accounts or create basic passwords associated with the website (f. e., faceb00k for Facebook, [email protected] for Gmail).
Pros: Hypothetically, if a person has an excellent memory, remembering all passwords could help to improve it. But let’s be real here.
Cons: If you reuse a password, there is only a matter of time before a hacker will break into your account. If you follow the basic pattern to create credentials, they are prone to a brute-force attack.
Save passwords in browsers.
A third of internet users keep their passwords in browsers. The browser saves the entered password. The next time a person visits it, it automatically fills in the data.
Pros: Browser-based password management tools are very convenient to use, especially on PCs.
Cons: Saved passwords can only be used in the browser (and account) they were saved. You cannot access your personal passwords with your work email; you are limited to using the same browser on all your devices. Besides, even the most popular browser password managers pose some additional security concerns.
Store passwords in a spreadsheet.
26% of people write all their passwords in an online or Excel spreadsheet. Similarly, sometimes people use phone notebook apps to write down all their passwords. They can access the whole list of passwords immediately and find the needed credential.
Pros: This is a fast and easy-to-find way to store passwords.
Cons: This method has a few critical security risks. In case the device is stolen or lost, so is the list. Worse, all the user’s credentials are in the hands of the hacker.
Write them down on sticky notes or notebooks.
There are still many people who use notebooks or random pieces of paper to write down their passwords. This method allows to create passwords without storing them anywhere digitally.
Pros: The user can use strong passwords and keep track of them while avoiding risks that apply to digital files.
Cons: If the person accidentally throws away the piece of paper or loses it in the pile of documents, the password is lost. If someone looks at or steals the notebook, all the passwords are there.
All of these methods are very attractive. They are fast, relatively convenient, and intuitive. And yet, due to serious security concerns, none of these methods is the best way to store passwords. So what is?
The best way to store passwords , ever.
The best way to store passwords is to use a tool designed to do it safely. And that tool is a password manager.
The distinct difference between a password manager and any previously mentioned method is guaranteed security. A reliable password manager, such as PassCamp, stores all passwords in an encrypted vault. It protects data with the military-grade encryption standard. The Zero-knowledge protocol ensures that nobody – neither hackers nor developers – can see your passwords.
To access 100 complex, unique passwords, you only need to remember one Master Password. It unlocks your vault at the device level, so none of the sensitive data is sent online in plaintext.
Besides, a password manager is very intuitive to use. You receive the best features from all the other methods – automatic save, autofill, quick search, access from any device – without compromising security.
Try out the single tool that will securely solve your password hassles. After all, this is the best way to store passwords that have ever existed.