Remember Only One Password With LastPass
April 19, 2009 | In: Software
Does trying to remember passwords you created for websites drive you nuts? Do you use the same password for every site (that’s a big no-no)? Are you using Firefox or Internet Explorer to remember your passwords for your most sensitive sites? Do you forget your passwords on a regular basis (I use to )? If you answered yes to any of these questions there is a better and safer way and it is called LastPass.
The nicest thing about LastPass in you only have to remember one password, yep that’s right, I said one password. You create a master password that logs you into LastPass and let the application do the rest. And, not only does LastPass save your passwords it also fills in forms for you saving your information as well.
If you use Firefox or Internet Explorer on Windows, Mac or Linux, LastPass works as a plugin. If you are using Opera, Google Chrome, Safari or another browser that supports Javascript then you can use a bookmarklet that you can drag to your bookmark/favorites bar. The functionality isn’t as great with the bookmarklet as it is with the plugin but you still get the benefits of LastPass.
So, what does LastPass do? When you first download it the application brings you through steps to import saved passwords you already have in Firefox and Internet Explorer. You can also import passwords from RoboForm, 1Password, KeePass, MyPasswordSafe, Password Agent, Password Safe, Sxipper, PassPack and TurboPasswords.
After importing data you will be asked whether you want to install the plugin in Firefox and Internet Explorer. If you have both browsers on your computer I suggest installing the plugin in both programs. What’s really nice is that LastPass saves your passwords for sites across browsers, it is not browser dependent. So even if you are using the bookmarklet in Safari you will have the same passwords saved as the ones in Firefox.
LastPass features include:
- One Master Password – you only have to remember your master password to login to LastPass and let the application do the rest.
- One Click Login – Passwords are automatically filled in and you can click login or use the Auto Login option to skip having to press login and go right into the site.
- Multiple Password Support – If you have more than one login and password for a site they are listed and you can choose the one you want to use.
- Generate Secure Passwords – Stop using the same password or trying to come up with a strong password. Let LastPass do the work for you by generating a secure password. You don’t have to remember the password since you only need your master password to login.
- Automatic Form Filling – Create profiles to fill in forms with personal information and credit card info if you want.
- Secure Your Data – Your passwords are encrypted on your computer. Only your LastPass password can unlock your data for use.
- Group Your Passwords – Create groups for your passwords like Finance, Shopping, Health, etc. The LastPass plugin lets you find sites by group. You could actually use LastPass like a bookmark manager.
- Universal Access – You can access your LastPass passwords from any computer by logging into LastPass and viewing your sites in your LastPass vault.
- Backup and Restore - Don’t worry about losing your passwords, LastPass creates an encrypted file with your passwords for easy restore.
If you are worried about the security of your passwords with LastPasshere is their security policy.
On windows, LastPass helps find insecure passwords stored on your computer so you can store them securely in LastPass and remove the easy access by malicious software. LastPass uses SSL exclusively for data transfer even though the vast majority of data you’re sending is already encrypted with 256-bit AES and unusable to both LastPass and any party listening in to the network traffic — the amount of data is trivial so the extra encryption doesn’t hurt. Our policy of never receiving private data that you haven’t already locked down with your LastPass master password (which we never receive and will never ask for) radically reduces attack vectors. We use firewalls and best practices to protect the servers and service, but our best line of defense is simply not having access to data even if someone got in. If LastPass can’t access it, hackers can’t either.
I love LastPass. I have tried other password managers and LastPass has been the easiest to use and I love that it generates secure passwords. I change my passwords on my financial accounts frequently and having LastPass generate those passwords is great and I don’t have to try and remember a complicated password that I would have created for those accounts.
A premium version of LastPass is available but for now I am sticking with the basic version since it has all the features I need. The LastPass website has quite a few screencasts you can watch to get a feel for the application to see if it is the right password manager for you – Screencasts & Videos.
