Take control of password chaos with these six password managers
CNET
The Heartbleed vulnerability affected several websites around the globe last week, and caused many of the biggest sites such as Yahoo, Google, YouTube, and Facebook to scramble to fix the problem. The issue was a flaw in OpenSSL, open-source software that's widely used to encrypt Web communications. With this vulnerability, it made it possible for someone to steal your passwords to your most-used sites.
Even though most websites have patched the vulnerability, companies still recommend you change your passwords to ensure your data will continue to be safe. But you shouldn't simply alter your existing passwords; instead, take this opportunity to be more responsible with your online security by downloading a password manager.
With a password manager, you need to remember only one master password, and then you can let the software remember all your log-in information. Some of the best password managers also generate strong passwords for you so you'll never have to worry whether man or machine can figure out your password.
CNET's Lance Whitney already put out the call to download a password manager, but I went out and gathered a few of my most trusted apps across the major desktop and mobile platforms so you can see what they look like, and what it might cost to stay protected. It's important to note that some of the downloads are Web browser extensions and not standalone apps.
Cost: 1Password went to 50 percent off after the Heartbleed flaw became known. $24.99 for Mac or Windows (there are also Mac/Windows bundle prices). $8.99 for iOS. Free for Android, but only lets you read your password database and doesn't have many of the options found on other platforms.
1Password was first a Mac-only product, but after several years as a trusted password manager, it has expanded to cover iOS, Android, and Windows as well.
With this software on your device, you can easily generate strong passwords for every site you visit, secured with 256-bit AES encryption. As long as you come up with a strong master password, all your log-in information will be secure.
Cost: Free to download and use, but to back up your information to the cloud, you'll need to get a subscription for $9.99/year.
Keeper has a clean interface for navigating through your many log-ins. When you go to a website you have already entered the log-in information for, it puts buttons at the top of the interface letting you touch to enter your name, then touch again to enter your password.
Keeper uses 256-bit AES encryption and adds two-factor authentication. You can also share information safely (for example, sending a bank account number to a loved one), with Keeper's Vault to Vault sharing features.
Cost: Free to download, but can only save limited log-ins. RoboForm Everywhere for Windows, Mac, and Mobile costs $9.95 for your first year of use, then goes up to $19.95.
Roboform lets you automatically log in into your Web accounts using the embedded RoboForm browser. What I like about this app is you can simply navigate to a site that requires a log-in, put in your username and password, then Roboform asks if you want to save it for later. From there, you can browse through a list of your log-ins in the app to quickly navigate to a site and automatically sign in.
Roboform also has a strong password generator. But the other perk to getting this app is the ability to fill out extensive online forms with a click of a button. Once it remembers the first form, it saves all the data you entered so the next form requires almost no work whatsoever.
Cost: $19.99 for Mac and Windows. $9.99 for iOS and Android. Note these are not subscriptions -- just a one-time price.
Msecure lets you browse folders of log-ins so you can find the website you want to visit quickly. It also has a password generator like the others, but gives you several options for how to create passwords. In the create password screen, for example, there are switches that indicate whether lower or uppercase letters are allowed in the generated password. Certain websites have specific requirements for passwords, so the ability to customize is useful.
Msecure uses 256-bit Blowfish encryption to protect your account numbers, usernames, and passwords. It also has a giant library of over 250 icons you can use to personalize your log-in buttons within the app.
Cost: Free to download letting you use the password manager, autofill, and other features, but if you want to backup your data to the cloud and sync across devices, you'll need to get the $29.99 per year subscription.
Dashlane lets you automatically generate and save new passwords and you can store IDs, credit cards, and other personal information in your Dashlane account for autofilling on any website (like Roboform). Dashlane uses AES-256 encryption to secure your private information and passwords. But what's neat about this app is that it color-codes the website log-in information pages with the colors from the websites. Instead of buttons for log-ins, such as what you'll find in the other apps in this collection, it uses the actual logos so finding websites is easy.
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