We visit a lot of sites every day, registering with different usernames and passwords. We know that memorizing all these credentials can be very difficult, just as it is very insecure to use a single password for many different sites (if this were discovered, the other sites where it was used would also be in serious danger). To avoid these scenarios we can entrust our passwords and access credentials for sites, PCs, devices and home banking to programs and extensions to save passwords, both offline and online. In this guide we will show you the best services we can rely on to save your login credentials in an (almost) completely automatic way, with the possibility of adding new secure passwords and logins on the fly for the new sites we subscribe to.
READ ALSO: Best apps to manage passwords on Android and iPhone
Better offline or online ">
- Saving passwords offline will keep them protected from hackers and attackers on the network, but it may be difficult to use the passwords saved outside the PC where the database is kept (which contains all the passwords), making the use of the service or program on smartphones, other PCs, tablets or any other device in which we can insert the access credentials for a site.
- Saving passwords online exposes them to greater risks from a security point of view but we can use the credentials saved on any device in our possession, even smartphones and tablets, without having to physically move the database or worry about keeping it updated.
Like many things in life, the truth lies in the middle: we can adopt an offline solution but synchronize the database obtained through a cloud computing service (such as Dropbox or Google Drive) so as to make the database accessible from any device.
If we want the convenience of not having to configure anything and have passwords immediately on all the devices in possession, be sure to focus on a reliable online service with high security standards, so as to make the life of the bad guys difficult.
Online services to save passwords
Have we decided to focus on an online service to save passwords? Let's take a look at the best services available.
1) Using the password manager of web browsers
Both Chrome and Firefox that Safari, and Microsoft Edge have their own internal password manager that saves all passwords, respectively, within the Google, Mozilla, Apple and Microsoft accounts. Passwords are synchronized so that using the same browser on other PCs and smartphones they are always available and recoverable.
In another article, the guide to saving passwords in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari
2) Lastpass
One of the best online services to keep all passwords is Lastpass.
This service offers extensions for all the most famous web browsers (including Edge), apps for mobile devices and an application to be installed on Windows and is able to automatically capture the credentials entered on a site to insert them in an online database, protected by a personal master password and other security systems such as two-factor authentication.
With Lastpass your passwords will be really safe, you can automatically access all the saved sites thanks to the automatic filling in of the forms and create new secure passwords, to be used in new sites.
The service is free for personal use without time limits, but Lastpass also allows you to access new features through a monthly subscription (Lastpass Premium) but it is not mandatory.
We can download the Lastpass extensions from the links present here -> Lastpass (Chrome), Lastpass (Firefox) and Lastpass (Windows or Mac).
If we want to download the apps for mobile we can use the links present here -> Lastpass (Android) and Lastpass (iOS).
3) 1Password
A good alternative to Lastpass is 1Password, a good service for saving any type of password used to access websites.
The service also offers convenient extensions and apps, so you can open the password database saved online from any device in our possession.
It offers some very interesting features such as Travel Mode, which protects personal data when we travel and use external devices (public PCs etc.) to access our sites, protecting privacy and credentials from any attack.
The service is free for a limited period of time, but always makes passwords already saved available even after the trial period has elapsed.
We can download the extensions from here -> 1Password (Chrome), 1Password (Firefox) and 1Password (Windows or Mac).
While apps for mobile devices can be downloaded from here -> 1Password (Android) and 1Password (iOS).
3) Other services
The two services listed above are undoubtedly the best to which we can entrust passwords, for a decidedly high level of security.
If these online services have not convinced you, you can try as alternatives:
- Enpass (free with subscriptions)
- Dashlane (free with subscriptions)
They are all quite secure and can also be used by smartphone or tablet, so as to access passwords saved comfortably wherever we are.
Offline programs to save passwords
Don't you trust 100% of online services? Then we must use one of the recommended programs below to save passwords directly on the PC.
1) Keepass
The best program to save passwords offline is without a doubt Keepass.
This program creates a protected and encrypted database in which we can manually save all the credentials of the sites but also the access data for PC, for home banking and for any other device, with the awareness that they will never be visible online. The database is protected by a master password, the only one able to open it; it is also possible to use files as keys to open the database, but it is a fairly dangerous procedure (if even one bit of the file changes it can no longer be used as an access key). In addition to keeping passwords, it also allows you to generate new ones using the special entropy generator, which uses random mouse movements to generate new passwords to be used.
We can download Keepass for free from here -> Keepass (version 2 for Windows, GNU / Linux and Mac).
Keepass works purely offline (without any synchronization with other devices) but with a few small tricks we can transform it into an online service, without the data passing through an unknown server! First of all, we recommend uploading the database created by Keepass to an online service such as Dropbox or Google Drive: the archive is protected, therefore it cannot be seen by anyone else.
Once the database has been placed on the cloud, we can use some apps or extensions to access passwords online.
To access from mobile devices we can use the apps available here -> Keepass2Android (Android) (for iPhone there is nothing).
If instead we want to integrate Keepass in web browsers we can use the extensions available here -> CKP (Chrome) and Kee (Firefox).
2) Other offline programs
Some valid alternatives to Keepass are: KeeWeb, Master Password and Encryptr but frankly nobody achieves the quality of Keepass, also thanks to the fact that being open source it can be controlled by anyone so it is immune to any type of hacking, just keep it regularly updated.
