Trying to remember multiple passwords can become difficult. Now imagine teaching a room full of students and a validation screen appears asking for your Adobe Creative Suite username and password. In the past, I would panic trying to remember the information. Since I installed LastPass—a password manager—the information I needed was a just click away. There are several password management programs to choose from like Dashlane, RoboForm, KeePass and LastPass, to name just a few. Some are free, others you pay a small yearly fee. I personally use LastPass so I’ll use it as an example of why you should consider getting a password manager.

One Strong Master Password

Most password management programs require you to create a master password to gain access to the program. Each program is slightly different. For the most part, they use strong encryption algorithms to ensure complete security in the cloud. You create an account with an email address and a strong master password to locally generate a unique encryption key.

Keeping Information Safe and Secure

For password manager software to be secure, the Data is encrypted and decrypted at your device level. The keys used to encrypt and decrypt data are never sent to LastPass’ servers and are not accessible by LastPass. This keeps your information safe and secure.

Benefits that Sold me on LastPass

  • My account is backed up and synced across all devices for access to my passwords no matter where I am.
  • Automated app fill on mobile devices removes the hassle of typing on small mobile keyboards.
  • I can swipe into the app with my fingerprint for secure access to my passwords.
  • My passwords are available to me when I’m surfing the net from my desktop.
  • I can store my credit card information using a secure vault.
  • It was inexpensive—$12 a year.

The decision shouldn’t be if you should get a password manager, it should be which one best fits your needs.