Password Manager Setup

Introduction

Dave and Sue had a lot of passwords to keep track of and one too many loose papers with passwords written down on them.

I noticed the problem while supplying a new laptop for Dave and suggested a password manager to ease the burden of keeping track of so many passwords.

Benefits of a Password Manager

A password manager is a great tool to enhance your online security and ensure that your accounts are protected as well as they can be from your end.

Password managers typically suggest strong, unique passwords per website or service that you need a log in for. It can keep track of the username and/or email you use on that site as well as the password and any two-factor authentication you may need for the site too.

The idea is that you setup a very strong master password and you only need to remember this one to unlock your password manager which will then fill in any website login for you.

If you have a unique password set on each website and a company has a data breach, for example, Next.com - which has shockingly bad security - bad actors may try to use the same email and password combination on other sites. Let the password manager do the work of generating a password for you and storing it and the risk of account compromise is greatly reduced.

There are other benefits of password managers as each one has unique features, click here to contact me for more information.

Steps I took to Fix the Issue

1. Helped Dave set up an account with 1Password and attach a payment method

2. Installed and setup 1Password on Dave's laptop and phone

3. Exported passwords from the browser for Dave

4. Imported the passwords into 1Password

5. Installed and setup 1Password on Sue's laptop and phone

6. Exported passwords from the browser for Sue

7. Imported the passwords into 1Password

8. Printed off the recovery info to ensure they can access the password manager in an emergency, e.g., if they forget the password or lose access to their devices

9. Talked them both through using the password manager to store and autofill their login details

Outcome

Both Sue and Dave now have a simpler way to keep track of their logins. It is also much more secure since the password vault they now use in 1Password is encrypted and only accessible on one of their devices and by using their master password to access the vault.