For those of you that are not familiar, LastPass is an online service to securely store your passwords. The service stores all your passwords online, accessible with a single master password you set. The range of plugins for web browsers mean you can automatically fill in your login details on websites easily. But is it secure?
Is anything 100% Secure?
The short answer is no! We only have to look at the media to see news about Governments and hackers accessing private information. We have to accept that we will never be 100% secure, there will always be a way for someone with enough resource to access your information.
Will I get run over if I cross the road?
Maybe.
Now you will need to bare with me as I compare crossing the road with online security, it is something we can all relate to. When we cross the road we go through a series of steps to reduce the risk of crossing the road. We pick a location which has good visibility of the possible routes to traffic, we look and select a time when there is sufficient time to cross the road. We need to manage the risks involved with online security in a systematic way. We can’t mitigate or avoid all online security risks, but we should manage the most likely risks to reduce the chance of them occurring.
How LastPass helps manage the risks
We all have bad password habbits, from using the same password on multiple sites, to using easy to guess passwords. On joining LastPass I found I had over 70 different online sites I logged into and over half of these had the same password. From a risk perspective, only one website needed to be hacked and expose my password and someone potentially had access to most of my online accounts. In recent times, this is becoming much more likely to occur. I used the same password to ensure I could remember them and without LastPass I wouldn’t have been able to manage different passwords and the risk. LastPass has helped me by storing a different password for each site, each one with 20 characters including symbols which I could never remember. I now have a single master password for LastPass which allows access to my stored passwords.
Using one password to secure my passwords initially concerned me, but these risks are managed.
- The master password is never sent to LastPass, so it can’t be intercepted.
- All my passwords are encrypted using my master password – they cannot be viewed or unencrypted by LastPass
- I use Multifactor authentication for LastPass, which means I need my password and a one time use pass code which changes every 60 seconds generated by an app on my phone.
Overall, I believe the risks of storing you passwords in one location are outweighed by the improved security of separate passwords for each site and the ability to use more complex passwords.
Accessing your passwords on the move
LastPass provide mobile apps for iOS and Android, providing you access to your passwords wherever you are. Mobile apps are only available with the Premium registration, but the cost is minimal considering the benefits.
Get LastPass Now!
LastPass run a recommend a friend scheme, this is my link and will get you a month of Premium LastPass for free and also give me a free month if you use this link.
https://lastpass.com/f?3589956
Tell me what you think in the comments below or on X @timdixon82
