You should never reuse a password. That means a different password for every computer and website account you have. If you’re like me, that means over 100 different passwords to keep track of. There are two solutions to this problem:
- Use the same password everywhere.
- Use a password manager.
Option 1 is bad bad bad. A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link: if you use the same password everywhere, then a hacker only has to break into one site (the least secure) and they now have access to your email, bank, and credit cards.
Using a password manager is much more secure. I use KeePass. All of my passwords are stored in KeePass, which requires a master password to access. Now I just have to remember one password. To keep it backed up and to use it on all my devices, I store my KeePass database in Dropbox.
To make it easier to enter passwords into websites, I use chromeIPass, which automatically fills the username and password fields when you open a web page.
To make the mobile experience easier, I use KeePass2Android. This works similarly to chromeIPass: you share the URL with KeePass2Android, which then pops up a notification which allows you to easily copy and paste the username and password into the website.
KeePass is a solid open-source project that is providing free security to tens of thousands of people. That’s why KeePass was my July creator donation, and KeePass2Android was my May creator donation.