Free 30-Day Premium Trial<\/strong>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\nAs an additional precaution, you should set up multi-factor authentication to secure your password manager account, be it biometric, SMS-based, or via time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs) stored in an authenticator app. The best password managers support authentication via U2F- or OTP-based hardware security keys, most of which are about the size of an actual key and made to go on your key ring.<\/p>\n
Before you commit to any password manager, you need to make sure it works on each device you use and doesn't prevent you from syncing your passwords across all your devices. Although support for Windows and macOS platforms is a given, several password managers now offer native Linux apps, too. The best password managers have browser extensions for every popular browser that can operate independently of a desktop app. <\/p>\n
Full support for mobile platforms is a requirement for any modern password manager, as most people frequently use their mobile devices to access secure sites and apps. Most experiences and features translate to mobile platforms without issue, but no one wants to enter a password like @2a&[email\u00a0protected]\u00a0on their smartphone's tiny keyboard. Fortunately, password manager apps typically let you authenticate using your fingerprint or face, and then they fill in your username and password for you.<\/p>\n\n
The Password Basics<\/h2>\n
Most people use a password manager primarily to manage website credentials. In practice, when you log in to a secure site, the password manager offers to save your credentials. When you return to that site, it offers to fill in those credentials. If you've saved multiple logins for the same site, the password manager lists all those options. Most password managers also offer a browser toolbar menu of saved logins, so you can go straight to a saved site and log in automatically.<\/p>\n
Some products detect when you change your password to an account and offer to update the existing password on file to the new one. Some record your credentials when you create a new account for a secure website. For maximum convenience, you should avoid password managers that don't automatically capture passwords.<\/p>\n
Getting all of your existing passwords into a password manager is a good first step. Next, you need to identify the\u00a0weak and duplicate passwords\u00a0and replace them with tough ones. Password managers can flag these bad passwords and help you improve them. A PCMag survey found that 70% of respondents reuse passwords for their accounts, so clearly, getting rid of reused passwords is one of the biggest ways a password manager can improve your personal security. Some password managers even check whether you have set up multi-factor authentication for those services in your vault that support it and whether your personal information appears in any data breaches. <\/p>\n
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When you create a new secure account or update a weak password, don't strain your brain trying to come up with something strong and unique. Let your password manager take care of it. You don't have to remember it, after all. Make sure your generated passwords are at least 20 characters long and include all the major character types: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. All too many products default to a shorter length.<\/p>\n\n
Since most password managers can autofill stored credentials, it's just a small step for them to automatically fill in personal data on web forms, such as first and last name, email address, phone number, bank cards, passport numbers, and so on. You'll even find password managers that show you realistic images of credit cards with the correct color and bank logo of your physical card to make it easy to pick the payment option you want when you're shopping online. Storing payment and identity details in an encrypted vault is much safer than saving them to a website or browser.<\/p>\n
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Most of the top-rated products include a web form-filling component. The breadth and flexibility of their data collections vary, as does their accuracy when matching web form fields with their stored items. Even if they miss a field or two, the fields that they do fill are ones you don't have to type. Think about how many sites you go to that want you to fill in all the same information. Having a password manager do it for you is a huge time-saver. Each password manager handles form filling differently. Some immediately fill fields automatically, but others wait for your input. <\/p>\n\n
Advanced Password-Management Features<\/h2>\n
Given that all these products take care of basic password management tasks, how do any of them stand out from the pack?<\/p>\n
One handy advanced feature is the ability to capture and fill credentials for desktop applications, not just websites. Most password managers can fill in credentials on mobile apps, but desktop apps are another story. <\/p>\n
Another advanced feature is a secure browser designed to protect sensitive transactions, launched automatically when you visit financial sites.<\/p>\n
Most password managers include a built-in mechanism for securely sharing passwords with other users, but some go a step further with advanced permissions. For instance, a few password managers allow you to share a login without making the password visible, revoke sharing, or make the recipient an owner of the item. <\/p>\n
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Recommended by Our Editors<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
On a grimmer note, what happens to your secure accounts after you die? A growing number of products include some provision for a digital legacy, a method to transfer your logins to a trusted individual in the event of your death or incapacity.<\/p>\n
Many password management companies now offer versions of their products made for businesses and teams. These products usually have an emphasis on multi-factor authentication and offer single sign-on as well as advanced credential sharing capabilities between team members. The best password managers let administrators see which employees are using weak, reused, or compromised passwords for their work accounts.<\/p>\n
Logging in with your secure username and password to a website that doesn't use a secure HTTPS connection is a big no-no. Some password managers warn you about insecure login pages. Even when you do use HTTPS, sniffers and snoops can still learn some things about your activity, such as the simple fact that you're logging in to the secure site, and the IP address from which you're connecting. Running your secure connections through a virtual private network, or\u00a0VPN, adds a layer of protection. Dashlane includes a simple built-in VPN. RememBear and NordPass respectively come from the same companies behind Editors' Choice VPNs TunnelBear VPN and NordVPN.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Secure storage is an increasingly common feature among password managers, too. The storage allocation won\u2019t replace the need for a dedicated cloud storage and syncing service, but in many cases, it\u2019s enough for storing important documents in an encrypted state.<\/p>\n\n
What's Not Here<\/h2>\n
As mentioned earlier, you also won't find any only-free password managers here. Those products are in a separate roundup. The password managers that offer both excellent paid and free tiers appear in both roundups.<\/p>\n
A password manager isn't the only thing you need to secure your digital life. We already mentioned the importance of using a VPN and multi-factor authentication, but you should also use a security suite. It never hurts to verify that all your security software works, either.<\/p>\n\n
The Top Password Management Software<\/h2>\n
Although a password manager needs to offer advanced features, it should remain easy to use and avoid needless complexity. Users who get annoyed or baffled by a password manager may well abandon it and go back to using sticky notes to store and share passwords or, worse, applying the same password everywhere. <\/p>\n
Our Editors' Choice winners for the category are Dashlane, Keeper Password Manager & Digital Vault, LastPass, and Zoho Vault. Slick and polished Dashlane boasts a ton of features. Keeper offers a full set of advanced capabilities, a sleek and elegant user interface, and support for every popular platform and browser. LastPass Premium excels because of its ease of use and competitive security tools, despite changes to the free version of LastPass that now make it hard to recommend. Zoho Vault has a robust free tier that syncs across all platforms and a litany of enterprise features for teams and businesses. You won't go wrong choosing any one of these services. Products here that do not earn an Editors' Choice award still have their merits, however, and you may even prefer one of them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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