If you’re one of those people who use the same easy-to-remember password on every site, you’re not alone. Did you know millions of people actually use 123456 or PASSWORD to gain access to things like their favorite shopping sites (which has personal and credit card information stored), email accounts, and even banking sites. Well, head’s up Twirlers, hacking is on the rise and becoming easier than ever.
Have we scared you smart yet? Good, because we have the perfect solution.
LastPass is a free password manager that does for passwords what Superman does for Lois Lane—provides total protection. LastPass stores all your passwords safely and securely so you’ll never have to worry about forgetting them ever again. So please get rid of that desktop folder named “Passwords,” ok? And, LastPass is also a strong password generator so it will create unique, highly secure passwords for every one of your online accounts.
In fact, the only password you’ll ever need to remember from now on is the one that opens LastPass. Check out this video to see exactly how LastPass will allow you to give the ol’ “Nyah Nyah” to would-be hackers everywhere.
47 Comments
Calissa Leigh says:
I love Last Pass. I've used them for at least a year. Not only does it save your passwords, it saves you time. A few clicks and you're in. No mistyping, and no getting your password wrong three times and having to generate yet-another-password.
CKnobloch says:
So glad you're loving it Calissa. It's hard to believe that there's something MORE convenient than just using your kid's name for every password you have (not that i've ever done that... ahem.)
Kim Tracy Prince says:
What a great idea. This video makes it look really easy - thanks Carly! I'm going to try LastPass!
CKnobloch says:
Kim— Try it! Try It! Let us know how it went!
sue says:
Excellent tip! I've been wanting this to exist. Thanks for letting me know that it does.
CKnobloch says:
Sue— Thanks for watching! More fabulous tips coming up!
Andrea says:
Ok for facebook, twitter, goole, mail, even e-commerce websites.
And I actually use it for these purposes.
But how can feel safe storing my credit-cards data, my online banking pins or my paypal accounts in an online service?
CKnobloch says:
Andrea— LastPass actually has an area called "secure notes" where you can any kind of note that you want to be... secure. So you could put credit card information in there, or PINs, and you'd be able to access them wherever, whenever.
Kai says:
Andrea-- You can. Its safe. Only you can access your vault. Not even the LastPass folks can.
See http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-256.htm for a detailed analysis.
Dylan says:
The information you store in LastPass is encrypted with government grade encryption on your local device/computer BEFORE it's sent up to the cloud. At this point, that encryption is essentially unbreakable unless your password is susceptible to a dictionary attack. So don't use a real word, or even a real word with some numbers on the end, or even just letters... find something complicated... mix the case of letters, add at least 2 numbers, preferably different ones, and throw in a non-alphanumeric... so, let's say your initials are A.B.C and you have a special meaningful word from your past 'jinks' and your favorite number is 386. The password abc^jinks386 is pretty strong, as long as there's no one who is going to guess that.
Deb says:
I have used LastPass for a while now. Andrea: It is my understanding that the passwords are stored encrypted with LastPass. Your password is the encryption key. They do not have your password, which means don't lose it! Thus, the online service does not have access to anything besides the encrypted file.
Bob says:
You forgot to mention smartphone support for accessing your passwords while on the go.
CKnobloch says:
Bob— Good point! We try to make good on our promise to keep our episodes around 3 minutes long, and you'd be surprised how quickly the time goes! The LastPass app on my phone is actually the feature that REALLY makes it amazing for me. I love being able to access everything, and auto log-in, from my phone. Thanks for pointing that out.
United States says:
Lastpass is great but I prefer 1Password. It's available for Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad. It syncs across devices using Dropbox and works with Safari, Firefox and Google Chrome. It does what LastPass does and more.
CKnobloch says:
Khurt— 1Password IS a great tool. We looked at it when we were choosing password managers, and while it is really nicely put together (the interface is easy on the eyes, and fun to "unlock"), we felt like the web-based functionality was easier to use than the "syncing across Dropbox" method (another great web app that will be featured on Digitwirl... stay tuned!)
Glad you mentioned 1Password. Now people can check out both!
Stephan Z. says:
I have been using Lastpass for over a year now and it changed the way I use the web. It IS absolutely simple and easy to use! It made my life so much easier and I am now able to sign up for anything on the web. Lastpass creates my unique password I don't even have to think about it and it automatically logs me into all my accounts. It is safe, simple and secure! You should really use it ,too!
CKnobloch says:
Stephan— Whoa! Do you work for LastPass?? Just kidding... we know how using an amazing app can get you super-passionate. So nice to hear the great feedback. Great for other folks to see who might be hesitant to get started.
Hey, Other Folks— Stephan, says it's great! Sign up and give it a try!
Media Designer says:
Thanks for this! You're absolutely right. As a web designer I have access to my clients services and sites. Most use the most obvious things.
Love your video too - brilliant! Beautiful! Very well produced!
CKnobloch says:
Thanks so much, "Media Designer"!
Yes, using Lastpass would give your clients hard-to-remember passwords... and a way to easily change them when they're done working with you. Kind of like changing the locks when you have a new tenant move in. (Okay, not the best analogy).
Israel says:
Love the production values on this short and the tshirts, too.
Even your website has great typography, kudos to your designer(s)!
CKnobloch says:
I will extend those kudos to our designers! Actually, that will be a short conversation, cause they're ME! Thanks for watching— glad you like the t-shirts. We're thinking of selling some...
Bob says:
Love the functionality of a password manager - but spend a LOT of my life on the iPad. Any suggestions?
CKnobloch says:
Bob— So, I hadn't tested it until you inquired, but I just installed LastPass' iPad browser and it works FANTASTICALLY! You have to use it to browse the internet if you want to take advantage of having it auto-populate your username and password, though, so it might not always be convenient. Between the iPad browser and just being able to access your passwords from LastPass.com when you need them, I'd say you're in good shape. Let me know if you try it!
Dylan says:
Actually, there are TWO passwords you should make sure you can remember: the LastPass password and the one for the email address associated with your LastPass account. If you ever have trouble getting into LastPass, you may need to be able to get into that email to rectify the situation.
CKnobloch says:
Dylan— yes, that's toatlly true!
Arthur says:
I'm using this great tool for a couple years. Now I bought premium account and have my strong and unique passwords even on Galaxy SII. Thanks for this. Btw. You are pretty.
CKnobloch says:
Arthur— Awww!!!
Neil Kristianson says:
Last Pass is the most awesome thing ever! I have accused them of plotting to take over the world but they assure me they won't.
You forgot the absolute best part about LP - the ability to share your password with someone without them seeing your password. I use LP to let techie people into my websites without them knowing my passwords. No more changing passwords after every website update!
CKnobloch says:
Neil— you're so right.. too many amazing features to mention in 3 minutes!
Joe says:
Great video, nicely done without being overly techy. I've been using Lastpass for awhile and swear by it. Recently, I have had to start helping my aging mother manage her finances and other affairs as she moves into the retirement phase of her life. Problem is, she lives on one coast, I on the other. I introduced her to Lastpass and showed her how to use it. Now when she has a question about her email/bank/Facebook site that I need to help her with, I can easily look up her login info and make changes to her account for her (without trying to explain it all over the phone). We both feel better knowing that her digital life is safe and secure and can be managed by a loved one if/when the time comes.
CKnobloch says:
Joe— That is so fantastic. I love hearing use cases that are so beautifully life changing like that!
Preetham says:
I have been using Lastpass for sometime now. I like the visual grid that makes it super safe. I am not worried if someone gets my master password as they will need the visual decoder to log in. Great feature!
CKnobloch says:
Preetham— That's people's biggest concern when it comes to password management. So nice to know that there really is no possible way to hack in.
Jeremiah says:
This is a really well done video. I've been using LastPass for a while, but I'm a huge computer geek. My sister recently had her email hacked, and she seemed frustrated by the fact that she'd have to change her password again, and would have another one to remember. I recommended LastPass to her, and explained it a little bit, but I'm also going to pass this video on to her. Very straightforward, and should be easy to understand.
CKnobloch says:
Jeremiah— That's the whole idea! We want to communicate this stuff in plain english so it's easy to get started. Let us know what your sister thinks of the video.
Michelle says:
Really loving LastPass. Just discovered that I can share certain passwords with my VA through LastPass, without actually disclosing the pw! Brilliant!
CKnobloch says:
Michelle— That IS an amazing feature. I find it invaluable— makes me feel better about sharing passwords with my team.
Mar says:
Hello! I tried LastPass but it doesn't allow to manage two Gmail's account.
I entered with both of them, one at time, but I couldn't change one to another.
How can I do it? I want that LastPass gives me the option to choose from one or another account when I enter in Gmail.
Please help me! Write me to my email.
Is excellent your Web. It's the first time I enter and I'm falling in love with it.
Sorry my English, I am a Latinamerican girl.
Neil Kristianson says:
Hey LatinAmerican Girl. If you have installed the Last Pass software on your computer you should see an icon in the upper right corner of your browser that says Auto Fill. Click on that and it will give you a drop down choice of your two accounts.
Joe says:
LatinAmeeicanGirl - I think you have the "Auto Fill" turned on for one of your gmail profiles. What's probably happening is that LastPass is filling out your login and password so fast that you aren't given an option to choose a profile. Open up Lastpass and edit your Gmail entry and uncheck the box for auto login. Then it should work just like the previous poster said. I personally manage 7 or 8 email addresses this way and rely on Lastpass to keep everything straight. Good luck!
Mar says:
Thanks Joe and Neil. I will try!
Cloud computing de-mystified | Digitwirl: The Weekly Web Show That Makes Tech Work For You says:
[...] “Is it safe?” Cloud providers take the security of your information very seriously. Think mega-military-grade encryption… just do your part and be smart about your passwords. If you want some help with that check out our Lastpass Twirl. [...]
Stuart Moore says:
I am a big fan of Lastpass and have recommended it to many people. Delighted that I have now found a great briefing video on it as well (good work to the team here for the high production values, quality and focus).
Few comments:
In the video, your master password seems to be a bit short. Recommendation is that, as it is the last password you need to remember, it should be a unique phrase known only to you and not one that would be found in any common list of phrases / book titles / film title / music lyrics.
Whilst the most common passwords are of the like of "password" and "12345" the main mistake most people make are (some mentioned in your video):
1, Same password in lots of places - only as strong as the weakest link, do you trust all those hosts?
2. Password too short (easy to crack in seconds)
3. Password uses common words / names (should never use words that are in any dictionary / list of people or pet names / football teams / etc)
4. Passwords have numbers in place of certain letters (e.g. i for 1) which really make no difference any more.
Clearly, using Lastpass to generate passwords avoids these problems, but it is very important that the master password itself does not break these guidelines.
(Incidentally, for the really security conscious, you can add an extra layer of security with Lastpass using with a yubikey which is a small physical battery-free device you have to plug into your computer when logging into Lastpass so even if you use a computer that might have a virus on it that captures your typed password without the physical device it will be of no use to the password thief.)
CKnobloch says:
Stuart— all great tips. Thanks for sharing.
Joyce says:
It takes some getting used to and I'm thinking of upgrading to the paid version so that I can use it on my smartphone as well... but for the most part, loving this.
Fantastic find.
CKnobloch says:
Joyce-- Do glad you tried it-- you'll be shocked you lived so long without it.
Vivianne says:
Hi Carley,
I can't thank you enough for turning me on to Last Pass! It is an absolute Godsend. I've been using it for about a week now and I'm almost done setting up all my sites and changing all my passwords to new ones generated by Last Pass. I realize now what a risk I was taking by using the same password everywhere! I signed up for the free version, but I am going to be switching over to the paid so that I can use the mobile app. This is the best, absolute best tool I could ever hope for and after reading the link you provided, which explains in detail how secure Last Pass really is, now I'm more secure than ever!
Thank you so much. I love your site, love your videos and I think you're a great person and providing a great service for everyone. Thanks again....keep up the great work!!
Vivianne