Everyone needs a password manager

Why do you need a password manager?

From ordering food from our favorite restaurant to attending business meetings from home, everything is now possible from the comfort of our smartphones in this online world. While our tasks have gotten easier, we're also tasked with managing the passwords of the accounts associated with these apps. Sadly, most of us are not great at that.

In order to easily remember passwords to all their accounts, millions of people use passwords which are weak or easily guessable and readily available on the dark web. This leads to major data breaches, as stolen credentials continue to be one of the top cyber threats for businesses. This is where a password manager helps.

What is a password manager?

A password manager allows individuals and businesses to save and manage all their passwords from one safe space. Thus, users will no longer be required to remember multiple passwords. All they have to remember is their master password that unlocks their password manager. Most password managers are accessible across different platforms and devices, making password management hassle-free.

How does a password manager work?

Password managers should ensure that the data you store is only accessible to you. This is made possible using the zero-knowledge architecture that most password managers adopt. This architecture ensures your data gets encrypted and decrypted on the client side using your master password. This password is only known to you and will not be stored anywhere in the password manager's servers, ensuring that only you can access your data from your vault at any given time. Even if your password manager were to undergo a cyberattack, the attacker would not be able to view any of your passwords in plain text without access to your master password.

The different types of password managers

Password managers can be used by individuals and businesses alike, as everyone is now likely to manage multiple passwords. Based on the end user's needs, we can categorize password managers into four different groups:

• Individuals
• Families
• Teams
• Enterprises

Password manager for families and personal use

Families manage plenty of shared accounts, ranging from streaming services to bank accounts and utility services. Using a password manager, families can safely organize and share their credentials internally and access passwords on the go, all while ensuring complete password security.

Individuals who wish to manage their credentials separately can also do so by setting up personal accounts in their password manager. Many personal password managers are free and offer extensive features at no additional cost.

Password manager for teams and enterprises

Businesses, regardless of their size, are known to manage hundreds of shared passwords at work. Depending on a specific user's role, the number of passwords a user manages varies. Password managers help teams and enterprises seamlessly manage their credentials with complete security. A top password management solution will help teams:

• Safely share credentials amongst themselves and across the entire organization
• Revoke user access when required
• Monitor the organization's password security scores
• Track every user action performed in real time
• And much more

What can a password manager do for your enterprise?

Any basic password manager can act as more than just an easy-access repository for passwords. It can help teams and individuals:

• Avoid password-based cyber threats for their personal and work accounts
• Improve user productivity by automating the authentication process
• Save time, effort, and money spent on creating and resetting passwords

Password managers can further be classified into five different types based on the user device and accessibility constraints.

What are the advantages of using a password manager?

The advantages of using a password manager may vary based on the user's adoption, but essentially, a password manager offers users the following benefits:

• Central access to all accounts and passwords
• Strong, unique passwords for every account
• Security insights on every password managed
• Simplified authentication process with passwordless login and password autofill
• Safe password sharing with internal and third-party users
• Real-time insights for business admins on every user action performed
• Flexible access management for user accounts

Some advanced password managers also offer other extensive features for secure password management across devices.