Fishing for a Password Manager: Here’s How to Spot the Best From a Mile Away
Whether it’s your online bank account or the app that you’ve installed to spy on your skids, you’ll require a password to gain access. With all the sites and apps you need for work daily, memorizing hundreds of passwords is hectic and can lead to fatigue. This will lead to you making the fatal error or writing down passwords for storage or, worse still, you or your employees using the same passwords for all accounts. Such errors exponentially increase the risk of cybersecurity threats such as data breaches and identity theft. What’s the way out of this? A password manager. For Cincinnati businesses, having a platform that securely stores all your passwords is a plus and worthy investment. There is a host of software to choose from. Nevertheless, getting the one that’ll suit all your needs can be an uphill task. Worry not; read on to know what to look for in a password manager for your Cincinnati business.
What Is a Password Manager?
This is a tool or software that can help you generate, store and manage all your passwords. With such a tool, all you need is just one “master password.”
Types of Password Managers
There are various types of password managers in the market for you to choose from. They are categorized in this manner based on factors such as storage location, features they offer, and security measures, just to mention a few.
So, what types are there?
- Stand-alone – Your login credentials are stored on your computer.
- Cloud-based – Your login credentials are stored in your cloud, such as your 4BIS.COM cloud, where you can access them over a hyper-secure process.
- Browser-focused – The browser you have has an inbuilt capability to save and recall your login credentials. Just make sure the sites you visit are safe and have an HTTPS:// on the address bar.
- Mobile device-based – Your credentials are stored in your mobile or handheld devices such as mobile phones and USB drives.
- Token-based – Here, security comes to play. Your credentials are hidden behind an added wall of security. You will be required to provide an extra authentication for you to gain access.
- Stateless – One of the safest and doesn’t store your credentials anywhere. Instead, it randomly generates passwords on your demand.
What to Look for in a Password Manager?
Just because your employees feel lazy or fatigued and use the same password over and over doesn’t mean you choose just about any password manager. You might make an already bad situation dire. To help you make the right choice, here are a few pointers:
Advanced Security
It’s not enough to stress the need for security, especially in this era of brutal cybersecurity threats facing Cincinnati businesses daily. Therefore, it’s imperative that your password manager of choice is not just secure but offers hyper-secure protocols.
Dual Factor Authentication (2FA) is the best and most secure security feature. Every time you wish to access your password manager and contents therein, you’ll have to provide your login credentials backed up by another form of authentication. It could be biometrics, time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs), text messages, or wristbands.
Also, encrypt all the stored data for added security. A hacker can guess your password but not your biometric information.
Multi-Device Compatibility
A vast majority of businesses in Cincinnati use various devices for everyday work; computers and mobile devices. Additionally, these devices run on different platforms such as iOS and Windows.
When fishing for a password manager, check and confirm it can run on all your devices, apps, and browsers. That manager should allow you to install a browser extension that you can access from any location.
For those who carry their work at home – we don’t recommend you to do that – a password manager on your mobile devices is a plus, especially since such devices have become common and pretty advanced.
Degree of User Friendliness
A NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has shown that a vast majority of computer users suffer from security fatigue, password fatigue, and digital eye fatigue. These rampant challenges among employees and computer users lead to risky computer behaviors.
To reduce such challenges, choose a password manager that you and your employees can easily navigate through and is aesthetically appealing.
If a user experiences difficulty or boredom while using software, they’ll more than likely revert to the old ways of recycling passwords. Worse still, you will go back to writing down passwords on paper!
Affordability
All businesses in Cincinnati have a standard bottom line; profitability and raising the business bar in the greater state of Ohio. A wise business person is always accountable for every single dollar spent in their business.
That being said, the right password manager doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Instead, it should offer all these critical features and be affordable, or better still, free! After all, who doesn’t love free things, right?
The majority of commercial password managers will cost you anywhere from $20 – $60 for an individual plan and slightly higher for the family plan. Unfortunately, the free versions have limited features, so don’t be stingy, invest in the commercial version.
Advanced and Added Features
The right password manager should provide a host of other exciting features for you to explore. Some of them include;
- Super secure and strong password generators
- Auto form fill capabilities
- Customization and branding to tweak the software to suit your branding and marketing needs.
- Auto-change your master password on demand
- Securely sharing passwords with multiple users.
- Cross-platform compatibility in case you wish to transfer your info from one password manager to another.
- Digital legacy – a way of transferring your login credentials or login rights to another user in the event of your demise or incapacitation.
- Multi-account or shared accounts management
- Digital wallet to store financial data.
Not all password managers offer the above additional features. However, fish for the one that offers a wider range and more options.
Note
With all the cybersecurity threats facing the Cincinnati business community, having a password manager is not enough security. You should add;
- A strong and secure antivirus
- Internet security
- Data and cloud backup
- Identity and data breach protection and sensors
- Virtual Private Network (VPN) to privatize your online activity
The good news is, 4BIS.COM has services and solutions for these threats; all you have to do is give us a shout.
In Conclusion
The right password manager will help you achieve your business’ bottom line by letting you focus on the business aspect. Indeed, you don’t have to bite off all your nails wondering which password manager software to get for your business – leave that task to the experts. At 4BIS.COM, we have an array of IT solutions for businesses in Cincinnati. Go ahead and contact us today– lets us help you pick software that is secure and works for all your business needs.
