Category: Password Management

Internet accounts are subject to hacking, putting your personal information at risk. I recommend using a password manager, as I write about here: How to Manage Your Passwords.

But sometimes passwords alone are not enough to prevent hacking.

There have been several high-profile breaches where personal information, including passwords, has been stolen. Yahoo, for example, and Google. So even if you use strong passwords and change them regularly, there are times when hackers could compromise your information.

Several online services are now offering 2-factor (or 2-step, or multi-factor) authentication (or verification). If you enable this optional step, then any new device cannot log into your account through a web interface without also entering a texted code.

Here are the popular services that offer this:

• • Google (called 2-step verification)

    • Go to Sign-in and Security and sign into your account. Turn on “2-Step Verification”.
    • If you use an application such as Outlook or Thunderbird to access your Gmail, you’ll have to generate an app password. See this article: Sign in Using App Passwords.

 

• • Apple (used to be 2-step verification, now 2-factor authentication)

    • On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
      • Go to Settings and tap on your name.
      • Tap Password & Security.
      • Tap Turn on Two-Factor Authentication.
    • On your Mac with OS X El Capitan or later:
      • Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud > Account Details.
      • Click Security.
      • Click Turn on Two-Factor Authentication.

 

• • Amazon (called 2-step verification)

    • Go to “Your Account” > “Login and Security Settings” > “Advanced Security Settings”.

 

• • Dropbox (called 2-step verification)

    • Go to http://www.dropbox.com and sign in.
    • Click on your name and select “Settings”.
    • Click on the Security tab.
    • Click to enable two-step verification.

 

• • Facebook (called “2-factor authentication”)

    • Go to Settings > Security and Login.
    • Click Edit next to “Login Approvals”.

 

• • Evernote (called 2-step verification)

    • Go to http://www.evernote.com and sign in.
    • Go to Settings > Security Summary.

 

• LastPass: (called multifactor authentication)

  • LastPass uses a mobile app to authenticate. Go to Account Settings at http://lastpass.com and then “Multifactor Options.” Click the pencil icon next to “LastPass Authenticator” and follow instructions.

So why not enable 2-factor authentication for all services?

It can be less convenient. If you have to log into a service from a different device – a new device, for example, or a friend’s computer, or a hotel’s computer – then you’ll have to have your cell phone with you and you’ll have to be able to receive a text. This could be a problem while traveling.

Be sure to read this article before traveling out of the country: Traveling with Two Factor.

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“Drowning in Email – A Lifeline for Communications Overload”

There are all kinds of reasons that you may need to share passwords.

For example, you may need to share passwords for joint bank accounts, or you need to co-administer a child’s health insurance. And the whole family may be using the same video streaming service.

For security reasons, you don’t want to share passwords that you’ve simplified so that everyone can remember them. You should be changing them regularly anyway.

So what’s the best way to share passwords and keep them up to date?

One way could be to keep those shared passwords written down somewhere. But it’s not always very efficient to go looking for a password and also to make sure it’s the latest one.

There’s also the issue of your legacy accounts after you’re gone. (Many, many years from now, I hope!). You can keep that entire list of your passwords locked up in a safe place your family knows about. But, again, it’s tough to keep the list up to date.

I generally recommend using a password manager, as I write about here: How to Manage Your Passwords. Many of these cloud password managers have both sharing features and legacy features.

Both LastPass and Dashlane allow you to share passwords with anyone else using the software.

If you’re a LastPass Premium user, then you can also set up a “Shared Folder”. You invite other family members using LastPass and just add passwords to the folder.

Both LastPass and Dashlane also offer “Emergency Access” to a designated person. That person can request access and will receive it after a waiting period that you define when you set it up.

1Password has a family plan that, for a monthly fee, allows everyone in the family to install and use the software on their devices. Each family member has a “Personal” password vault available to only that family member and a “Shared” vault available to everyone on the plan.

1Password does not offer emergency access. The company instead encourages users to download an “Emergency Kit” PDF file, print it out, and keep it in a safe place.

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“Drowning in Email – A Lifeline for Communications Overload”

We have online accounts for so many things these days – email, social networking, cloud services, financial services, medical accounts, even the local library. Security experts tell us that passwords should be long, cryptic, and unique for each account, but if you follow their guidelines, how can you possibly manage your passwords and remember them all? You’re trading security for convenience and saying hello to digital frustration.

I recommend handing over control to those security experts by signing up for a manage your passwords service.

Download a password manager program to your computer and your mobile devices that will help you to generate passwords and securely save them. You can read about that here: How to Manage Your Passwords

If you’re uncomfortable with handing over your passwords to a service, then the next best thing is to write down your passwords the old fashioned way – on a piece of paper. Keep it in a safe place in your home – don’t take it with you.

You could even use a code that only you understand. For example, instead of writing down the password “ILuv99RedBaloons!”, you could write “IL..99RBs!”.

You should be sure that you remember the password to log into your computer user account, especially if you have a laptop that you take with you, and perhaps a computer administrator password, if your computer is set up with one. You may also need to remember your Apple ID or Google ID and password to install apps on your phone.

Use a strong password that you’ll remember for those. For everything else – for all of those Internet accounts – use a unique password for each service and go to your safely stored password list when you need those passwords. Here’s an article from Google on how to choose passwords: Creating a Strong Password.

It may be inconvenient to have to go and look up that unique password, but it beats having to recover from a data breach!

Need help with passwords?