Password managers are great for everyone. They can help generate stronger passwords and keep track of them for you. But, many password managers do more than that. 1Password is our prefered password manager, but Lastpass work great too! Both of these programs can also double as a digital safe box too.
Why You Should Use One?
First off, you should already be using one. If not, then you need to get one. You should be storing all of your usernames and passwords for all of your online accounts in a password manager. No two passwords should be the same. Additionally, you should be storing all of your "truthful" security question answers as well.
Your online passwords and answers are not the only thing you can and need to keep secure. You can store Wi-Fi passwords in your password manager too. Here some additional items, not a complete list, you can store in your password manager:
- Animal Vaccination Records
- Driver's License Information
- Passport Information
- Credit Card Information
- Insurance Policy Documents
Information to Store In Your Password Manager
- Employment/Work Information - Keep your username and password stored securely, no question there, but other work documents can be securely stored as well. Keep your company's 401(k) account information and health insurance information securely stored in your password manager as well.
- Medical Records - Having your medical records on hand is a huge deal, you never know when you will need them. The problem is you want to keep that information secure. You can scan documents, medical cards, prescriptions, and any other information that is relevant to your health. Store those items under a personal information folder in your password manager.
- Children’s Online Accounts - Kids will not be able to remember passwords for their online accounts or school. You can store these in your password manager as well. Many password managers will even let you tag entries, so you can label the ones for your kids.
- Proof of Purchases - Keeping receipts for purchases come in handy when disaster strikes. Other times, you will need proof come tax day when writing off an expanse. If you have a physical copy of a receipt, take a picture or scan it. From there upload the file to you password manager. You can also store emailed receipts by saving them as a PDF and uploading them to your password manager too.
- Wi-Fi Information - Every now and then you probably have had to restart or reset your home router. Sometimes this can set the router back to the default settings, including the account to access the device to make changes. Store this info in your password manager. Bonus points if you store a backup configuration file of your router's setup for easy resets. With a backup file you can just import all of your carefully crafted settings.
This list is not all encompassing. But, they can give you an idea of all the ways you can use your password manager to store important information.
Sharing Password Manger Information
Undoubtedly, some of the passwords for you accounts will be for accounts others in your household will need to use. Router credentials, the account for utilities, maybe even Netflix login information. Sharing this information is important, especially when you use long complex passwords. Here are the basics of sharing information in Lasspass and 1Password:
- Lastpass - Anyone you share Lastpass information with needs to have a free Lastpass account. After that all you need to do is navigate to the Sharing Center. Follow the steps one by one and you will have data shared in no time. You can choose to share the actual password or not as well. No real options out side of that. Users can view the info and that's it.
- 1Password - Sharing in 1Password is a little more robust than Lastpass. In 1Password you have vaults and you can create as many as you like. You can also share vaults and this is where the benefits come into play. You can make a vault that is nothing but username and password information of account you will always share. Anything you do not want to share, put that information in a different, private, vault. Share vaults can have different access rights, from view only to full control. Full control can allow other users to add additional accounts the vault or update account information.
