Allowing your Computer or Keychain in Mac to Save Your Passwords

Passwords are the bane of our existence when it comes to technology. So, anything that makes them easier is hard to turn down. What should you do when you are on a site and the question pops up, "Do you want to save this password?" or "Save this password in your Keychain?" YES or NO??

I did some searching and found several good reasons why you might want to say NO to this question and why Keychain and other Browser password savers are not as secure as Dashlane, 1Password, LastPass or other password managers.

First of all, let's clarify where this information is coming from. Browsers have their own password savers.  For example in Firefox under the Preferences you can see this window:

If you put a check in the box next to Remember Passwords for sites you will always get that question. Then you can click on Saved Passwords to see what you have saved. When I clicked on Saved Passwords there were 9 saved there! At first they were hidden, but then I clicked on SHOW and there they were. Anyone could have done that!  I deleted them all right away because I didn't even know that they were there!

One thing that would have made it more secure is if I used a master password. You can see above that there is a box next to that which you can check. If I had created a master password then someone could not get into my passwords so easily. 

Chrome, Internet Explorer and other browsers have similar password savers.

Keychain (the Apple built in password saver)  is a little different because it is actually on your computer and not connected to a browser. If you choose to activate Keychain in your iCloud account it will also sync to any other Apple Devices you have.

Most password managers will generate strong passwords for you. That is one thing that saves a lot of time when you are at a new site. You do not have to think up one more password that is really difficult, but that you can remember. The password management software will remember it so it can create really long difficult passwords and you will never have to even know them.

NOW FOR THE PROS AND CONS

PROS

• It is much better than having the same password for everything.

• If you create a master password it is more secure.

• It works well (with a master password) for someone who never has someone else accessing their computer.

CONS

• If you do not put in a Master Password (and many people do not) then all of your passwords can easily be found.

• Keychain only works on the Safari browser and does not work with every single site. Use of Keychain is not supported by Banks, Credit Cards and some other places because of security issues. Other password managers each work on their own software (Safari, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, etc...)

• Keychain does not generate the strongest passwords.

• Easier to hack than a Password Manager like LastPass or Dashlane. With these password managers your master password NEVER leaves your machine. It is not stored anywhere else. 

On some of the sites I read it said to NEVER use the password savers in browsers or Keychain. It is just not as safe as the other tools. 

And now for one more free tip. To find all of this out I just typed my question into Chrome (my favorite browser and here are some of the sites that I read to learn what I shared with you. It does take some time, but you can do that too. Maybe it is how you found this blog!

Que Publishing

http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2268497&seqNum=2

Gizmag

http://www.gizmag.com/apple-icloud-keychain-ios7/30301/

HOW TO SET IT UP - FROM APPLE

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204085

iMore

http://www.imore.com/icloud-keychain

Ask Leo

https://askleo.com/how-safe-is-it-to-let-my-browser-save-my-passwords/

Step by Step how to access the Password Saving Feature of Browsers

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/set-computer-remember-passwords-55261.html

More about Password Managers

http://helpimnotageek.blogspot.com/2014/04/password-managemnet-and-heartbleed-bug.html

I have now used Dashlane for a few years and LOVE it. Other people swear by different password managers, so I doubt that there is one that is the best, but it is definitely worth finding and using a password manager!!

Password Management and the Heartbleed Bug

You may have heard of the Heartbleed Bug. Here is the article about it on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartbleed_bug

The Heartbleed Bug could allow a hacker to access all of your passwords. Experts in cryptography have called it catastrophic and rated it 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. Big companies like Facebook, Google, and Yahoo are plugging that hole and taking care of the bug, but since the problem has been around so long (maybe 2 years) your password may already be compromised.

In order to avoid any problems you need to change your password on all of the sites that you use. That is an overwhelming thought. 

PASSWORD MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

I looked into Password Management Software. This type of software is often called a vault because all of your passwords are stored behind one strong password which is the ONLY one you will need to use. The software automatically gets you into sites because it knows your passwords. NO ONE except you knows your Master Password. It is not stored on a server somewhere. Even the company does not know it so if you forget it you also lose all of your other passwords. 

I also decided to read about the safety of using this software. What if someone figures out my ONE difficult password?  Then they will have access to all of the others. The articles that I read said that this will not be an issue. Dealing with passwords this way is MUCH safer than using the same password for many sites. 

HOW I SET IT UP

With Dashlane I first went to their site and downloaded the program to my computer. Next the program looked through my computer to find any passwords that were automatically saved in the computer. There were several. It automatically added them to the list. I tried out each one and found that some of them did not work or were for old things that I do not use anymore. 

It was easy to click on the gear icon and then delete these with the trashcan at the bottom of the window that popped up. 

On the other sites I followed the directions for "forgot my password" and then did what they said in order to reset my password. When I clicked on the space to put in my new password a window popped up and Dashlane offered to generate a strong password for me.

I clicked to indicate that a secure password should be generated and then I closed up the site and tried to access it again. It was great! Dashlane did everything and I was logged directly into the site!

It took a while and some trial and error, but now I am set up with Dashlane for several websites. Now each time I go to a different site where I need a password it will be generated and added to Dashlane!  I just have to remember the one difficult password that I start Dashlane with. It is not saved anywhere, so if I forget it I will loose all of my other passwords and need to start again! I am going to put it somewhere I will not lose it.


Here are several Password Managers to choose from:

Dashlane - So far I like this one. It was recommended on many sites.
http://www.dashlane.com

LastPass - I think this one is the most common. It is very good and it is inexpensive to connect your accounts on your iPhone or iPad so that they all sync together.
https://lastpass.com/

Norton Identity
https://identitysafe.norton.com/

RoboForm Everywhere
https://identitysafe.norton.com/

1Password
https://agilebits.com/onepassword

StickyPassword
http://www.stickypassword.com

Password Depot
http://www.password-depot.com/overview.htm

Locked out of my Own Computer!!

Here is a question a PC user asked me:

"Someone played around with my computer and I can't log in any more. It keeps giving me the hint question and when I type in the correct answer it keeps telling me that it is not correct. What do I do?"

This is something that happens to people and so there are lots of places to look online to find help. Unfortunately if you have been locked out of your computer you cannot get online to get help or even see this blog. 

In the hopes that someone with this problem can find this blog I will put the solution that I found online here.  Since there are a lot of different versions of Windows this may or may not apply to your computer. It is advice for someone with Windows XP who has not put in an Administrator password.

I have not done this, so I cannot be sure that it will work. In fact, there may be many different reasons that you are locked out of your computer, but this is the first thing to try:

1. Boot up (Turn On) your computer.


2. Before it starts up hold down F8. This is one of the keys on the top row.

3. When it starts up you will see a black screen with white words.  It will ask you if you want to start in SAFE MODE.

4. Choose to open in SAFE MODE.

5. It will take a while, but when it opens you should see the regular desktop and be able to get into an account called Administrator. Usually a new Windows computer is shipped out with an Administrator account with no password. If you have not put a password onto it you can still get in as an Administrator which will allow you to do anything you want.

6. With this account you can go to the Control Panel and remove or change the password of the user that you usually log into.

One other video on YouTube that I watched showed how you can just type in Administrator into the log in window that comes up. If no password has been set you can just click OK and it will open up the computer. To change any password at that point you can go to the Control Panel.

If neither of these things works for you I am sorry to say you may need to take it in to someone professional who can help you.