Online Password Managers

“I use the same password for everything, how can I expect to remember all these different logins otherwise?”  Does this sound familiar?  Many folks use the same practices for Internet security that were employed during the 1990s, but in today’s modern environment, these methods are inept.  Just think about the number of websites that you and your business deal with that require separate logins and passwords:

• Nearly every Parts Distributor has their own platform requiring a login to order parts
• Every manufacturer, assuming you are authorized, has their own login/password to look up technical documentation
  –Some have separate apps requiring a login/password to access educational material
• If you are working on warranty calls, the platform to submit your claim
• Third party directories that list your business like Yelp and Yellow pages
• Your accounting software and bank accounts
• Your credit cards

The list goes on and on, and it’s not going to get any simpler.  Many of you may think this doesn’t apply because you call in parts orders or don’t bank online.  However, you are still at risk.  Your banking information is online, your credit card information, your warranty claims, and your part orders are all stored online.   All that information is available to hackers whether you agree to use those services or not.

Let’s lay out a scenario that has happened already.  You have a credit card with Target. You decide not to use any online features, but Target as a company gets hacked.  What hackers tend to do is seize login information.  They are banking on the fact that you use the same login and passwords for other accounts.  Once they have your “master password,” they start trying to use it on other websites, like your bank or social media accounts or your email.  This is how an identity gets stolen, and the ones most at risk are the folks who do not use online features.  They are not getting notifications that someone just accessed their online account and are not being alerted that money has moved from one account to another until it’s too late.  Now you have an uphill battle to recover anything that was stolen, along with having to prove your identity to each affected account.

So what do you do? If you use the same password on everything, you may have a problem. Although nothing is 100% secure, you may consider a password manager service such as Lastpass​. Here are a few of the Lastpass features you receive for a monthly fee:

• Sets up a Master Password for your account.  Even LastPass doesn’t know what it is.  There is a lengthy process on recovering the password if you forget it, but it’s designed to prevent a hacker from accessing your information.
• Helps you generate unique passwords with various characters like C42$%!asdRTW492
  –Now if your Target account is hacked like in our scenario from earlier, there’s no need to panic.  Each password in your LastPass account is different.  Just update to a new password and go about your day.
• The tedious part is adding each website you use to the LastPass Vault. But once you do, you launch every site you want to access from the vault.  It takes you to the page and, in some cases, auto-logs you in.
  –If you are a service manager, this is a HUGE benefit.  You can set up a folder in your vault with all the login/passwords your technicians need (tech support websites, part lookups, etc.) and share the entire    library in a couple clicks.  You can even restrict your employees from seeing the password so they can access the account but not change the password.
  –If you have to let an employee go, you simply unshare the folder. Simple, fast, and the peace of mind knowing your accounts are secured from a disgruntled employee.

Getting a password manager configured is just the first step.  Look for future articles from us as we continue to discuss appliance repair and ways to keep your online accounts secure.

Special thanks to Fred’s Appliance Academy for this valuable tip!