Staying Safe Online · Passwords & Sign-ins · Lesson 3 of 5

Password Managers Made Simple

Let a password manager remember your passwords so you only remember one.

A safe place for all your passwords

If every account needs its own long password, how can anyone remember them all? You don't have to. A tool can do it for you.

A password manager is a program that saves your passwords and fills them in for you. Think of it as a locked notebook that lives on your computer and phone.

Here is what it does:

• It remembers the password for each site.
• It fills it in when you go to sign in.
• It can make up a new, strong password when you create an account.
• It can warn you if a password is weak, reused or was in a breach.

You may already have one. Your web browser can save passwords for you. When you sign in to a site, a small box may ask, "Save password?" That box is the browser's password manager.

A password manager also helps protect you from fake sites. It fills in your password only on the real web address it saved. If a fake site looks like your bank, the manager won't fill anything in. That is a useful clue.

Saving passwords this way is much safer than using the same one everywhere. Security agencies in the US and UK both recommend password managers.

Built-in managers and your main password

You don't need to buy anything to start. These come free:

• Microsoft Edge saves passwords to your Microsoft account. To see them, open Edge Settings and look for Passwords.
• Google Password Manager works in Chrome and on Android phones. It saves passwords to your Google account.
• The Passwords app comes on newer Mac computers, iPhones and iPads. It saves passwords to your Apple Account.

There are also separate password manager apps, like Bitwarden or 1Password, that work on any device.

All of these are protected by one main password. For Edge, Chrome or Apple, that is the password for your Microsoft, Google or Apple account. Some people call it the master password.

This one password is now very important. Make it a long passphrase of random words. Don't use it anywhere else.

Is it OK to write it down? At home, yes. A note kept in a safe place in your house, like a drawer or a locked box, is fine. A burglar is not likely to be after your email.

Just don't keep it on a sticky note on your screen, in your wallet, or in an email to yourself.