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One Step Ahead: Strong Passwords Made Easy With a Password Manager

Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy

Many users are overwhelmed with creating and remembering strong passwords for many online accounts they access at work and at home. Consequently, users tend to reuse the same passwords for multiple accounts, which could jeopardize accounts that use the same shared password if an account were to become compromised.

If you think creating complex passwords is tasking, there is a solution. Use a password manager.

Password managers store passwords and other sensitive data in an encrypted vault accessed with a master password – you have only one password to remember.

What else can a password manager do for you?

  1. Generate unique passwords that meet complex password rules.
  2. Access password-protected accounts in seconds, no typing required.
  3. Save sensitive information like security questions or notes in an encrypted format.
  4. Access your passwords using multiple email addresses: Penn and/or a personal email address.
  5. Auto-fill information in online forms.
  6. Save passwords when accessing an online account automatically after you install the plugin feature.
  7. Automatically back up and sync your passwords across all your desktop and mobile platforms.

If you don’t already use a password manager, we recommend LastPass. The University supplies LastPass Premium password management to eligible affiliates of the Penn community. It is free, secure, and provides you with the features mentioned above and more. To start using LastPass, visit https://www.isc.upenn.edu/how-to/lastpass

For questions on LastPass or using password managers, contact your school or center’s IT support staff.

For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/security/news-alerts#One-Step-Ahead

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