In my experience there are four types of people in this world: those that use the same one or two passwords for everything, those who write their passwords down, those who use “forgot password” every time they login, and finally those who use a formal password managers such as 1Password or Lastpass.

If you have ever said, “I don’t know my password it all unlocks with my face,” you might want to get comfortable and read on.

While the best practice for 99% of security measures is a multi-factor authentication (MFA) method, passwords are still the primary authentication method used around the world. So why are you storing the keys to your kingdom in a less secure fashion?

“Passwords are like underwear: don’t let people see it, change it very often, and you shouldn’t share it with strangers.”

– Chris Pirillo

TDI’s Top 5 Benefits for Choosing a Paid Password Management System over Native Password Storage

1. Encryption
2. Secure Password Sharing
3. Multi Factor Authentication
4. Cross Platform Compatibility
5. Customer Service & Technical Support

Encryption

If you are using a device specific, free password manager such as iKeychain or Samsung Pass chances are your passwords are encrypted in much less secure way. For example, at the time of this writing, iKeychain was employing a 3DES encryption method while both 1Password and Lastpass are utilizing AES. Without boring you with a lot of nerd speak, I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves. 3DES is limited to 56bit encryption, while AES can utilize up to 256bit encryption. You don’t have to be a techno rock start to identify the difference there.

Secure Password Sharing

Do you manage your water bill with your partner? How about a child’s gaming system account? Chances are unless you are living in a hole at some point you will need to share a password with somebody securely. Native password keepers do not offer this feature, but paid ones do! Allow family and friend’s limited access to the accounts you manage together while maintaining the same encryption levels you have yourself. Some paid password managers, allow you to share your password without revealing it in plain text to the authorized person.

Multi Factor Authentication

Have you ever put in a password then had to share a code to get into something? That’s multi factor authentication (MFA). If you are storing ALL of your passwords and critical data in a single place, why wouldn’t you do everything in your power to keep it secure? MFA is an easy way to add that extra layer of security, and free password managers do not offer this natively.

Cross Platform Compatibility

Apple may WANT everybody to have an iPhone in their hand, that just is not the case worldwide and in the US the Android-Apple gap is closing quickly. Unless you are using all iOS or all Samsung, including tablets, phones, and computers, chances are you will need to be able use your password manager across multiple different platforms. Maybe your partner has an iPhone and you have and Android. Perhaps your phone is an Android, but your tablet is iOS.

Customer Service and Technical Help

You get what you pay for, and while native password managers are pretty seamless nothing is perfect. Paying for your service provides you with Customer Service and Technical Help when necessary with fewer hassles, when compared to a free app.

Paying for additional do-dads and applications is never something that we take lightly, and while unlocking a website with your face seems very wave of the future it simply isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Our recommendation is always to explore more complete solutions. Our experts are experienced in the industry leading password management systems. If you or your business is needing assistance implementing contact us today.

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