Keep Your Online Accounts Safe by Using a Password Manager

Tech experts recommend that web users use a different—and complicated—password for each unique login to prevent hackers from stealing their personal info. Sadly, not many people seem to heed their advice: In a 2017 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 39 percent of respondents admitted to reusing passwords, and 25 percent said they chose simpler ones so they'd remember them.

Vox recommends beefing up your online security with a password manager. For the uninitiated, a password manager is an application that stores and organizes your passwords, so they’re available for your eyes only. You log in using a master password, but if that gets hacked, don’t worry; the password manager encrypts your data, so if someone else gets access, all they’ll see is scrambled letters and numbers. Adding convenience to security, most password managers have browser plug-ins that fill in your passwords for you, so you won’t have to reference your digital vault each time you log into an account.

Looking for a password manager? WIRED recommends LastPass and Dashlane. In addition to keeping your passwords secure, both also have a password generator that creates strong passwords and saves them for you. Both are free, but if you want to sync your passwords between your phone and desktop, you’ll need to upgrade to paid versions. (Dashlane Premium costs $40 per year and LastPass Premium will set you back about $12.)