Internet users seem to be waking up everyday to news of big corporate accounts getting hacked. Despite repeated cautions to keep passwords complicated and unique to each account, the breaches and hacks are becoming a common phenomenon. If you think you are not important enough to be hacked and continue to keep a simple password or use the same password for multiple accounts, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll find yourself staring at one of the most scary and disturbing experiences ever. Because you simply don’t know how much of your personal information has been exposed to unknown persons and what they will do with such info.
Password managers are a pretty good thing to rely on, especially when it comes to creating and securing your passwords. There are plenty of password managers out there that offer a host of great features for free, but for some extra dough, you can get some powerful features to go with them. If you are just an individual person looking for the best password manager that is available for free, we examine the features that three of the best password management tools offer.
LastPass vs RoboForm vs Dashlane
LastPass
- Password Manager: LastPass remembers your passwords while you remember just one.
- Devices: Windows, Mac, Linux (No mobile support)
- Security: Uses industry-leading AES 256 encryption technology
- Notes: Lets you create secured notes for your data.
- Multifactor Authentication: Offers an added layer of security for your master password
- Auto Form Filler: You never have to type repeated data on forms again
- Backup: Automatically backs up your files so you always have a secure digital copy
- Password Generator: Has a built-in generator to help you create strong, unique passwords.
- Support: Email
- Easy Import: You can easily import passwords stored in browsers and other password managers.
- Security Challenge: Lets you check your security score and weed out the weak passwords and duplicates
- Get notified: You can also set LastPass to notify you when your security is breached
- Compatible Browsers: Chrome, Dolphin Browser, Firefox, Firefox Mobile, Internet Explorer, Maxthon, Opera, and Safari
RoboForm
- Password Manager: You remember one master password, RoboForm remembers the rest.
- Devices: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile
- Security: Uses industry-leading AES 256 encryption technology
- Multifactor Authentication: Offers an added layer of security
- Auto Form Filler: Great for online shopping
- Cloud Backup: With RoboForm Everywhere, you can sync and backup your data to the cloud
- Password Generator: Use the built-in generator to build strong unique passwords.
- Support: Free 24/7 email and live chat support
- Ads: No ads in the free version
- Payment: No credit card details required
- Limited Usage: Free usage up to 10 saved logins
Dashlane
- Password Manager: Takes care of all your password management needs
- Devices: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
- Security: Uses industry-leading AES 256 encryption technology
- Multifactor Authentication: Offers an added layer of security with with Google Authenticator
- Auto Form Filler: Fill it once and just click to fill up forms the next time
- Password Generator: Has a built-in generator to help you create strong, unique passwords.
- Security Challenge: Can check your security score on the dashboard
- Get notified: Receive alerts when your account is compromised
- Sharing: Allows up to 5 passwords to be shared securely with others
- Compatible Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari
Conclusion
All three password managers are great. They offer more or less the same services in their free package. LastPass has a great user friendly UI with multiple multifactor authentication options but doesn’t offer mobile app services in their free plan, no secure sharing of passwords and all data is stored in the cloud. The free version of RoboForm lets you access all the functionalities of the paid service (RoboForm Everywhere) but limits usage to 10 logins. This may be a serious downside to anybody who is looking for a password manager to manage all their online accounts. Dashlane is very easy to use and offers limited sharing in the free version. It offers basic support on iOS and Android platforms but is known to have issues logging in to certain pages. It also has only one multifactor login when compared to LastPass.
I have used both Dashlane and LastPass and after using them for awhile, decided to go the way of LastPass and have had no regrets thus far. If you are concerned about security, weight the various options and narrow them down to one or two tools. Don’t be lazy about trying more than one tool to see which works best for you. In the end, you’re going to be a winner, whichever of these three password managers you decide to use.
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