Here’s a new year’s resolution you can definitely stick with the entire year: this year you should aim to make better passwords.
Happy new year! I was hard at play this holiday season but have returned to serve you with the juiciest, most useful tech tidbits around. Top on my resolution list this year: have a more secure cyber life in 2015.
The easiest place to start? Online passwords. It’s a FACT: strong passwords are the best way to ward off cyber sketchiness and protect yourself online. But remembering passwords and registering for new websites with new passwords is a pain. Does your idea of a sophisticated password involve some derivation of the below?
My quick take: Dashlane, a service tech guru David Pogue has called “life-changingly great.” John Legere, CEO of TMobile, tweeted recently that it is the “most useful website subscription ever? YEP! I’m a fan of this.” So, yeah, it has some street cred.
Dashlane is a paid password management service (there is a free version that gets high praise, but here is one area where I don’t mind splurging on the $39.95 version for a more comprehensive solution) that recently unveiled a beta features that allows you change every single password you have with a click. Sign up to get access to it here. We’re talking everything from Citibank to Facebook to Amazon changed in a second! The only password you need to remember is the one 8-character one you use to log into Dashlane. The best part is that Dashlane doesn’t have access to your information, it is encrypted even from them.
What it is: Dashlane has a dozen helpful features to make cyber life simple and safer. I like auto-login, where you will never have to type any password on any of your devices again. Another great feature is automatic alerts when websites get breached. And have you ever wondered how a loved one might be able to access your must-have information in case of emergency? With Dashlane, you can add an emergency contact to make sure essential accounts can be access by those who need to, when needed.
Digital wallet features give the option to never have to store your credit cards on sites that you don’t completely trust. Generate strong new passwords with the help of the site, save them to your Dashlane vault and autofill them as you browse. There are so many time saving features with this one product.
The fine print:
There are other competitive options out there like 1-password and LastPass but the “change all your passwords in 1 click” feature is something that sets Dashlane apart from the pack.
Dashlane users have had a few complaints – mostly with the free version – so pay for the subscription version especially if you use multiple devices regularly.
Get it now: Available for iOS and Android
