What is a password manager and how does it work

A  study on password usage revealed that 24% of users use the same password on all internet sites. This poses an extremely high risk in the vulnerability of personal and company data.

In order to protect the accounts, each account must have a strong and unique password to reduce hacker attacks. With so many applications being used on a daily basis, it is impossible to remember every single password. For this, it will be good for you to have a password manager. But what is a password manager?

What is a password manager?

A password manager is a system security, a program that lets you create unique passwords for each of your accounts makes it possible to keep them in a safe place and access them through an extension in the web browser or through an app. So, it can be used with your computer, smartphone or tablet.

With a password manager in your company, you can safely share passwords between employees, so you no longer have to write them down on a paper note, in a document or send them by e-mail, thus reducing the risk that someone will be seize them.  

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Security measures provided by password managers

Now that you know what a password manager is, we list the security measures that they can provide you at the business level.

• Brute force attacks: In this type of attack, a hacker uses different techniques in order to decrypt the password, so the longer and more complicated the password, the more difficult it will be to decipher it. Using a password manager will protect you against this type of attack by allowing you to generate strong passwords using random characters.
• Injection of code in the database: These attacks are aimed at companies that manage a significant number of users and therefore have many combinations of emails and passwords in their databases. A few days ago, a password manager will warn you if you use the same password more than once and allow you to easily change it if it is compromised.
• Password theft: A password written down on a paper note, in a notebook on the computer or in another format is in danger of being seized by another person with malicious intent. The study that 21% of users use documents or spreadsheets to save passwords. This security risk can be avoided with a password manager removes as it keeps them in a safe and encrypted place.

Importance of using strong passwords in times of telecommuting

The situation with the coronavirus pandemic has made many companies implement teleworking, this has been a challenge in order to maintain security in remote connections between the company and users. Therefore, it is vital to have security tools to protect connections and thus avoid vulnerabilities in the system.

Apart from this, it is recommended that companies implement a password management policy, which encourages the use of strong passwords, something that password managers offer.

Study reveals that only 38% of small and medium-sized companies use a password manager. 24% write down their passwords on a sheet and 20% share them with colleagues. This scenario is worrysome, as it shows that most companies do not give due importance to password management, exposing them to a security breach.  

Functions of a password manager

It is important not only to know what a password manager is and what it does, but also to know how to choose one that suits the needs of your company. So, you should keep in mind that it meets at least these characteristics:

• Ability to track the use of passwords and generate reports: a function that allows monitoring aspects such as who has accessed certain accounts, from what IP and for how long.
• Two-factor authentication: characteristic that makes it possible to verify user access to the password manager, using at least two types of verification.
• VPN connection included: function that adds an extra layer of security when using the password manager from remote connections since it encrypts the communication. There is also specialized software for this type of security .
• Password audit: feature of the manager that analyzes which passwords are weak and suggests changing them.

You already know what a password manager is and the advantages they bring in the business environment. But are they legit?

Can you trust a password manager?

Although they do not completely shield us against cyberattacks, we can benefit from the advantages of a password manager. We list two reasons why you can trust them:

• They prevent password reuse attacks, in the event that a hacker seizes one of your passwords, they will not be able to use it in the rest of your accounts, since the password manager prevents you from using the same password in more than one account .
• They protect you against phishing, which is one of the very widespread techniques that puts many users at risk. In this type of attack, websites or e-mails are created that redirect you to a site with a design very similar to the company they want to impersonate, asking you to enter your access data. with all the costs that this implies. In this case, a password manager will warn you of this attack and will not allow you to enter your data.

All the information that is on the internet is vulnerable to suffering some type of attack and implanting a password manager does not mean that our passwords will always be safe. But it is recommended to use it over other systems, as it adds one or more extra security levels to company data. Not having one can make the company more susceptible to a security breach, something that can result in significant losses for the company.