Updated: May 16, 2021
The good book says to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. Same rule applies with tech tools. When you use a tool for what it isn’t primarily intended for, you will definitely get results you never bargained for. And MOSTLY not in a good way. That is what happens when you use a web browser to save passwords, instead of surfing the internet.
Asking your browser to remember and save your login information is very convenient, but far from secure. This is because all a malicious actor needs to glean all that precious information is access to your PC. Passwords saved within a browser are NOT encrypted, they are saved in plain text. The image below is a screenshot of a password saved within a Firefox browser. Notice how the presumably safe information is all displayed unceremoniously?
To get to this page on your Firefox browser;
Click on the Menu Icon in the top-right corner of your web browser. It is depicted here as 3 horizontal dashes stacked.
Once it opens up, you’ll see the heading – Logins & Passwords.
Clicking on the ‘eye’ next to the password reveals all the juicy details, in plain-text no less.
You can seek out passwords stored in other browsers (Google Chrome, Safari, Opera) in a similar fashion, albeit with slightly differing procedures. But the point has been made. Ask your browser to help you remember your login details at your own risk!
So what then is the better option? Password Managers. Download and use a password manager; on your phone, on your tablet, on your PC. There are several that offer premium quality services for no fee at all. You would want to check out LastPass, 1Password, and NordPass. All three have really good free services, with the option to pay for more features. Password Managers do not only provide vaults for storing passwords, they can also be used to generate really strong passwords at will. And the icing on the cake? You don’t have to remember a single one of them! All you need to memorize is ONE Master Password for your vault, and your password manager takes care of everything else.
Amazing, right? We absolutely agree.
All we are saying is, saving your passwords in your browser is super easy and convenient, no doubt. But what about the security of your data? We are now all too aware how playfully easy it is to retrieve browser-saved login credentials. Do you still want to risk your security for convenience?
In our bid to help make sure your password skills are top notch, we put together this FREE and fun Password Quiz for you. Who said learning can't be fun?!