If there's one thing we learned from Equifax's catastrophic breach: many people don't create unique passwords.
The attack that occurred in September of 2017 exposed the private information of over 140 million American users, including their names, birthdays, addresses, and social security numbers. Oh, and well… the credit card numbers of about 209.000 people.
Plus, it doesn’t help to learn that Equifax got confused and directed the victims to a fake support website that used phishing to steal passwords for about two weeks.
But hey, at least password security regained some popularity, right? It’s a nice example that pushes us to do what we should have already: reinforce those good ol’ passwords.
Here at Prey, we focus on data protection and tracking lost/stolen devices, but there are many kinds of threats out there, so we highly recommend the use of a password manager. You’ll avoid embarrassing attacks (like Equifax’s “admin” – “admin” credentials), and safeguard your company from legal, financial, and reputation damage.
Guaranteeing the security of all systems and information of a company is one of the top priorities of a CTO and CIO.
We know you’ve got a tight schedule, so we decided to give you a hand. We checked over a bazillion online reviews (okay, maybe a couple of dozen…) and selected the top 5 password managers of this year.
Here are the top Password Managers of 2021!
LastPass Business | Creator: LastPass | Score: 4/5 in PC Mag
LastPass’ motto is: “the last password you’ll ever need”, and, according to TheWireCutter, they deliver properly.
This software lets you access your information with a single password key. This is really useful if you tend to mix up your pins, credit cards, bank accounts, and software passwords.
Another cool feature is that it allows you to protect attached files, like images and PDFs. It also stores all data in a cloud.
Their app can be accessed through browser extensions or a desktop app, which allows the use of the software in offline mode. Their offer is solid and their features complete, and thus it is considered as the top option by many specialists.
If you want to learn more about its business features, read G2’s article.
Dashlane Business | Creator: Dashlane | Score: 4.5/5 in G2Crowd
Dashlane Business covers everything that’s required of an excellent password manager, but TheNextWeb highlights it because of its business-only features, loved by all IT crews.
One of its options allows users to share passwords, create and organize password categories, and limit-revoke-assign privileges to all employees according to their access level.
Dashlane for Business also offers a great dashboard interface that gives you visibility of your password’s health on all devices. If there’s a duplicate or a weak key, you’ll know it right away.
What’s more, Dashlane offers VIP support to corporate users, while bigger teams have their own Customer Success Manager.
1Password | Creator: AgileBits Inc | Score: 4.7/5 in G2 Crowd
One user writes “the user experience is simple and intuitive. But beneath the surface lies many powerful, well-designed features.”
Business plans start at $7.99 per user per month and include free family accounts.
These plans also include access to Advanced Protection plans allowing you to set Master password policies, enforce two-factor authentication team-wide, review sign in attempts, and more.
But the software extends beyond just passwords. With 1Password, you can store and encrypt sensitive personal information such as IDs and travel documents.
Read PCMagazine’s extensive review.
Secret Server | Creator: Thycotic | Score: 9.3/10 in IT Central Station
After reading SC magazine’s review, it’s clear that Secret Server by Thycotic is one of the top password managers around. It allows you to manage different accounts at different locations and servers, to begin with.
Besides, it protects both passwords and electronic documents. If you need to manage remote sessions and create random passwords with special privileges, they got your back!
Installation-wise, it only needs a Windows server with IIS and an SQL server to create the back-end database. However you can still install it locally, or in a shared environment across businesses.
Keeper | Creator: Keeper Security | Score: 4.8 in G2Crowd
Keeper has a clear focus that makes it stand out and differentiate from other password managers: security. They add extra layers to steps like changing passwords and avoid having global credentials to offer an alternative to LastPass that focuses on a solution that couldn’t be potentially dangerous too.
At the cost of $3.75 per user (monthly), you get a management platform that utilizes AES-256 bit encryption with a zero-knowledge structure that even blocks the software from knowing what your master password is. Plus, it is SOC 2 compliant, which means Keeper ensures the Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, and Privacy of all data stored online.
Aside from all security specifications, Keeper provides the standard pack of features with an online management platform, unlimited device slots and password storage, security audits, online backups, and safe login measures.
Conclusion
Did any of your employees lose a laptop with private data? Don’t panic, at least not a lot (we can help with that).
You’re done with those lame, weak passwords that end up written on a post-it and stuck in a wall. A good password means your first line of defense is solid.
With a password manager, your access keys will be as the IT gods intended them: strong and unique for each different account.
The best part is that your keys will be safe, encrypted, and organized. Forget about memorizing dozens of accesses, one master password is enough to get access to them.
