Ed BottMar 2, 2023

One thing I consistently hear from readers, even technically sophisticated ones who understand the importance of securing online accounts, is that their password management strategy is a mess.

At some point, they tried a password manager program, but the effort required to enter all those passwords was overwhelming and they gave up, leaving the job only partially complete.

Sound familiar?

I have a solution.

https://edbott.substack.com/p/get-your-passwords-organized-in-30

Get your passwords organized (in 30 minutes or less)

Set aside a half-hour, follow this three-step program. and you can dramatically improve your online security

Ed Bott's READ ME
Show threadkareljMar 3, 2023
@edbott What are your thoughts on the password managers that are built into Edge and Chrome?
Show threadEd BottMar 3, 2023

@karelj Covering that next week, but in the meantime, this article is still pretty accurate:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-it-ok-to-use-your-browsers-built-in-password-manager/

Password managers: Is it OK to use your browser’s built-in password management tools?

Every major browser on every platform includes built-in password management features. Is it safe to use these tools? More importantly, is it smart?

ZDNET
Show threadFrischaMar 3, 2023
@edbott @karelj this is good advice but I still can't be bothered to let my password manager log out every time I close my browser
Show threadEd Bott
@Frischa @karelj Can you explain in more detail why that bothers you? In some programs, you have the option to change the automatic sign-off settings. Which password manager are you using?
Mar 3, 2023 at 1:33pmElk
Show threadFrischaMar 3, 2023
@edbott I use bitwarden. If it logs out, then I have to retype the master password, which is annoying. There is a limit to how much annoyance I can take. There is no easy solution unfortunately that replaces using the same password everywhere.
Show threadEd BottMar 3, 2023

@Frischa Use the option to unlock with a PIN. "The pre-checked option **Lock with master password on browser restart** will require you to enter your master password instead of the PIN when your browser restarts. If you want the ability to unlock with a PIN even when the browser restarts, uncheck the option."

Full instructions here:

https://bitwarden.com/help/unlock-with-pin/

Unlock With PIN | Bitwarden

Learn how to add a PIN code to lock and unlock your Bitwarden Vault.

Bitwarden
Show threadFrischaMar 3, 2023
@edbott Thanks.