Passwords, passwords everywhere!
Yahoo, Google, bank accounts, credit cards, medical accounts, insurance, schools… you name it, it just doesn’t end.
We’re in the electronic age, and everyone has a presence on the internet. This is great because it puts the information at your fingertips, but it also means that you will have a ton of passwords to keep track of.
I know that some folks tend to use one password for everything, but this is NEVER a good idea.
Here is an example of why:
My sister is a Mac user. All of a sudden, she started sending me some very odd advertising emails from her yahoo account. I told her that I thought her account got hacked, but she believed that since she’s a Mac user, she was protected. In the end, I was right. It turned out that hackers accessed her yahoo account. This is not difficult to do with a password cracker. In fact, it can be done in under 1.5 minutes for most passwords out there.
Because she had the same password for most of her other accounts, they also accessed her Facebook account and her google account. Once they did so, they changed all her passwords and effectively locked her out of those accounts. Then they proceeded to send spam messages on her behalf to everyone in her address book and friends list. It took her weeks to regain access to her accounts and get everything cleaned up. Now imagine the same thing happening to an online banking account. Can you imagine the damage that can be done?
It is for this very reason that I firmly believe everyone should keep a variety of different passwords. This, of course, brings up another security issue how do you remember all those passwords and how do you store them safely?
The solution is simple: password manager software.
There are many out there to choose from, like 1Password, Password Safe, KeyPass and so on. Deciding which one is the best is debatable and mostly dependent on personal preference. My favorite option, and the one I use, is Passpack.
Here are the details:
- What: Passpack Password Manager
- How much: free for up to 100 passwords
- Where: www.passpack.com
- Works with: most browsers– Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari
What Exactly Is Passpack?
Passpack is a tool with a plethora of credentials that provides the perfect way to keep your usernames and passwords both safe and organized. Using passpack is the solution that makes unprotected spreadsheets, scattered notes, and sprawled passwords written on random sheets of paper are a thing of the past. There are tons of benefits to using Passpack.
- This site is updated with advanced technology that allows you to sort through your passwords by searching through all stored account logins. This makes the storing and searching process as simple as possible. Passpack allows for collaboration of your entries that will be beneficial if you share an account with friends and family, or with those on your team.
- Your data remains encrypted, always. This means even if Passpack has a glitch, your usernames and passwords remain secure.
- Because Passpack is available on any browser, there is no need to adjust your preferred browser to be compatible with this tool. Passpack adjusts to you! There is even a Passpack app for your ultimate convenience.
- Passpack is a system that is all about making your life as free of issues as possible. You will be given a login button that is personalized for your identity. With this button, you can automatically login with one single click!
- You even have the ability to have the Passpack app stored on your devices and accessed offline automatically, or from any server.
- The best news is that since there is a free option as well as a paid option, you will be able to use this tool regardless of what your level of password security need is.
Who Needs Passpack?
If you are wondering who needs resources like this, the answer is simple: anyone who uses password secured online accounts. This pretty much means if you have any online presence, you need Passpack. If you own a business, use passwords for sites as an employee, or use usernames and passwords frequently for any work-related site, Passpack is for you.
If you manage your family’s online presence, meaning emails, bank accounts, and other things of this nature, this password keeping tool is for you. If you use any online resources for your work, this password manager is for you.
For me, as a freelancer, I need to keep track of plenty of client projects. This means once the job is completed, the password is no longer useful. I need to have a tool that allows me to store passwords, long term or temporary, as needed. Because a lot of the sites I work with belong to clients, it is imperative that I keep their passwords secure.
I also use tons of password protected tools and sites to do my work. I would never be able to remember all my various passwords. This is why my Passpack review is glowing. Because it works wonders for me in my career, and it may do the same for you!
Some additional benefits:
-Importing and exporting passwords is uncomplicated
-You can receive an infinite number of shared passwords
-It is hard to reach your password limit for the free option (100 passwords)
How Secure Is Passpack?
Passpack is as secure as a program can be. Of course, with any software, you will need to take a chance and choose which one has the best security features in order to trust the program. This is why doing research on specific credentials is such an important part of choosing a program to store your passwords in.
There are certain features that make Passpack an uber-secure system for each of your entries such as their identity theft protection services. Passpack chooses to never un-encrypt data. This means no matter what happens to their server, even if hacking or attempted identity theft takes place, they promise safety for your passwords as they will remain encrypted and secure in Passpack’s system.
With the two-factor authentication feature, your logging in will be protected and it will be nearly impossible for anyone who is not you to gain access to your passwords. Passpack promises not only to secure your passwords and login capabilities, but also to share them in a secure way with others.
Passpack even has blog posts on their site that tell their users in detail about the various security bugs and hacking attempts that have tried to infiltrate Passpack, and the specific ways in which they have combated these attempts. They also layout how they are constantly updating their security measures with malware solutions. Even under these circumstances where the software is having issues, Passpack assures all users that they need not worry about compromised credentials. Because of the way their security is set up, with encryption, all passwords remain safely stored.
Passpack Password Manager: Overview And Features
It’s a secure way to manage and organize your password. Built on AES-256 Encryption and host-proof hosting, it securely stores all of your passwords. Of course, if you use weak passwords, Passpack, or any other password manager cannot save you, so you have to ensure you use good/strong passwords to protect yourself.
Passpack has been around since 2006, and it was built with collaborative documentation in mind. This means it allows you to share passwords with others, like family or coworkers. You can manage and administer multiple projects, team members, clients, and employees, efficiently.
And remember how I told you not to ever lose your admin account password on your Surface? Yep, Passpack will help you remember it!
How to Set up Passpack
To setup Passpack, there are a few options to choose from:
- The first option is a free one, which is the most basic way to store passwords and access them automatically, either online or offline. This is a good option for those who have a minimal amount of online accounts.
- After the free choice, there are Premium Plans. The first Premium Plan is the “Professional” plan. This plan costs $18 per year. The features that come with this plan are 1,000 passwords, three shared users (for you and those you need to share passwords with), five groups can be formed with this plan, and more!
- The next plan is named “Group.” This plan costs $48 per year, and it is the best fit for just that, a group of people. This option stores 1500 passwords, has 15 shared users and has 25 groups.
- Next up is the “Team” option. This plan is $144 per year. It allows 2000 passwords to be stores, eight shared users, and 100 groups.
- The last option is the business plan which costs $480 per year. This plan allows storage of 10,000 passwords, 1000 shared collaborative users, and 300 groups. The specific needs vary from individual to small team, to a larger group, and lastly an entire business.
The best part of these options is that you will only need to purchase one account for any amount of collaborative users allowed, as opposed to purchasing a separate account. This ultimately gets you the best bang for your buck.
If you have not yet decided on which account you want to purchase, you can begin with the free account to test out Passpacks stored password system and upgrade later. If you purchase a plan that is not the right fit, there is a 30-day money back guarantee, so do not worry about being stuck!
Lastly, there is a 20 page long “Getting Started Guide,” which will walk you through every possible thing you need to know to best use Passpack to store your passwords.
Passpack Password Manager: Pros & Cons
Passpack Password Manager: Pros
- Easy to use
- Excellent encryption
- Two-factor authentication (also known as security assertion markup language)
- Sharing with others (like family or team members on a project)
- Super configurable
- Disposable logins
- 8 box login for added security
- Auto-login button
- Import\Export tools
Passpack Password Manager: Cons
- Charges after the first 100 accounts.
- No import from Excel
I personally love Passpack and recommend it to everyone. I started using it just about a year ago. I began with the free version and have since upgraded to the Pro version. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to no longer have to remember every single username and password for every service I am signed up with. I use Passpack extensively for all credit cards, bank accounts, online services, emails, such as gmail accounts and passwords for gmail users, business accounts and much more. Just yesterday I signed up for a FedEx account and added it to Passpack. I would give Passpack five (5) smilies because it definitely makes my life easier.
If you choose to use Passpack – great – but honestly, I don’t make any money by advertising for them; my point really is that you should use something to store your passwords safely. So, pick your favorite password manager to store your passwords, and enjoy security!
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