For a long time, I used the Roboform program to store my passwords to sites and fill out web forms for registering on various sites (everything was fine with it, except for the fact that it was paid).
But somehow I got tired, constantly before reinstalling the operating system, first save the folder the specified program, which is responsible for storing information with logins and passwords to my sites.
Then, after reinstallation, again look for a new version of it and carry out manipulations with the replacement of files and folders. And then the unexpected happened, after the failure of the operating system, I lost access to all data.
Information Recovery Specialist hard drive I don’t consider myself, so I didn’t restore anything, but set myself 2 tasks: 1 - find a free and reliable password manager; 2- have access to all your passwords and logins from anywhere where there is an internet connection.
While searching for an alternative password manager, I found a browser add-on (Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera) called LastPass Password Manager with all the features that I need (remembering logins and passwords, filling out web forms, a password generator) and moreover, you don’t have to pay for these functions.
Plus, the data is stored in encrypted form, to which only you have access. The add-on showed excellent work for more than six months. Let's do the installation using the Firefox Internet browser as an example.
After installation, restart the browser by clicking the "Restart now" link.
The browser is reloaded and a window appears with the beginning of the LastPass setup procedure, where the first thing we need to do is select the language and click the "Create an account" button.
In the next window, enter a valid address Email, the most important master password (it must be remembered or written down somewhere if we suffer from forgetfulness. We will need it to gain access to all our passwords and the manager's control panel.
We create a reminder for the password (optional), put a mark in the field “I have read and agree to the Terms of Use”. Next, check the "I understand that my encrypted data will be sent to LastPass" box. We select the remaining items as desired and click on "Create an account".
We read extremely important information, enter your main master password again and click "Create an account".
We import or not (optional) our logins and passwords from other storages of confidential information on the computer and click on the "Continue" button.
You can immediately set up information to fill out web forms.
At the last step, we accept Congratulations on the successful installation and click on the "Continue" button.
PASSWORD MANAGER
Automatically get into the online storage of your account.
A proprietary manager button appears in the right corner of the browser with the functions we need.
For the most convenient use of the password manager, I would recommend going into the settings, unchecking the "Use compact toolbar" box.
We will get a convenient control panel on top of the entire line in the browser. Now, when you enter your login and password on any site, LastPass will offer to save information.
You can now use the drop-down list of website names to access any website you want top panel manager's control.
A convenient feature is the import of all logins and passwords from various popular managers.
Worth mentioning is the perfectly customizable password generator.
Now, after reinstalling the operating system, whether it's Windows or Linux, all you need to do is install the LastPass Password Manager add-on and all your confidential data is back with you.
In conclusion, I will say that Google browser Chrome, its version for some reason has fewer settings (in particular, I did not find how to turn off the compact toolbar to display the manager in the entire browser line). I will also mention that this password manager has not been tested in Opere.
Responsible for a separate section of the menu. However, it is far from convenient for all users - without synchronization enabled, this data is stored locally, and if HDD will become unusable, there will be fatal problems with operating system, the saved data for authorization is easy to lose without the possibility of recovery. In addition, even with synchronization enabled, the user binds himself to a specific browser. Third-party tools avoid all these inconveniences while keeping personal data safe. In particular, this applies to LastPass, an add-on with a proven track record and useful features.
The main purpose of this add-on is to store all the passwords that you enter when authorizing on sites in the cloud. Thanks to this, it is not at all necessary to be tied to one browser - just install the extension on another device, log in under the same account and easily access any sites for which passwords have already been saved earlier. Creating your LastPass account is very simple:
- Install extension from Firefox Browser Add-ons using the site search or the link below.
- Confirm the installation with the corresponding button.
- After that, you will need to register in it: click on the LastPass icon that will appear to the right address bar, and click on the button "Accept".
- Will open new page in a web browser where you need to go through the registration process. To get started, enter a valid email address. The email address must be valid so that if you lose your LastPass password, you can recover it.
- The password service requires complex: from 12 characters, containing at least 1 lowercase and 1 capital letter, and also with at least 1 digit. Be sure to include a hint that will help you recover the key if you forget it.
Once an account has been created, you will need to make your first save. It works like this: open the site, password from account you want to save to LastPass. Pass standard procedure authorization. The extension will ask for permission to save the password, confirm this with the button Add.
As an experiment, log out of this site, and you will see that even if you do not remember the password in Mozilla Firefox itself, the login data will be substituted. If you have several accounts from one site, click on the button in the login or password input field and select the desired option. Different authorization data from accounts will become available only after you log in to them one by one.
Local encryption
Feature of the work this extension is that all encryption that occurs in LastPass is carried out locally using a unique key, which is why passwords, even in encrypted form, are not transmitted to the company's server. This case uses AES-256 and PBKDF2 SHA-256 technologies. Thanks to this, the user does not have to worry about entering confidential information into the memory of the add-on: it will not be possible for unauthorized persons to recognize them. Additionally, each important action accompanied by the requirement to re-enter the password - this helps to protect personal data from other users who are at the computer in your absence.
Personal Vault
Each registered user is provided with a profile in which he can manage various functions. To do this, click on the extension button and go to "Open my vault".
Most importantly, here you can view all the passwords you have ever saved in LastPass, sorting them and distributing them into folders.
For each password, if you click on the wrench button in the tile with it, you can configure several additional options: view the login, password, add a note, folder, the need to enter a master password before entering the password in the authorization form, enable automatic login to the site with these data, disabling autofill (specifically, these login and password will not be automatically substituted in the corresponding fields on the login page Personal Area this site). There is even an option to add a password to favorites and send it to a person you trust by mail.
Despite the name, in addition to the passwords themselves, this extension is allowed to store some other data. Namely: notes, addresses/phone numbers, payment cards, bank accounts. Thus, you will be able to quickly access any of this confidential information using a computer, mobile device or Apple Watch where the LastPass app is available. The same goes for them: notes, numbers credit cards and others can be easily viewed, sorted, distributed. All this is also easily edited and removed when some information is changed or outdated.
Here it is also proposed to use secondary features, which we will not dwell on, but will partially consider further (since they are part of the extension menu), produce some basic settings account. Russian language interface, unfortunately, is not here.
Viewing Recently Used Login Passwords
This item and others are called through the menu, which can be opened by clicking on the extension icon, as we said above. Therefore, in the future we will not dwell on this, but simply indicate the names of the points. Now we will talk about "Recently Used".
Here you will see a list of the last logins and passwords that were used to enter the sites. By the way, this is a convenient thing not only for the account owner himself, but also for the purpose of checking confidentiality. Data cannot be erased from here, unlike browser history, so if someone was at your computer and entered sites without your knowledge, looking into "Recently Used" you will definitely know about it, even if the web browser history has been cleaned up.
By clicking on any item, you can either go to the site itself, or edit the authorization data or completely remove the login / password combination from LastPass.
Viewing personal information
Earlier, we clarified that in addition to passwords, notes, card numbers and other data are entered into the extension. Via item "All Items" you can not only quickly view them, but also add a new item. This is convenient because the need to go to personal account disappears. In the future, all this information can be used to quickly register on sites, pay for some purchases, bills without having to manually enter payment information.
Adding personal information
These most personal data can be easily entered into the extension by going through the menu to the section "Add item". Here you can choose from several thematic templates at once, where you can enter necessary information. Some of them are not applicable to our country, however, in general, the fields are relevant to fill in, and thus you can enter data on health insurance, driver's license, passport, etc. All this is further available for viewing through your personal account.
Complex password generation
The extension prompts users to create complex passwords that cannot be hacked by attackers. Going to "Generate Secure Password", you are prompted to set the length of the future key, specify its type (easy to pronounce, easy to read, with uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols). If you don't like the result, change its parameters or just regenerate it.
Additional account options
In addition to all these features, there are also a few technical and minor features that some may find useful. Menu section "Account Options" you will find the following additional options:
Summing up, it should be said that LastPass is a fairly functional extension that has no analogues in its usefulness for all those who actively work with sites on the Internet. LastPass is not very suitable for beginners who do not want to understand its functions and are not going to pay for providing advanced features. After registration, you get 30 days of premium use as a gift, after which you will have to purchase the PRO version according to the service rates for receiving it (check the list of options that open when you purchase Premium - you probably simply don’t need them). However, for the usual storage of passwords, LastPass is also successfully used: using it, you can easily use different browsers and on different devices, automatically obtaining and managing authorization data wherever this add-on is installed.
First and most simple option is the default password manager for Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Vivaldi. Almost all modern browsers can save and automatically insert logins and passwords into the required fields. Yes, this option cannot be called very functional, since it lacks some additional features such as a reliable combination generator and secure notes. But you can use it completely free of charge, and there is synchronization between various devices, which only works, of course, if you use the same browser everywhere.
Simplicity, accessibility, free. Synchronization between different devices.
− Low functionality and security.
1Password
1Password has been around for over eight years, but has always been overshadowed by LastPass due to its rather high cost. It can store passwords, data bank cards, software licenses and other confidential information in a protected virtual storage. This repository can be located on a remote server or local device. It is possible to sync via Wi-Fi, Apple iCloud or Dropbox. The developers paid special attention to security and encryption algorithms, so this service was not seen in high-profile scandals.
Reliability, cross-platform, functionality, synchronization.
− High price.
KeePass
If you are looking for a free solution and are not afraid of difficulties, then you should definitely try KeePass. It's completely open project, created by independent developers. He possesses huge amount opportunities thanks to the presence of a whole arsenal of various add-ons, plug-ins and auxiliary utilities. However, in return, you will have to come to terms with the typical shortcomings of free software in the form of high complexity of development and instability of some elements.
The password database created in KeePass is stored as a single file, which can be placed on a hard drive or in some cloud service. In the latter case, you can implement data synchronization between different devices. There are plug-ins for popular browsers that, with varying degrees of success, provide substitution of logins and passwords on desired pages. In addition, KeePass is also available on mobile devices.
Free, functional, secure.
− A solution for geeks who will be able to select and properly configure all the necessary components.
Dashlane
This password storage service appeared relatively recently, but has already managed to prove itself with positive side. Dashlane has a nice look, good functionality and ease of use. The password database is stored in the cloud in encrypted form, there is synchronization between clients for various platforms(Mac, PC, iOS and Android). Among additional features it is necessary to highlight the function of automatic filling of forms, a password generator, the ability to change passwords in one click and convenient tools for online shopping. But all this splendor can fade for you if you want to use data synchronization between different devices. To do this, you have to buy an annual subscription for $ 39.99, which, you see, is a lot.
Appearance, reliability, cross-platform, digital wallet.
− High cost, no possibility of local storage of passwords.
And which password manager will you choose if LastPass does become paid?
Let's start from the very beginning. What are password managers for anyway? We use many online services every day: mail, instant messengers, social networks, blogs, forums, payment systems, dating, entertainment, etc. Each system requires a separate account and its own password.
For simplicity, using the same password over and over is extremely unsafe, because if one of your accounts is hacked, the domino principle will work, and attackers will gain access to other accounts. Remember set different passwords basically unrealistic. There is an option to generate passwords according to some principle known only to you, but this is also not always safe and convenient.
Password managers come to the rescue - programs that securely collect and store your passwords. Your task is only to remember one master password from the manager itself (the so-called master password). Very comfortably!
That is why lately all personal "anti-virus combines" (programs of the class internet security and above) are provided with similar functionality. But such products are not suitable for everyone and not everyone can afford, so it's interesting to take a closer look at decent free password managers that, as it turns out, exist.
LastPass is a completely free personal password manager that is designed to create, store and manage passwords for various Internet sites. LastPass does not know how to work with programs other than browsers, so we will refer to it as a browser-based password manager for clarity.
So, let's see what kind of animal it is. After installing the program from www.lastpass.com to Mozilla browsers Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer special plugins and toolbars are added. I must say right away that the manufacturer's website indicates support for Google Chrome, but in fact it is not (at least it does not work on Windows 7 x64 and Google Chrome 5.0).
An important feature of LastPass is that the program stores all your passwords "in the cloud", i.e. on the remote server vendor in a special personalized storage Vault. At its core, LastPass is not even a program, but a service. It has its big pluses and also big minuses.
The upside is that you can use LastPass-stored passwords on any computer that has Internet access. No need to think about backing up the database, exporting and importing to other computers, synchronization, etc. actions that negate all the convenience of using a password manager.
The downsides, of course, are the lack of control over the remote storage and the risks that the server or your main account (master password) will be hacked, and all passwords in bulk will go to the black market.
Important! When registering, set the strongest possible master password, which you will be guaranteed to remember.
LastPass has a feature to export saved passwords from browsers, which allows you to export saved passwords from browsers after installation.
Let's see the program in action with a few examples. When registering on a website, LastPass automatically detects password fields (from the tag attribute ) and offers to generate and save in your database secure password for him. There is an option to choose a password option, as well as fine tuning generation (number of characters and their type).
If you manually enter your password on a site, LastPass automatically prompts you to save the password in its database. If necessary, you can refuse to save the password, which is relevant, for example, for Internet banking (it is better not to trust these passwords to anyone or anything).
As a result, your personal LastPass Vault after some time will look something like this. In the same place, if necessary, you can make notes on passwords, export or import passwords, etc.
When you enter a site that requires authorization, the password for which was previously saved, the password manager will offer to log in or do it automatically (there is a special option). This opportunity gives more than convenience. You do not type passwords from the keyboard and the risk of them being intercepted by malware is minimized.
The LastPass settings are quite sufficient. can be customized appearance programs, alert functions and some important security features (see pictures below).
An interesting feature of LastPass is the built-in audit of the strength of the passwords used. When generating passwords, their strength is shown on a special scale (see above), but you can quickly check the strength of all passwords, including old ones.
The results of the password strength analysis are given as % of the ideal, in my case it turned out to be almost 69% - there is something to work on.
Here are some statistics on average password length, repeated passwords, weak passwords, and more. You can see the strength analysis for each password separately in a special table, but for obvious reasons I will not give it here :)
In conclusion, I can say that for me personally, the functionality of LastPass was sufficient. Testing for several months did not reveal any significant shortcomings (except for the lack of Google support Chrome). Most of my passwords are related to web services, and the browser-based password manager optimizes working with them and saves a lot of time. The functions of automatic login to sites, generation of strong passwords, auto-completion of forms according to templates, export / import of the database and analysis of the strength of all passwords in general are very useful.
Once again, I want to draw your attention to the fact that the passwords saved in LastPass are stored on a remote server. The pros and cons of this have been described above. If for some reason you do not trust cloud services”, then you should look for some other password manager.
Password managers are discussed on our forum.
You can see the product in action, though with comments in English. language.
About upcoming significant changes in the system Firefox add-ons. To ensure cross-browser compatibility, the developers of Firefox and other browsers have adopted a common API called WebExtensions . Support for a common API will reduce the cost of cross-platform development for companies like ours that have to release and maintain extensions for multiple browsers. While migrating to WebExtensions brings a number of benefits for developers, browsers, and users, we want to prepare LastPass users to migrate from the previous Firefox add-on to the new one.
We've been supporting two versions of LastPass for Firefox for over a year now. Stable version 3.x published in the store Firefox extensions, and version 4.x, which is in development, is published on the LastPass.com website.
While this created some confusion for LastPass users, we maintained the "old" version to retain the Firefox-like user interface that our users preferred. In the meantime, we have continued to develop version 4.x in accordance with the changes that Mozilla implements. But in light of the recent news that Mozilla will move to full WebExtensions by the end of 2017, we have to say goodbye to LastPass version 3.x for Firefox.
We will release the latest version of the add-on on March 31, 2017. The latest version of the add-on is expected to roll out to all users of version 3.3.2 within a few days after review by Mozilla. You can manually update the Firefox add-on now or wait automatic update in April. After that, only version 4.x will be available, both on addons.mozilla.org and LastPass.com. Add-on users for Firefox versions 3.x, this update will bring all of the latest LastPass core logic and performance improvements that we've implemented, as well as latest interface user. Based on user feedback, we also recommend that you check out the tile and list views in the 4.x interface to find the best view for you.
LastPass 3.x Interface
LastPass 4.x Interface
In addition to implementing the changes made by Mozilla, we believe that the new version of our Firefox add-on is much more user-friendly overall. We know that change is not always pleasant. We're listening to your feedback and making thoughtful and informed changes while unifying the LastPass experience across all browsers and platforms.
Of course, the transition to new version The add-on will not affect your LastPass account or any data in your vault in any way. You will still have full access to your account at any time from any browser and from any device.
As always, you can contact our support team if you have any questions or concerns regarding this transition.