2025-03-06

Password Management

Continuing with "technical" topics, in this article I will address another delicate issue: managing our passwords.

At this point, everyone knows what bad practices are:

Using short passwords (less than ten characters is considered "short").
Using passwords based on names, words, dates, or easily remembered patterns.
Reusing passwords, including variations. I know many people have a "base" password and then add a suffix, for example: password-base_instagram, password-base_facebook, password-base_gmail...
Writing passwords down on paper or in unprotected text files.
Using the same password for multiple accounts.

However, the reality is that many people still fall into some of these bad habits. It’s understandable because to do almost anything online, we need to sign up and, therefore, create yet another password.

The solution: a password manager.

What is a password manager?

A password manager is an application, usually paired with a browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari), that helps us create and securely store passwords on our computer and mobile device.

When we sign up on a website, this extension suggests a secure password and automatically saves it. The next time we visit that website, the manager will enter our credentials for us.

With a password manager, we achieve:

Completely secure passwords.
A unique password for each account.
No need to remember or write down any passwords (except for the master password of the password manager).
The ability to change passwords at any time with the peace of mind that we won’t forget them.
- There are many password managers, some free and others paid. In my case, for my family, I have chosen 1Password, which is now one of the most widely used. With the family plan, each member has their own account and password list. Additionally, we can share passwords among ourselves for common services like Netflix or Amazon.

Other popular password managers:

Can I improve my security even further?

Yes! In addition to using a password manager, I recommend enabling two-factor authentication for the most important services, especially our email accounts.

Although 1Password can also manage this two-factor authentication, I recommend using a separate app like Authy, which is the one I currently use. Avoid SMS if possible.

Other popular options include:

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