Woman with password on phone

How to Store and Manage Your Passwords Easily Across All Shopping Platforms

by Northern Life

Staying safe while online shopping

If you regularly find yourself using multiple different online stores, then you might have difficulty managing all of the different login details attached to your various accounts.

Why Password Security Matters for Online Shopping

Online shopping

 

Keeping your passwords protected will lower the risk of your account being compromised and fraud being perpetrated against you. However, handling your passwords yourself is often risky since there’s an inherent tension between devising passwords that are difficult to crack and those that are easy for you to remember.

You’ll need to sync your manager across all of the devices you use for shopping, including laptops, desktops, and mobile phones.

A breach isn’t always easy to spot. Often, you might not realise that your identity has been stolen until long after the fact. This might leave a vulnerability in place for months or even years.

If you’re repeatedly using the same password, the problem might be even worse. An intruder might gain access to not just one account but several dozen of them.

What is a Password Manager and How Does it Work?

There exists a simple way of addressing this problem, and that’s with the help of a password manager. These systems will store all of your passwords in a central location, protecting them with additional layers of security, like multi-factor authentication. A good password manager will also suggest strong passwords for new sites on your behalf, meaning that you won’t have to compose passwords yourself or reuse old ones.

How to Set Up a Password Manager

Woman with laptop and credit card

There are a number of different password managers to choose from, but they all function in essentially the same way. You’ll need to sync your manager across all of the devices you use for shopping, including laptops, desktops, and mobile phones. You’ll be prompted to enter the PIN for the device in question or use a biometric login before you’re shown the passwords. This will help to prevent fraud in the event that your phone is stolen.

Using a free password manager can help you securely store your login details for multiple shopping platforms.

Tips for Choosing the Right Password Manager for Shopping

Online passwords illustration

So, which password managers make the most sense for shopping? There are a few essential features to look for. The best password managers tend to be the ones that are simple to set up but offer robust security. In most cases, it’s a good idea to stick to the managers with the best reputations.

Best Practices for Maintaining Strong Passwords

Of course, centralising all of your passwords doesn’t absolve you of the responsibility to create strong ones. A good password should ideally be at least twenty characters long, with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as a few numbers and special characters. Multi-factor authentication will help to make your manager even more resilient. It will require that the attacker not only have your password but also have the device that you’re using and a way of faking your fingerprint or face. By making life difficult for would-be attackers, you’ll be able to lower the risk to your account.