Password Management: How, Why & Ways. All You Need to Know

What do you think is the most tedious task on the earth right now?!

It’s remembering the passwords, cent percent sure.

You don’t have to own a business empire to face this fright. All you have to do is just become an adult and step into the world right now.

One will end up having more than 3 passwords for the same app to ensure its security. Be it a banking app or a Netflix account.

Why? Because we are fully aware of the dark web, which is filled with stolen credentials.

And 61% of all breaches involve credentials, whether they are stolen via social engineering or hacked using brute force.

That right there will not let us have a peaceful shuteye!

But this is where the robust password management strategies step in. **Drum roll**

• What is Password Management?
• Why is Password Management Important?
• Different Types of Password Management?
• What is a Password Management Policy?
• What is Password Management Software?
• How does Password Management Software Work?
• Types of Password Management Software
• Benefits of Using a Password Manager

Let’s start from the basics.

Password management primely focuses on denying unauthorized access to your accounts.

You can pull it off by incorporating various policies and adapting some proven and sustainable practices in time.

And when it comes to the IT landscape, you can prefer having VDI and VMs which guarantee centralized password management for your entire organization.

The monstrously rising figures of cyberattacks and malware attacks in this digital era will not let you say otherwise.

A bulwark of cyber protection is all one can dream of.

The field of information technology is rapidly changing.

Over the past ten years, there has been significant growth in the number of tools utilized by employees in an IT environment.

To authenticate your logins and deter fraudsters, you need strong passwords. But most people find it difficult to remember many passwords for various logins.

As a result, individuals use dangerous habits like writing down their login information on sticky notes or repeatedly using the same passwords online.

These actions can seriously jeopardize your online security.

All you need to remember is one master password when you have a password management application set up or simply put, a password manager.

By doing so, you can generate secure passwords that are hard to guess.

That also means you can securely share logins with your team members when required without compromising your security.

Every password is different.

Personal passwords are those you use every day to access your internet accounts, whereas business passwords grant access to a company’s sensitive data.

Depending on the importance of these accounts, it’s crucial to use alternative password management techniques.

The following are some examples of popular password management types:

These are the passwords you use on a regular basis, such as those for your Netflix account, financial information, and email accounts.

Poor personal password management habits are widespread, and sticky notes (Please avoid, for your sake!) are frequently used to jot down passwords.

Some login information, such as banking information, cannot be compromised.

By employing a password manager that is a browser extension, you can ensure better password management.

These are passwords for business-related websites that require a personal login, such as Salesforce or another cloud-based SaaS.

Many companies allow employees to handle their own passwords, which can leave their entire IT infrastructure open to assault.
You require a reliable password manager that improves security throughout your IT infrastructure.

As already mentioned one can also opt for centralized password protection through cloud-based computing platforms.

In an IT system, admin passwords are of the utmost importance.

Shared logins between numerous techs, such as Office 365 and Microsoft Azure, may also fall under this category.

To maintain admin passwords, ordinary password management methods are insufficient.

Again, you require a reliable password management program that makes it simple for several users to share login information.

As a reminder, help desk services outsourcing can unburden you here too, unmistakably.

As revealed in Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) by Verizon, 81% of hacking-related breaches used stolen passwords and/or weak passwords.

A robust password management policy that establishes guidelines for password development and management in your company is essential if you want to completely eradicate password-related breaches in your corporation.

The goal of the policy and the specifications that must be followed when passwords are created must both be included in a thorough document.

For instance, you can specify the minimum and maximum character restrictions together with the password length (lower case, upper case, special characters, numbers, etc.).

Policies for the number of permitted login attempts, the time frame for password changes, the necessity of multifactor authentication, etc., can also be set.

It is simple to establish and implement policies across your firm when you have a powerful password management application to give you a hand.

Software that stores and manages passwords in an encrypted database are known as password management software.

You can use this software to build complicated, one-of-a-kind passwords that assure secure authentication in addition to preserving the passwords you create.

You just need to keep track of the master password when using a password manager. Anytime a password is needed, it can be retrieved from the encrypted vault.

The operation of password managers is straightforward. The vault is where all of your passwords are kept initially.

You only need to use the master password to access the vault when logging into an account. You can quickly and easily access all of your complicated and lengthy passwords anytime you need them.

Most reputable password management programs also offer host-proof hosting.

It implies that the password manager won’t be aware of any of the information kept in the vault. The security key is the only way to access the fully encrypted user data that is kept on this server.

It is incredibly difficult for cybercriminals to get the passwords that are kept because of these several layers of security.

• On-premises Password Managers

  Small businesses with private settings favour using these password managers. These can be utilized without the internet because they are privately hosted.

• Cloud-based Password Managers

  Passwords are kept on cloud servers in cloud-based password managers. These passwords are accessible from anywhere in the world. The cloud servers are housed centrally and can be expanded as needed.

• Browser-based Password Managers

  The most popular web browsers include password manager plugins. These add-ons make it simple to obtain passwords and automatically fill in login information as needed.

• Mobile Password Managers

  Password managers are also available for mobile devices running a variety of operating systems. They both work by automatically filling in passwords on different websites and mobile applications.

• Single Sign-On (SSO)

  With the use of a single set of credentials, users can log into numerous applications and websites using this authentication approach. You must register with an identity provider and use this identity across several platforms in order to benefit from this technique.

1. The Single Source of Truth (SSOT)

Your password manager serves as the only reliable source of information for all of your passwords. All of your passwords can be managed centrally so that you always have access to them.

2. Escape from the Brain Beaters

By using a password manager, you can avoid having to memorize or write down complicated, lengthy passwords. When necessary, you can retrieve passwords, or you can just utilize the browser extension to have your passwords auto-filled.

3. Pump up the Productivity

You may easily connect to your accounts using auto-filled login information. This clearly saves your time.

Additionally, it avoids downtime brought on by forgotten or lost passwords. You are able to operate more productively as a result.

4. No Need for a Collaboration Tool, Not Anymore!

When using shared company accounts, you can give temporary authority to your team members by using a password manager.

This improves the knack for teamwork and induces collaboration without jeopardizing security.

5. Never Miss a New Password

You will automatically be prompted in your password solution to store a new password you create for a new account in the vault. The request to store it will pop up.

6. Shoulder Surfers? Fear Not!

You run the danger of attacks from shoulder surfers that utilize cutting-edge equipment like micro-cameras to obtain passwords when you use your passwords in a public place.

You don’t need to enter a password each time you need to get into an account thanks to features like SSO. How revealing does that feel!