6 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Browser-Based Password Managers

Why You Need a Password Manager

The most vulnerable aspect of Internet security is password re-use. If you use the same password for different sites, a breach at one site can lead to the compromise of all your accounts. The solution is to use strong, unique passwords everywhere. But who can remember hundreds or even dozens of strong passwords? A password manager can remember them for you by generating and storing them in a secure vault that only you have access to. All you really need to do is to remember the master password for the password manager. To get the most relevant password management solution for your business, please refer to Cybersecurity Kentucky.

6 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Your Web Browser’s Password Manager

Your web browser’s password manager isn’t a full-featured password manager. And while it can work as a place to store all your passwords, you can do better. Standalone password managers are more powerful and offer more features than your browser’s built-in one, including phishing protection. We recommend using a standalone password manager over the built-in one for these reasons:

Avoid getting locked into a single browser

Browsers are designed to be easy to use, convenient, secure and fast. They’re supposed to be compatible with all the other software you have installed on your computer. And they’re flexible in terms of how you can customize them—you can change the way they look or add new features by installing extensions or apps.

One big reason that people prefer browsers over password managers is because they don’t want their browser settings messed with by third-party software. But if we’re honest with ourselves, modern web browsers have become bloated monstrosities that no one really understands anymore. And most people who use a desktop computer don’t really understand what processes are running in the background when they browse the web anyway. To understand how to avoid browser lock-ins in-depth, please refer to IT Support Kentucky.

Lack of Secure Sharing Options

Most people store their passwords in a single browser and access them from different devices. The problem is that there isn’t an easy way to share passwords with friends and family members who also use their browsers’ password managers. Without proper sharing features, you can’t easily invite someone else to see your saved logins or change individual passwords on your behalf. Some services do have basic sharing features, but they don’t allow you to access other people’s logins or create shared folders where everyone can store new passwords together securely.

You Can’t Store More Than Passwords

Unless you have used a full featured password manager in the past, You don’t realize just how limited browser-based password management really is. For example:

• You can’t store credit card numbers or other sensitive information. If you want to keep track of all your credit cards and bank accounts in one place (and protect them from hackers), a web browser’s built-in password manager won’t do the trick because it only stores usernames and passwords for websites. There’s no way for the program itself to know when any website asks for something like your birth date or social security number (SSN). You need an independent app specifically designed for storing sensitive information such as 1Password or LastPass because these apps have their own user interface and database where they digitally store all sorts of personally identifiable information (PII).
• You can’t store secure notes or other important information either. Even if we assume that storing PII is okay with you, remember that many companies require employees’ SSNs before hiring them so they can run background checks on applicants. If a malicious hacker gets hold of this valuable data through some sort of breach on their server, then they can pretend they’re an employee who belongs there. They can keep using stolen credentials so long as they know the number of digits required in each field within each account’s database structure.

Lacks Essential Features of Standalone Password Managers

Browser-based password managers are less secure, don’t have the best security features and can’t store as much data or manage as many passwords. They also tend to be limited by what your browser can do — you can only use them in one web browser at a time. In contrast, standalone password managers offer cross-platform support.

Browser-based password managers are also more limited. They usually don’t allow you to share passwords with other people or store more than just usernames and passwords. This means that you may be missing valuable data if it’s not accessible through your browser’s storage system.

Limits Users to Browser-Only Usage

Browser-only password managers limit you to browser-only usage. You can’t use the password manager in other applications, on other devices, or even in a desktop application. If you try to log into another application via a different web browser on your computer, you’ll need to manually type in your username and password unless that website is using the same login form as the one that was used by your browser’s password manager (which is often not the case).

The reason for this limitation is because there are no standard ways for browsers to communicate with each other. In contrast, there are many apps that allow users to store passwords securely in an encrypted database and then access them from any device or operating system by logging into the app with your master account credentials.

Lacks Premium Security 

Users might think that the browser’s password manager is a safe option because it’s already part of your web browser, but it actually has some major security concerns.

• Browser-based password managers don’t encrypt your data: If someone gains access to the same computer you use to access your website. For example, if you leave it unattended in a coffee shop or library, they will be able to access all of your passwords for other sites.
• Browser-based password managers don’t have the same security as standalone password managers: Browser-based versions are usually less secure than standalone desktop versions because they can be used by multiple people on the same computer and aren’t as secure.

The web browser password managers are not ideal in terms of security and efficiency. IT Consulting Kentucky recommends using a standalone password manager that can help you create, store and manage your passwords more efficiently.