This post is part of a technology series called “What?! You’re not using…?” where I’m sharing ten technology sites/apps that I find to be very helpful – and you might too!
With the amount of passwords and logins everyone has today – and the security issues that are present with people’s accounts getting hacked – I’m still amazed when people aren’t using 1Password (it’s now available for Windows users as well!). 1Password is a program that will generate strong/unique/secure passwords and store them for you. 1Password integrates well with all the major browsers, so you can create incredibly long and complex (read: secure) passwords for logins and never have to remember them. With 1-2 clicks, you simply go to the website you need to login to, click the 1Password browser extension, and it does all the rest for you.
You can also keep track of secure notes, software serial numbers or license keys, banking information and credit card numbers. They also have great iPhone & iPad apps, so now all my passwords and other important secure information is with me wherever I am.
There have been a few times when I’ve needed to know some passwords or banking information, and been away from home, but since I had the iPhone app, it wasn’t a problem. Another time this came in handy was when I was trying to return something to a store, but my wife had the credit card that the item was purchased with. But I had all the information (credit card number, and 3 digit code from the back) in the 1Password app on my iPhone, so they were able to return the item right there at the store with that info.
I love not needing to remember my passwords or random login information for all the sites that I frequent – 1Password has made that part of surfing the web so easy. I’d really encourage you to check it out. It’s a little pricey ($39.99 for single license, $69.99 for family license; $14.99 for iPhone/iPad app) – but for me, it’s totally worth it.