When it comes to a password hack, cybercriminals use the most widely and somewhat simple technique called “Brute Force.” In a recent example, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team and other government agencies have warned of an extensive attack for hacking passwords.

Also Read :
The List of 100 Worst Passwords of 2019

Another technique similar to brute force is “Password Spraying,” where instead of targeting a single account, hackers try to get access to a bunch of users by trying commonly used passwords.

CITRIX was an unfortunate victim of this where hackers were able to get into their network. CITRIX only came to know about this after the FBI warned them.

The reason hacking techniques like “Brute force” or “Password Spraying” are still thriving is that we humans have a tendency of using passwords that are easy to memorize like “qwert123”, “password”, “password123”, etc.

Without a doubt, hackers are becoming more advanced in their approach as well as the types of software they use. They keep updating their arsenal to stay ahead in the game and of course away from the law. On the other hand, there are a ton of password managers out there, but which one best suits your requirements?

Why Use a Password Manager 

You can correlate passwords to the contacts on your phone. You might be able to remember 2-3 contact numbers but not all the contacts that you have, this is where a phone book comes in handy. Similarly, it’s impossible to remember the passwords for all the websites that you have signed up for, and it is not wise to use the same password everywhere, enter “Password Manager.”

Reasons to Use Password Managers

1. Enables you to create unique and robust passwords that can’t be breached or brute-forced.

2. Securely store your complicated passwords so that you don’t have to remember them.

3. Sync the password across all your devices and logs you in automatically.

1. LastPass — an Efficient Password Manager

Usually, LastPass is the name that comes up on everyone’s mind due to its popularity and is often regarded as the best password manager out there.

The reason LastPass stands out is that it gives you a lot of control even in the free version of the application. 

With the Premium version, you get an option to add and manage users, more suitable for an organization.

Pros

• You will be satisfied with the free version in case of personal use.
• All the keys are stored in the device hence even LastPass cannot access it, this makes it very secure.
• LastPass supports two-factor authentication.
• The premium version provides 1GB of online cloud backup.
• Offers secure notes feature, where you can store your personal info like address, credit info, etc. This will be encrypted and stored securely.
• It supports all devices and has a browser plugin.

Cons

• Severe vulnerabilities have been reported in the past under the Bug Bounty Program.
• Is a bit on the pricier side compared to its counterparts.
• While using it, there were times when LastPass didn’t offer to store the password.

Pricing

Minimum: Free password manager for one device.
Maximum: $8/user/month (Business).

2. Dashlane – the Best Password Manager for the Money

Launched in 2012, Dashblane has grown to be very popular, just tailing behind LastPass. What makes it stand out is that it also offers VPN service, along with plugins to almost all web browsers.

Pros

• Dashlane uses its own patented technology.
• It has a security alert feature which will send you an alert if any stored data is compromised.
• Dashlane provides digital wallet which is useful for faster and secure checkout.

Cons

• There is a learning curve with Dashlane, as the UI can be a bit complex. 
• The inbuilt VPN cannot be trusted, there can be an issue of storing browsing data.
• There have been reports of security vulnerability.
• Their design choices make them incapable of giving a guarantee that they will never have access to the users’ passwords without knowing their Master Passwords. 

After a test on one of the Windows version which was already compromised, the following was the observation:

Whenever a password was updated, it was stored is plain text. Even after the app was locked or logged out of, nothing changed. 

Pricing

Minimum: Free password manager for one device.
Maximum: $3.33/month

3. KeePass — the Best Free Open Source Password Manager

When compared to other managers, KeePass doesn’t store the login details on any type of cloud storage. It is highly customizable as it is open source and is unofficially available on most of the mobile devices and officially on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Pros

• No subscription or one-time fee is required. 
• There is no monopoly as it is open source. 
• A mobile application is available.
• No cloud-based storage which is an advantage as everything will be on the local device, so you have more control over it.

Cons

• Can be very complicated for new users.
• There is no password sync functionality available. 
• KeePass doesn’t have an option of form auto-fill which is a huge disadvantage.

Pricing

Free open-source password manager.

4. Keeper — an Efficient Password Manager

You can blame it on their marketing or the pricing, this amazing password manager is not that popular in the industry but will surely leave you 100% satisfied.         
They do have free as well as paid plans. After 30 Days of Unlimited trial, you can use Keeper Free version. Although keep in mind that after unlimited trial, the Free version of Keeper will only work with one device and your data is stored locally to that one device. 

You will be able to access your data, but if you switch devices, or your device is lost, stolen or damaged, or if you update your operating system you will not be able to restore your data. 

These are the risks you are agreeing to take when you continue to use the free version.                                                     

Pros

• Uses 256-bit AES encryption and zero info architecture 
• Has emergency contact option
• Has the feature to deny access if accessed from an unfamiliar location
• It supports One-tap authorization 

Cons

• The free trial is only available for a single device
• Compared to other managers, it is expensive
• Sometimes form-filling doesn’t work
• Changing an already saved password can become complicated

Pricing

Minimum: $2.50/month/user
Maximum: $3.75/month/user

5. Enpass — a One Payment Password Manager

Their tag line says it all, “You were not born to remember passwords”. Enpass is a very straight forward password manager, because of its simplicity and one-time payment based model.

It has free as well as paid versions with a difference in the number of passwords that you can store and the number of vaults you get.

Pros

• Everything is offline, nothing is stored on their servers.
• One time payment.
• Has mobile as well as desktop applications.
• Premium desktop version is free for Linux OS.

Cons

• Does not come with an auto-sync feature.
• You need to dig a bit deeper in the app to get the password generator.
• No option to add users, so not suitable for enterprise.

Pricing

Minimum: Free password manager for a limited number of free passwords
Maximum: $11.99/platform (One time purchase).

6. LogMeOnce — the Best Free Mobile Password Manager

LogMeOnce gives you access to features that you might have not imagined or heard about in a password manager, it is safe to say that LogMeOnce provides the most number of features than any other password managers. 

The feature that they like to market a lot is their patented photo login. So when you wish to log in to your desktop, it will send a phone of the person trying to login to your mobile device and only when you accept it, the device will be unlocked. 

The only downside is that even the full version doesn’t come up all the features, you have to purchase some of them as add-ons.

Pros

• You can use your photo or any image as password which expires in 60 seconds.
• Has a feature that allows you to locate your phone.
• You can remotely wipe off your phone in case it gets stolen.
• Have an extensive knowledge base that allows new users to set up things quickly.

Cons

• The UI can be confusing at times.
• Need to pay for add-ons even in the ultimate version.
• You might see ads in the free version.

Pricing

Minimum: Free mobile password manager with ads and paid features.
Maximum: $3.25/month
NOTE: You can purchase add-ons separately

7. 1Password — the Best Password Manager App

1Password gives you all the basic feature that you look in a password manager. It also has a feature to store your sensitive documents, like a virtual vault and it is locked by a virtual lock based on PBKDF2.

Pros

• Has a travel mode that helps you lock away most of your password if you are traveling, this comes in handy in case someone gets hold of your locked device 
• Can you be used as an authenticator app.
• Supports almost all the platform including mobile OS.
• Gives you a heads up of sites that use two-factor authentication.
• Includes account key, which needs to be used while adding new devices.
• The passwords are stored in categories. 
• As the app doesn’t fill the form automatically unless there is a keystroke, it protects you from invisible forms.

Cons

• In case you still use the outdated Internet Explorer, 1Password doesn’t provide any kind of support for it.
• Lacks multi-step verification.
• Doesn’t update passwords automatically.
• Cannot really work is there is a two-page login.

Pricing

Minimum: $2.29/month.
Maximum: $7.99/month (Business).
NOTE: Custom setup available.

8. RememBear — Easy-to-use Password Manager App

This is a new kind in the town of password managers. Launched in April 2018, it is one of the most simple to use password managers. This product comes from the providers of Tunnelbear, a VPN provider.

As the service is new, the feature that you get is very limited or may be decided to keep that way to make sure very user-friendly.

We would only recommend using the free version of this app as the paid version also has very limited functionality compared to other password managers. 

Pros

• It is very easy to use.
• It has support for touch and face ID on mobile devices.
• Allows cloud backup.
• Excellent support.

Cons

• The paid version has very limited functions.
• Passwords cannot be shared.
• Plugins available for limited browsers.
• No option to export stored data.

Pricing

Minimum: Free password manager for one device.
Maximum: $3/month.

9. Zoho Vault – a Corporate Password Manager & the Best Free Password Manager with Sync

One of the features that make this password manager for business very useful for people using their laptop for home as well as office work is the ability to separate their work and personal vaults.

It also has a free password manager with sync for one user version as well with a ton of features.

Pros

• The password strength works flawlessly.
• You get a free version with lots of features.
• You can dig up your work password without reliving your personal login info.
• You can import data from all the popular password managers.

Cons

• Doesn’t auto-fill forms.
• You will not be import data if you are using a browser-based password manager.
• Sometimes capturing passwords had issues.
• If you forget the master password then there is no going back, you will lose access to the vault.

Pricing

Minimum: Free password manager with sync for one user.
Maximum: $1/user/month (Paid upfront for 12 months)

10. Sticky Password — Biometric Password Manager

Launched by the previous executives of AVG antivirus, Sticky Password can be very trustworthy. It is a simple, easy-to-use password manager with average features and one plus point is that they do provide lifetime license 

Pros

• It supports browsers like PaleMoon and SeaMonkey which is generally not seen in other password managers.
• Good with pages that have multi-login.
• You can also share passwords.
• No a side note, they also do give part of the payment to protect manatees.

Cons

• The free version doesn’t have the option to sync the login info.
• You will have to use a separate app in case of two-factor authentication.

Pricing

Minimum: Free password manager for one user without sync.
Maximum: $29.99/year

Top 10 Best Password Managers

This is not a list of the best or top 10 password managers. The choice of a password manager can change depending on what features you are looking for, the OS and the browser that you are using, your budget, etc.

For best free password manager with sync for all user devices, we’d recommend Zoho Vault.

This list will help you make your decision with ease and introduce you to some of the cool features that some of the managers have.

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Neha Shelar