98 PCWorld MARCH 2021HERE’S HOW BROWSER PASSWORD MANAGERS
coworker needs access to a joint account, or
if you want to share your Netflix password
with your parents. Sharing login details is a
pain if the information is stored deep inside
your browser.
Password managers usually support
more robust auto-fill options as well. Yes,
your browser likely includes those
capabilities too, but as with the actual
password management, it’s a basic
incarnation. Anything your browser can do,
a password manager can usually do better.
Password managers may also offer other
helpful features. They can issue reminders to
change out old passwords, provide a secure
vault to store sensitive information, share
emergency passwords with chosen contacts,
or even offer basic VPN capabilities for
accessing open Wi-Fi hotspots safely.
Think of it this way:
Password managers exist to
keep your accounts secure.
Their developers are wholly
focused on your protection.
With browsers, password
management is just another
supported feature.
If you don’t need to
worry about sharing
passwords with others, or
you use only a single
browser on your devices,
then a browser-based
password manager mightwork very well for you. Using the random
password generation feature in your browser
is a big step up over reusing passwords or
relying on simple passwords. If you’re a
Chrome user with an Android smartphone, or
a Safari user with an iPhone, those stored
passwords could even be carried over to
many mobile apps with minimal headaches.
Most people, however, would be better
off with a proper password manager for all the
reasons outlined above. The top options all
offer free accounts with basic capabilities,
while splurging on a premium account only
costs a few bucks a month. It’s money well
spent. Our guide to the best password
managers (go.pcworld.com/gdpm) can
point you toward the cream of the crop, and it
explains everything you should look for in a
decent password management service.Dashlane’s Password Health report identifies weak, compromised, and
reused passwords so you can easily replace them.