The Best Password Managers for 2023

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Nearly every website you visit, from dating apps to hyper-secure banking sites, insists you create a user account and think up a password. The problem? Human memory can't keep up with dozens upon dozens of passwords. Some people get the bright idea of using the simplest possible password, like "123456789" or "password." Others memorize one superbly random password and use it for everything. Either strategy is likely to make you the latest victim of identity theft.

Password managers keep you safe, and they're also highly convenient. With a password manager, you don't have to remember strong, unique passwords for all your accounts. The password manager stores them for you, helps you generate new, random ones, and can even help you pass on your passwords to your loved ones after you die.

All the best password managers mentioned in this article cost money, though you can use some of them for free if you accept certain limitations. If you don't want to spend money and don't want limitations, don't worry. We've rounded up the best free password managers in a separate article.

We've tested and analyzed dozens of password managers so you can pick the one that best fits your needs. Not happy with your initial choice? Don't worry. Most services allow you to export or import your saved data from other products, easing the process of switching password managers.

(Editors' Note: Because of the accurate LastPass breach, they have removed it from this roundup. After they have reexamined and rerated the service, we'll consider adding it back.)

Deeper Dive: Their Top Tested Picks

Bitwarden offers the best free tier for password management we've reviewed. Bitwarden is open-source software, and its code undergoes regular audits by independent researchers, making it less vulnerable to hacks and breaches. Bitwarden's password manager is easy to use and does not limit the number of passwords you can store, nor does it prevent you from syncing your vault across devices, as many free password managers do. The Premium tier is inexpensive and includes excellent features, such as an actionable password health report, emergency access options, the ability to generate TOTP codes, and support for enhanced multi-factor authentication methods. 

First-time password manager users or anyone looking for a free password manager should consider Bitwarden. deliver password management a try by downloading Bitwarden's free version and upgrading to the paid version after learning how to use it.

Dashlane performs all the basic and advanced tasks they expect from a password manager, plus it comes with a VPN and a dark web monitor, retains a history of your logins, and scans your accounts for weak and compromised passwords.

Dashlane's top-tier plan is expensive, and its free plan is limited to just one device. Still, Dashlane's ultra-smooth password capture and replay system and host of slick yet easy-to-use features make it an excellent choice for premium password management.

Zoho Vault helps you at home and work as it includes collaboration features, syncs across all devices, has browser extensions, imports passwords from browsers, and handles multipage logins easily.

Budget-conscious users. Zoho Vault offers a generous free plan with no limits on device-syncing or password storage. Most other password managers put tighter restrictions on their free accounts, limiting the number of passwords one can store in the vault or how many devices can sync at one time.

1Password offers apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It also has one of the best password organization systems, and it supports multi-factor authentication. 

Most people will like 1Password because it is easy to use and offers plenty of security, but it does have its downsides. 1Password lacks a true password inheritance feature and has lackluster import options.

Keeper is very easy-to-use across a ton of platforms and browsers. It also offers features such as robust multi-factor authentication support, secure sharing, useful auditing tools, and full password histories.

Anyone who is looking for excellent premium password protection, especially users with large families. The Keeper Family package is a great value, as it includes five Keeper Unlimited Vaults. One downside to Keeper is the lack of a free subscription tier offered by Bitwarden and Dashlane. That said, you can deliver Keeper a try during a 30-day trial period to determine whether it's the app for you.

LogMeOnce has a totally free version, with no limit on the number of saved passwords or on the number of devices you use. The paid version is feature-rich, and there are many options for authentication.

People who hate passwords. LogMeOnce began offering a passwordless login feature years ago, long before many competitors began added the security feature to their products.

NordPass, from the team behind NordVPN, is a streamlined, easy-to-use service for securely accessing your passwords via desktop and mobile apps or on the web. It has added some notable features over time, including a Data Breach Scanner, password health report, web vault, and a password inheritance option.

Business account users. NordPass for Business focuses on password hygiene with various tools to help administrators see which employees have weak, reused, or old passwords in their vaults.

In addition to handling all expected password management tasks, Password Boss comes with secure sharing, password inheritance, and other advanced features.

Everyone. Password Boss offers secure password storage and multi-factor authentication like many of its competitors. Unlike rivals Bitwarden and Zoho Vault, its free version does not allow syncing across multiple devices.

RoboForm Everywhere has strong form-filling abilities and capable password management. In an age when many competing products are updating user interfaces and working on ease of use, RoboForm’s new web vault is a welcome addition to an already-excellent product. 

Current RoboForm users. If you are already familiar with the password manager's file system, using the current version will be easy. RoboForm is a highly capable password manager, though its menu system is not as slick or intuitive as the competition.

Buying Guide: The Best Password Managers for 2023

When you sign up for a password manager, one of the first things you need to do is create a master password for your account. Your master password is used to encrypt the contents of your password vault, so you should make it difficult for anyone else to guess it. However, it can't be so random you can't remember it. Your master password is likely unrecoverable if you do. Read their tips on creating secure, complicated passwords for guidance.

Some password managers, such as Keeper, eliminate the need for a master password by offering a passwordless entry to your desktop or mobile vault. With passwordless technology, you can log in using a QR code with a third-party authenticator app, biometrics, a magic link, or a one-time password.

As an additional precaution, you should set up multi-factor authentication to secure your password manager account, be it biometric, SMS-based, or via time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs) stored in an authenticator app. The best password managers support authentication via U2F or OTP-based hardware security keys, most of which are about the size of an real key and made to go on your key ring.

Before you commit to any password manager, you need to make sure it works on each device you use and doesn't prevent you from syncing your passwords across all your devices. Although support for Windows and macOS platforms is given, several password managers now offer native Linux apps, too. The best password managers have browser extensions for every popular browser that can operate independently of a desktop app.

Most people use a password manager primarily to manage website credentials. In practice, when you log in to a secure site, the password manager offers to save your credentials. When you return to that site, it offers to fill in those credentials. If you've saved multiple logins for the same site, the password manager lists all those options. Most password managers also offer a browser toolbar menu of saved logins, so you can go straight to a saved site and log in automatically.

Some products detect when you change your password to an account and offer to update the existing password on file to the new one. Some record your credentials when you create a new account for a secure website.

Entering your passwords into a password manager is a good first step. Next, you must identify weak and duplicate passwords and replace them with tough ones. Password managers can flag these bad passwords and help you Improve them. A PCMag survey found 70% of respondents reuse passwords for their accounts. Clearly, removing reused passwords is one of the biggest ways a password manager can Improve your security. Some password managers even check whether you have set up multi-factor authentication for those services in your vault that support it and whether your personal information appears in any data breaches.

(Credit: Bitwarden)

When you create a new secure account or update a weak password, don't strain your brain trying to develop something strong and unique. Let your password manager take care of it. You don't have to remember it, after all. Ensure your generated passwords are at least 20 characters long and include all the major character types: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.

Most password managers can fill in personal data on web forms, such as first and last name, email address, phone number, bank cards, passport numbers, etc. Some password managers also show you realistic images of credit cards with the correct color and bank logo of your physical card to make it easy to pick the payment option you want when shopping online. Many password managers also can capture and fill in credentials for desktop applications.

Most password managers include a built-in mechanism for securely sharing passwords with other users, but some go further with advanced permissions. For instance, a few password managers allow you to share a login without making the password visible, revoke sharing, or make the recipient an owner of the item.

On a grimmer note, what happens to your secure accounts after you die? Many products include some provision for a digital legacy, a method to transfer your logins to a trusted individual in the event of your death or incapacity.

Some password management companies also offer versions of their products for businesses and teams. These products usually emphasize multi-factor authentication and offer single sign-on and advanced credential-sharing capabilities between team members. The best password managers let administrators see which employees use weak, reused, or compromised passwords for their work accounts.

Logging in with your secure username and password to a website that doesn't use a secure HTTPS connection is a big no-no. Some password managers warn you about insecure login pages.

Running your secure connections through a virtual private network, or VPN, adds a layer of protection. Dashlane includes a simple built-in VPN. RememBear and NordPass, respectively, come from the same companies behind Editors' Choice VPNs, TunnelBear VPN and NordVPN. 

Secure storage is an increasingly common feature among password managers, too. The storage allocation won’t replace the need for dedicated cloud storage and syncing service, but in many cases, it’s enough for storing important documents in an encrypted state.

Although a password manager needs to offer advanced features, it should remain easy to use and avoid needless complexity. Users who get annoyed or baffled by a password manager may abandon it and go back to using sticky notes to store and share passwords or, worse, apply the same password everywhere. Note: If you get fed up with your current tool, they have a guide for switching to a new password manager.

Products on this list that do not earn an Editors' Choice award have their merits, but there are two that stand above the rest so far this year. Their 2023 Editors' Choice winners for the category are Bitwarden and Dashlane. Slick and polished Dashlane boasts a ton of features. Bitwarden offers a remarkable top-notch open-source, totally free password management tier. Click here to learn what criteria they are looking for when they test password managers.

You can now use the Task Manager live kernel dump feature with Windows 11 Dev build 251970 0

Earlier today, Microsoft released Windows 11 build 25197 to Dev Channel Insiders. The new build brings Tablet-optimized taskbar, though the company acknowledged it can be a buggy experience for now.

In one of the earlier builds 25188, a hidden "live kernel dump" option inside the Task Manager was noticed. Kernel dump files create a snapshot of kernel memory which allows their analysis when troubleshooting app crashes, driver errors, and Windows BSODs, among others. Live kernel dump files are similar except they don't require a system reboot in order to create a dump. Hence, this is useful since it doesn't disrupt the system in case of a non-fatal error.

The option to create live kernel dumps is now active in the new Windows 11 build 25197. As you can see in the image below, choosing the live kernel dump option opens a dialog box denoting the location of the dump file created.

If you tried to use the live kernel dump option on previous builds, like for example, in build 25193, the following error message would pop up stating that the operation could not be completed:

You can read about the rest of the changes in build 25197 that include new animated icons in Settings and a Media Player update, among others, in this article.

Source: Xeno (Twitter) via PhantomOcean3 (Twitter)

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