Last week on Twitter: “Unfortunately, we’ve been leaked. Passwords and user data have been stolen. Please check your password combinations!” Such messages have been appearing from time to time lately. It’s good to use secure, unique passwords and be able to check at the push of a button if you’ve been affected by such a leak.
As a digital nomad, I collect passwords galore. In my personal vault alone, I currently have 1308 logins to manage. Some logins from old times still follow the same pattern. A few years ago, however, I started using a password manager. This not only helps me manage logins but also generates them. Since I started using the central password storage, my passwords are
a) complex (at least 15 characters, letters and numbers) and
b) unique for each service.
My password manager is called 1Password. Originally only available for Mac, 1Password is now used on all platforms. I can create different vaults and share them with others if needed. Additionally, 1Password integrates into browsers both on desktop and mobile – so I have my passwords at my fingertips whenever I need them.
However, in recent months, a third need has emerged besides management and generation: quality assurance. Unfortunately, it’s happening more and more often that services like Twitter are attacked. In such a leak, thousands of password combinations are released into the wild. It’s problematic if you use the same password for other services. This is where 1Password helps me with its so-called “Watchtower”. It notifies me at the push of a button where password leaks have occurred, so I don’t always have to keep my eyes open in the relevant news channels. The Watchtower also tells me which passwords in my personal vault might be compromised by the leak. And it also provides a quality check for the passwords. This is how it looks for me at the moment:
The current leak at Twitter is shown to me, and I can directly check which passwords I need to address. I also see that almost half of my passwords need improvement. Needless to say, replacing passwords with 1Password is a quick and uncomplicated matter. Let’s wait for the next rainy weekend, then I’ll get to it…
By the way, for those who don’t use 1Password, you can also check your passwords at https://haveibeenpwned.com.
