If you are like me, and can barely remember all your passwords or you have been lax in the strength of them, now is the time to get serious about it and start using a password manager to keep track of them securely. Geeks.Online recommends the online password manager service LastPass.
LastPass is a free download! Instead of the insecure, easily hacked passwords you have used that may have been compromised by Heartbleed, LastPass can randomly generate a password with 4-100 characters. It can include lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers and symbols. Geeks.Online recommends staying under 15 characters; however, as most sites have a maximum character limit.
Keep in mind that if you don’t buy the premium service ($1 a month!!)- you will not be able to do a family share folder (so you and up to 5 other people can manage joint accounts, or pay online bills*.) Also, you will not have access to LastPass on the mobile apps on your phone, so will not be able to log into those sites.
Once you’ve downloaded LastPass, Geeks.Online recommends running the LastPass Security Check. It’s going to tell you which sites or accounts in your “vault” may have been affected by the Heartbleed bug, if the site has updated their security certificates, and what if any action they recommend.
Please contact Geeks.Online with any questions about Heartbleed, and help with installing and using a password manager.