What is a password manager?
A program that keeps all your accounts encrypted. You remember a single password, it remembers the rest.
The short answer.
A password manager is an encrypted vault for credentials. In it you keep usernames, passwords, one-time codes and notes. The vault is opened with a single master password that only you know. When you sign in to a website, the manager fills the fields itself, so you type nothing and retain nothing. Every service thereby receives its own long, random password, without you memorising a single one of them.
Why one password is safer than twenty.
The real problem
Nobody can memorise thirty different long passwords. So people take one and append numbers. If one of those services is breached, attackers try the same combination everywhere else. That takes seconds and is called credential stuffing.
What the manager changes about it
Every service gets its own random password. If one of them falls into the wrong hands, exactly one account is affected, not your entire digital life.
Why the one password holds
It is typed nowhere except when opening the vault, it sits in no external provider's database, and it cannot be read out of the vault. Attackers would have to guess it, and at sufficient length that takes longer than a human lifetime.
The additional benefit many underestimate
A good manager only fills in where the address genuinely matches. A convincing forgery therefore gets nothing, even when a person falls for it. That is the best phishing protection there is.
How you recognise a good one.
It cannot read your data itself
Encryption happens on your device, the key is derived from your master password and never leaves the device. This is called zero-knowledge and is the one point on which providers genuinely differ. Explained in full.
It can be examined
Procedures, key lengths and sequences are described, not merely advertised. A provider that stays silent on this either has something to hide or nothing to show.
You get back in when something goes wrong
A recovery key that you print and put away. Without it, a forgotten master password is the end of the vault, and no support desk in the world changes that.
It suits your situation
On your own, as a family or as a company are three different requirements. In a company what counts is shared folders, roles and a log that withstands an audit. For companies.
You know where it runs
Server location and applicable law decide who may demand access in case of doubt. What the GDPR says about it.
Common questions. Clear answers.
Your question is not here? Write to us, we answer personally.
Is a password manager really safer than a notebook?
Yes, for two reasons. A notebook does not stop the same password being used everywhere, and that is where most accounts fail. On top of that, a manager only fills in at the genuine address and so protects against forged sign-in pages. A notebook cannot tell the difference.
What happens if I forget my master password?
With a provider that genuinely works on the zero-knowledge principle, nobody can reset it, not even the provider. That is what the recovery key is for: a long code that you print during setup and keep somewhere safe. Anyone promising to reset the master password in an emergency can read the data.
What if the provider is breached?
Then attackers come away with encrypted blocks of data. Without the master password, which never sits with the provider, they cannot be opened. That is precisely what the procedure is built for. What remains important is the length of your master password, because it determines how long a guessing attempt takes.
Is the browser's password store not enough?
For everyday personal use it is better than nothing. But it stops at the boundaries of the browser: no shared access in a team, no roles, no log, often no master password of its own, and no way to withdraw access cleanly when an employee leaves.
Do I still need two-factor sign-in as well?
Yes. The manager makes sure every password is unique. The second factor makes sure a stolen password alone is not enough. Together they cover two different routes of attack. How that works.
What does a password manager cost?
For private individuals there are usable free offerings, including ours. In a company it is billed per user and month. Measured against the cost of a single compromised account, it is the cheapest security measure there is. Our plans.
Enterprise Security. No Compromise.
Register for our next free, no-obligation live webinar and see how FidenoVault protects your logins.
- Zero-knowledge
- European sovereignty
- GDPR-compliant
