One of the biggest benefits any business can offer its employees is the ability to work remotely, whether it’s from home or from a cafe or a location of their choosing. It’s also one of the riskiest factors for businesses to contend with.
While it’s true that employees today are far savvier than at the dawn of the internet age, it’s also very likely that some of the best practices from the early internet just haven’t been adhered to, or that they no longer see the point in following.
When it comes to passwords, best practices are vital. A compromised password to an employee account can cause your business a lot of problems, especially if that employee is high-level enough to have a serious stake in your organisation. A complicated password is ideal, but very few employees will remember a complicated password offhand, and might just save it somewhere easily accessible, which will render the protection of that password moot.
However, there is an easy solution: password managers.
Password managers are software that create impossible-to-break passwords and automatically log users into websites, without the need to remember the password itself. They’ll also monitor for security breaches, and provide a browser-security add on to further enhance remote working security.
Here are five good password managers to think about if you’re making the move to allow for remote working.
LastPass
One of the oldest password managers available on the market, LastPass is an easy-to-use feature-heavy password manager that can be accessed through most browsers and smart devices. Its free edition offers the option to save unlimited passwords, sync multiple devices, password encryption, and more – though you can also opt for a paid version which throws in encrypted file storage and more sharing options.
LogMeOnce
LogMeOnce’s cross-platform support is unmatched: you can log in on any browser, computer, mobile device, or anything else you’ve password protected, and you can do it with a variety of password options, ranging from a photo to a pin. For employees who need to log into multiple things at the same time, users would benefit from LogMeOnce’s cross-platform support. LogMeOnce also offers a customisable dashboard with details on everything from attempted hacks to scheduled log-ins.
The free-to-use version supports unlimited passwords and devices, and also offers the option for 2FA, the most secure of all password practices. Paid options throw in additional storage options with excellent encryption.
BitWarden
If your company can’t stretch to offering paid password encryption for all of your employees, you can do worse than BitWarden. BitWarden is an entirely free to use app and browser password management solution that is entirely open source, and with the best range of features in its free plan. From syncing across devices, 2FA, and the option to store passwords online, Bitwarden is the security enthusiast’s choice for password storage – and while it does offer a paid plan, the free plan is more than robust enough for many situations. The open-source code also allows anyone to change and upgrade the code, which means it’s almost never out of date.
1Password
1Password is a more recent addition to the Windows and Android sphere, but Mac users have had 1Password available to them since 2005. There’s no free plan for 1Password – only a thirty day free trial – but the cheapest plan’s options more than make up for the price by allowing for unlimited passwords, device syncing, 1GB of secure storage, and 24/7 support via email. It was originally intended for families, but small businesses could potentially use it without much of a hassle.
Keeper
If your company is growing, and you need the extra security, you can opt for Keeper, an enterprise-level password management solution that supports teams of people and a lot of security add-ons to customise your password management experience. For enterprises, this is excellent because it also offers password inheritance, allowing other employees to seamlessly access the same account. It doesn’t have a free plan, but it does offer an encrypted vault, shared team folders, device access, and activity reporting – an attractive selection for any organisation.
Need advice on the best password practices available? Just looking for more advice? Drop us a message and talk to us: we’re happy to help you out!
