Keep Google, Facebook data collection low with a password manager
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Remember when companies like Facebook and Google seemed like they were your friends? So helpful with remembering your passwords and usernames, so thoughtful with their suggestions of which items to buy next or which people to add to your network.
Turns out, of course, they weren’t all that friendly, and mostly just obsessed with you and your data, collecting it, hoarding it, analyzing it, and yes, selling it to advertising and marketing firms who very much want to know what ice cream flavor you like, which sort of music you’re willing to pay concert ticket money to, and where you were last Tuesday at 4 p.m. (thanks Google Maps).
While the big companies have slowly started to clean up their acts when it comes to how they collect and use data, that doesn’t give the average person a whole lot of good faith in their ability to collect it and use it for whatever purposes they want. Those single sign-in features are convenient until you realize that this allows Google and Facebook to track every single website you visit and what you’re doing there.
Fortunately, for people who value their online privacy, a new crop of technology is rising that can push back on the quest to grab your data. These password managers, which are among the hottest trends in digital technology, give you the same ease of use as the single sign-on does, but protect you not only against the sticky fingers methods that Google and Facebook employ, but also make it a lot more difficult for the everyday hackers and cybercriminals to get ahold of your personal information or break into your system.
Installing a Password Manager
Your first use of a password manager is no different than any other app. Go to the website or a reputable app store, select your platform, and download it. The better password managers on the market such as Dashlane, charge a monthly fee, usually less than $5/month, but will also have a 30-day free trial to get you acclimated and see how you like it. Other password managers are free of charge, but they don’t always have all the bells and whistles.
Setting your Password Manager Preferences
A password manager will gather the username and password for every site you visit on the web where a membership is required. If you already have some of these saved into your various browsers, the password manager can parse this data and include those accounts into its vault. The vault is where all of your usernames and passwords are stored and is designed to withstand any sort of malware based attack or unauthorized entry. You can make sure that all the logins you have are still valid, sometimes accounts that have gone unused for years will show up. From there, you can determine how you want the vault maintained. Sometimes it’s you going in manually and plugging in the requisite username and password. Other times, you select a master password which is usually closer to 20 characters long. The manager itself then changes all of your individual logins to complicated passwords that are nearly impossible to decipher as they are based on a random algorithm. You can set how often you want each password changed, so if you feel like someone is watching your accounts, mix it up on them to prevent trouble.