Password Manager

A password manager is an application that maintains an encrypted vault of your login credentials. It can generate cryptographically random, unique passwords for each account and fill them in automatically when you visit a site. The vault is protected by a single master password (and ideally MFA), so you only need to remember one strong passphrase.

Password managers address the root cause of credential-stuffing and brute-force attacks: password reuse and weak passwords. When each account has a 20-character random password unique to that site, a breach at one site cannot cascade into account takeovers elsewhere. Many password managers also integrate with breach-notification services, alerting you when a stored credential appears in a known dump.

Reputable password managers use zero-knowledge architecture: the provider cannot see your vault contents even if their servers are breached. Cloud-synced managers offer convenience across devices; local managers offer privacy at the cost of manual syncing. Either is vastly superior to reusing memorised passwords.