Every day millions of people logon around the world to share with friends and family what’s up with their day on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and many more. People spend a lot of time posting about their kids, their pets, what happened at work (Employment tip: Please don’t talk about your boss or company negatively readers, it’s not a good idea if you like food on your table every night.), what their doing this weekend, what their opinions are about the world around them, uploading photos of grandkids and even sharing their achievements in running, biking, and video games. A lot of time and information shared throughout their everyday lives are on these websites. Well, what happens with those accounts when that person is gone? How does family make sure those accounts are removed if that is their wishes? How do they let their deceased relative’s friends know if he or she is no longer on this earth? Enter, 1Password! Actually to be more accurate its Ctrl + \ (Windows) or ⌘ + \ (Mac) to start benefiting from this powerful app.
Over a year ago I began using 1Password. The idea is using one single complicated password to protect all the important information that you use on a daily basis. I began by memorizing a very very long password that uses various letters, numbers and characters. It is a hard password but it is still easy to remember because my wife and I practiced using it. I mean, if its one single password protecting all my family’s important information, then it better be a darn good one and not President Skroob’s luggage combination. I also had my wife remember this password so she could take advantage of 1Password’s security with protecting her website logins and personal information. After memorizing our password we began using 1Password everyday. We store website logins, personal information (examples: passport numbers, insurance policy numbers, blood types, etc), important work information and so much more. Just check out the website to find out all the information you can store in the app.
With all this information stored in a single, AES-256 encrypted file that syncs with all my computers and devices I now have it wherever I go and never have to scramble to find any piece of important information or provide a website with a simple or consistent password. With 1Password you can use the built in Password Generator to create very difficult 30-50 character passwords that you never have to remember thanks to 1Password (Tip: Many websites only allow a maximum of 30-32 character passwords.)
Just remember your single, but very complex password, enter it into the app and like magic you can access all those passwords and information that you created and stored. Each password can also be different. So for example, in recent news over 2 million social media accounts were hacked. With 1Password when you see news like this you don’t have to worry because each website you use has a different and complex password and if you do need to change your Facebook or Twitter password out of concern it may have been compromised, well just go to the website, change the password using the websites form along with the 1Password “Password Generator” and instantly it is changed on the website and saved in the app, which is synced across all your devices and even backed up securely.
1Password is also a great digital life will and testament. Over a year ago a close friend of my died in a car accident. Months later I noticed his Facebook and Google+ accounts were still up and yet nobody could deactivate them or even post to his friends online that he may have met outside of where he lives that he has passed away. This tragic event is a reminder of how important it is to make this information available to a spouse or family member you trust or if you don’t have someone you trust, then just placing the single complex password in your actual will and testament that will be used to close out those accounts is a much better idea than doing nothing. So in the event you unexpectedly leave this earth before you planned, well, you have provided all the information your spouse or loved one needs to continue paying bills and managing services that you once did. Your spouse or loved one can have access to close social media accounts of yours that you obviously will not be using anymore. They also are not left with a complex process of finding contact information for all these sites you used, where by, once they find the contact information they have to submit a form or email with the death certificate and go through a ton of hoops just to close a single social media account or gain access to an insurance policy provider they may need to handle your last wishes.
I use this app everyday and I strongly recommend you give it a try. It does cost, but the cost is well under the benefits you get from this powerful and secure application. Secure your data and plan for the future with 1Password. It is available to download to your computer, tablet or smartphone from the app’s website and also available through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
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