What will happen to your cryptocurrency and other accounts when you die or go missing? Have you got a plan to allow access to your Online world to your family or loved ones? Until last week I didn't have anything set up, and it was always something that niggled me in the back of my mind. I have all my passwords on total lock down and don't share them with anyone. My most important passwords are in my head and not even recorded anywhere! I always knew that if something were to happen to me, my money would be lost because no one would be able to guess them. I never really did anything about it, because I wasn't sure the best way to do this, and I also didn't stand to benefit from any of this as I would be dead! Now, that is not a very good attitude, and I must tell you that I feel all the better for having found what I think is a very good solution!
Now, whenever we type our passwords into a computer there is ALWAYS a security risk. If you are a high profile or Super powerful person I MAY not recommend this, but having said that, I cannot think of a better solution! The idea of writing passwords down on a piece of paper and handing them over to ANYONE forsafekeepingg is very unsafe in my opinion! The same can be said for putting them in a safe or other secure spot, they just don't feel safe to me on paper!
Last week I discovered lastpass.com by accident. I wasn't looking for it but found myself reading about their service. Eureka! I did a Google search and some background reading and lastpass.com are almost top of the list in terms of security and doing everything right. They had great ratings, and the system looked to be very simple, yet effective. The idea is that you enter all your personal information and passwords etc, or whatever you like into your Vault. Login is secured with two factor authentication, which is currently about as secure as it gets without using hardware like iris and fingerprint ID.
You have a special tab called Emergency Access. You can assign people you trust to gain entry to your vault from this section. When you do this you basically give them permission to view your personal information IF and only if you do NOT respond to a request for access. So, if you are still alive and your trusted friend hits the button to view your details, you can stop the request. You decide how long you have to deny access when you give them permission. The maximum waiting period is 30 days which is the safest option if you may be traveling or out of touch for sometime. This makes things very secure as LONG as you keep an eye on your vault requests. It would be a very good idea to add a mail filter to highlight and ensure it doesn't ever go to spam. I'm guessing Google have that covered but who knows for other anti spam systems.
WHy is it SO safe?
LastPass encrypts your Vault before it goes to the server using 256-bit AES encryption with salt hashes. This means that is is very secure and impossible for anyone to see or lookup your password or data. It takes it a step further by using PBKDF2, which is another layer of protection that basically makes a brute force attack virtually impossible. Since the Vault is already encrypted before it leaves your computer and reaches the LastPass server, not even LastPass employees can see your sensitive data! The most important thing for ultimate security is to use a password that is totally unique to you for your login. Do not use the same password for lastpass.com that you have used anywhere else before. Ideally make your password more than 10 characters and not using dictionary words. In theory this can be the last password you have to remember as you can then store your passwords for your own reference in this system. Very importantly, your master password and private keys are never sent to the LastPass servers. The magic all happens on your own computer and the only thing that is sent is a totally encrypted version of it.
Other Benefits
You can also use some other good features of system with a paid account. You can share any data and notes very securely in the sharing center and assign specific things to specific people. We should never email our passwords or share them in any way that isn't totally reliable. Since that doesn't exist, I think this is the next best thing.
It is surprising how many people keep their passwords on their computers or backup drives without any other cloud or external storage system in place. Bearing in mind that things like our Steemit password are totally irreplaceable, we have to take more precautions than that. Don't let yourself be one of those unfortunate people who's laptop breaks and then only realise they don't have a copy of it elsewhere. Using LastPass your data and money is safe no matter what happens to your laptop or home. Even if it doesn't happen, that peace of mind alone is enough reason for me to use this.
Lastpass also offers advice when it detects you are using weak or vulnerable passwords. That can be good to know as you might be using a password that is on a hacking list, in which case your account very insecure. It also has a good mobile App so when you are on the move you can still access your passwords securely and not get stuck!
What Are You Waiting for?
All in all, this is a really brilliant system that I am now using. My mind is now a bit more at ease, and there is nothing for me to do anymore to ensure that people aren't locked out of my accounts if they really need access. I can now use even stronger passwords then I would otherwise use since I can quickly and easily look them up. In these crazy times with computer power increasing ever more, we need to have better passwords!
I was watching a documentary last night about a guy with 6 graphics cards cracking thousands of passwords in just a few seconds. He explains how this is prevented by using a stronger password in the first place. It's got to the point now where you simply cannot remember many secure passwords easily, and so we really need to use services like this.
I hope this is a help to you, and that you can also put to rest the issue of what happens to your secured and valuable data after you pass on. Leaving a LastPass is the smartest and best thing you can do for your children and loved ones and we do really owe it to them to have something in place that will make their lives easier when that fateful day arrives.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation whatsoever with LastPass and am giving my own independent review of their service. You are responsible for choosing passwords that are secure and you must always bear the responsibility of unwanted access due to poor password choice.
Get more info and open up a free account at https://www.lastpass.com