A Beginner’s Guide to Setting up LastPass

You know you should be using a password manager. In fact, you’ve wanted to create it for a long time, but haven’t taken the plunge yet. Even popular ones like LastPass are difficult to set up. Good news: Getting started with a password manager is easier than you think.

Password managers are an integral part of your online life. They create strong passwords that are difficult to crack, they keep track of those passwords so you don’t need to remember them, and they make it easy to change your passwords after being cracked. You have many great options , but for this guide, we’ll focus on LastPass , one of our favorites, in your web browser. We love LastPass because the free version has all the features most people want and it syncs on one platform (like your PC, Mac, or mobile device). The free version of LastPass includes everything we’ll cover in this guide. For an additional $ 12 per year, you can also access your passwords from other platforms (like Windows and Mac, Mac and iPhone, etc.) and get some extra multi-factor authentication capabilities.

Download and install LastPass on your browser

LastPass resides inside your browser as an extension. It is available for almost all major browsers including Chrome , Firefox , Safari, and Opera .

1. Go to the LastPass Downloads page and install the extension for your preferred browser.
2. After the installation is complete, you will see a new icon in the toolbar. Click this icon and select Create Account Now.
3. Enter your email address and create a master password . Make this password secure , this is the password you will always use to access LastPass and any passwords you create and store with it. Keep this in mind – in this case, you don’t have many options .

There’s also the LastPass app for Mac , but most people will find a browser extension that’s all they need. If you plan on accessing LastPass from your mobile device, download the app for Android , iOS, or Windows Phone as well , but be prepared to sign up for a premium subscription if you want to sync passwords across multiple devices.

Save your registration information for the websites you visit

It’s time to save your passwords to LastPass. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest one is to just use the Internet as usual and save your passwords every time you sign in to a new site. This way LastPass does all the work for you.

1. When you visit a site with a login page, enter your username and password, but do not click the login button.
2. Click the LastPass icon inside the password field, then click Save Credentials for This Site.

As you do this, your LastPass account will gradually fill your vault with all of your passwords and login information. Now, when you revisit these sites, LastPass can automatically enter your username and password for you.

If you’ve used your browser’s built-in password manager or another supported password manager like 1Password in the past , you can import all your login information directly into LastPass. The process depends on which manager you’ve used before, but you’ll find all the information you need in the LastPass Guide to Importing Passwords .

Fix your weak passwords with a security checker

Then, let’s fix all those useless, easily-cracked passwords that you used. As you enter more and more passwords into LastPass, you will want to log in and check those passwords and create better ones. There are several ways to do this, but since you’re just getting started, the easiest way is to use LastPass’s built-in security check.

1. In your browser, click the LastPass icon> My Vault.
2. Click the Security Check tab.
3. Click Show my grade.
4. Enter your LastPass password when prompted.
5. Wait while LastPass analyzes all of your passwords.

LastPass will show you a report of all your passwords, divided into four self-explanatory sections: changing cracked passwords, changing weak passwords, changing reused passwords, and changing old passwords.

Click each section to expand it to see which passwords LastPass recommends you change. For many popular sites, LastPass can automatically change your password without any effort on your part. Just hit the Auto-Change button and LastPass will automatically create a new password for that site in the background and save it so you can use it the next time you visit.

If the site does not support automatic changing, you will need to manually update your passwords. LastPass tries to make it as painless as possible, but it’s still a little work:

1. Click Launch Site and LastPass will open that site in a new tab.
2. Sign in with your username and password and look for the password change section in the account information for that site.
3. In the new password field, click the LastPass icon, then select Create New Password. LastPass will create a new password for the site.
4. When prompted, select “Save Site” to save the new password information.

Depending on how many different sites you fix here, this can be a long and cumbersome process, so fire up a movie on Netflix and take some time to take care of everyone.

Add information to fill out the form for quick payment and new accounts on new sites

In addition to handling passwords, LastPass can also securely store your credit card information and address to speed up the process of creating new accounts when registering an account at a new store, retail store, or any website. The setup is simple:

1. Click the LastPass icon in your browser.
2. Choose Shape Fills> Add Shape Fills.
3. Enter all the information you want to keep here.

LastPass has tabs for entering a variety of information, including your name, address, and credit card information. Adding this information to LastPass allows when you create an account on a new site, LastPass can automatically fill in the data for you so you don’t have to enter it.

It’s completely optional, but it’s a useful feature built into LastPass, and your information is encrypted along with your passwords and other data. If you’re uncomfortable or don’t want to store something like a credit card here, it’s still worth adding your name and address so you don’t have to re-enter it everywhere.

Add Multi-Factor Authentication to Your LastPass Account

As you’d expect from a tool designed to make your digital life more secure, LastPass supports multi-factor authentication . Once enabled, your Master Password alone is not enough to log into your LastPass account and access your vault. You will also need the password you received from the authenticator . This extra layer of security keeps your LastPass account safe, which helps keep all of your passwords safe afterwards. The setup takes just a few clicks:

1. Click the LastPass icon in your browser and select My Vault.
2. Click Account Settings.
3. Click the Multi-Factor Authentication tab.
4. Click the pen icon next to the authentication device you want to use and set the Enabled drop-down menu to Yes. Then follow the instructions on the screen.

The process here differs depending on which authenticator you want to use. Typically, you add LastPass to the app of your choice, after which the app will give you a code to log into LastPass in your browser. LastPass supports a number of common multi-factor authentication apps , including Google Authenticator . LastPass also has its own Authenticator app , which includes a nifty one-button verification system that makes it easy to sign in. If you’re not already using any of the other supported authentication apps, your best bet is to start with LastPass (although only works for LastPass.)

That’s all. Setting up LastPass is easy, and the only headache comes with the potentially lengthy password verification process. Luckily, this is a one-time thing, and once all of your passwords are strong, you only need to worry about changing one if the site gets hacked.

Finally, while many of us don’t need its advanced features, it’s worth noting that LastPass can also share passwords with other people , provide emergency access to your account with a loved one, andcan even safely store notes you might not want. see. Until then, go ahead and just pat yourself on the back for finally installing a password manager after so many years of procrastination.

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