RememBear Is a Good Beginner Password Manager
Now you know that you absolutely need a password manager . But you never get to buy it. Let’s fix that right now with RememBear , a new password manager that’s easy to install and understand. We’ve tested it, and while we still prefer 1Password for most users, we recommend RememBear for beginners, especially during the free beta period.
Why do we like it
RememBear is developed by the makers of TunnelBear, one of Lifehacker ‘s favorite VPNs. And it has that same bear-style quirk, with a clean, flat interface. It’s like a tear-free shampoo for password managers.
RememBear has all the basic functions: it generates new passwords, measures password strength and supports fingerprint recognition on mobile devices and desktops. Every time you enter the site, it prompts you to save your login. It integrates nicely with your other applications. As with 1Password, you can access the mobile app from the Share menu in Safari, making it easier to sign in on mobile devices.
And the Chrome extension is incredible. Rather than forcing you to search for its icon in the toolbar or even right-click, RememBear adds a discreet interactive bear icon to every login form.
The interface is, to put it in the cliche of designers, “amazing”. As you enter the master password, the bear watches your moving cursor. Install the app and it rewards you with “Achievement: Put a Bear in it.” The attraction once went too far: when I first syncronized RememBear with my iPhone, the app roared out even though I was in vibration mode. But the appeal doesn’t penetrate the main application, it’s clean and simple.
Sometimes the app is simpler because it is slightly less powerful. The current beta only offers two categories of login: logins and credit cards. It’s a lot easier than 1Password’s 17 specialized categories, which include social security numbers, passports, wireless routers, and even outdoor licenses. The two RememBear categories include fewer form parameters, but usually all you need is an open “notes” section.
While RememBear looks great, it’s still not for superusers. Like most modern password managers, RememBear syncs your encrypted password data via the cloud, butunlike 1Password , you can’t choose to sync via iCloud, Dropbox, or a private server. And when the current beta period ends, you need a paid subscription like 1Password or LastPass to sync RememBear. But for now, you can try it for free, which is really useful if you are lazy to “get started”.
How to install it
I’ve left the setup for last, because if you’re not using a password manager, you’ll get started right away . You are about to click this direct download link on RememBear and open the file. You are about to install an iOS or Android app (you can do this in any order). Then you are going to download the Chrome extension .
When you install RememBear for the first time, you will give it a master password, which should be written down on paper or stored in memory. (If you insist on storing your master password on your phone or computer, at least keep it somewhere weird and don’t call it “password.” It’s still a bad idea, but I know some of you don’t care will do it.)
To install RememBear on other devices, select Add New Device in the app. You can install it using your device’s camera or by typing “New Device Key”. As long as you have installed the mobile app and signed in, it should be easy.
Once you’ve installed the app on all your devices, it syncs seamlessly. If you’ve saved your passwords using Chrome’s built-in sync or Apple Keychain, you can import them into RememBear. (Then remove them from Chrome and Keychain Access, which are less secure than a third-party password manager.)
From now on, every time you enter a new app, you can save your password to RememBear. And whenever you create a new username, don’t come up with your own weak password. Instead, use its password generator to create a longer, more secure password that you never have to remember or even enter. This is the whole point of a password manager.