Chapter 1 · 1.1
Why use a password manager, and what this manual teaches you
Every account should have its own long password. If one leaks somewhere, your other accounts stay locked. Nobody can remember dozens of passwords like that. A password manager does it for you.
What a password manager does for you
- It creates a long, random password for every website.
- It stores all your passwords encrypted in a vault.
- It fills in your password on the right website, and only there. On a fake site with an almost identical address, it fills in nothing.
- It can also store codes for two-step verification and passkeys.
You only need to remember one: the master password for your vault.
What this manual does and doesn't cover
This manual is the hands-on part: which button to choose, in which order, and what to sort out before things go wrong. You can read more about why a password manager is a good idea and how to choose one here:
- Password manager and passkeys: how to log in securely: the short overview in the knowledge base.
- Staying Safe Online course, lesson What a strong password really is and lesson Choosing and using password managers.
- Switching to a European Cloud course, lesson Moving your passwords to a password manager.
The two password managers in this manual
| Password manager | Company and vault | Cost | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton Pass | Proton, a Swiss company. Your vault is stored on Proton's servers in Switzerland, Germany or Norway. | Generous free version. Pass Plus and Pass Family are paid. | Creating a Proton account for Proton Pass |
| 1Password | AgileBits, a Canadian company. With an account on 1password.eu, your vault is stored in the EU. | Paid, with a trial period. | Creating a 1Password account on 1password.eu |
Both work on your Mac, your Windows PC, your iPhone, your Android phone and in all major browsers. Both encrypt your vault on your own device, so the maker can't look inside. Where a feature is only available in a paid subscription, we say so. WebOké doesn't sell either of them and receives no money from the makers. You can read why we chose these two in Proton Pass, 1Password or your browser: which one suits you?. A comparison of 23 well-known password managers, with country, price, reviews and scores, is in All well-known password managers compared: country, features, reviews and scores.
How to use this manual
- Choose a password manager (Proton Pass, 1Password or your browser: which one suits you?) and create a good master password (Your master password: create it, store it and never lose it).
- Create an account and install the apps: Proton Pass in chapter 2, 1Password in chapter 3.
- Move your existing passwords across (chapter 4).
- Read how to use it day to day: creating passwords, codes and passkeys (chapter 5).
- Set up sharing, emergency access and a backup (chapters 6 and 7). Don't skip this: without these steps, one forgotten password could cost you everything.
Tip: Set aside an afternoon for it. Start with your most important accounts: your email, My WebOké, your bank and your accounting. The rest will follow naturally whenever you next log in.