Often the convenience offered by electronic devices and navigation programs go in the opposite direction to safeguarding confidential information. One of these situations is the service offered by browsers to store passwords.
This it can be very practical, since we will not need to remember the password of each site. The problem is that many of them can be accessed post electronic, profiles personal And till Bank data or credit cards.
If you want to know what are the risks that you run when using these tools or do you want to know if your browser has already saved this type of information, we recommend the following post.
How safe is it to save passwords in the browser? Main security risks
The most used online services use the method user and password to access them. So do the online shopping sites, social networks, among other. In turn, it is known that using the same password for everything is a risk. If all this happens to you, it is likely that you are one of the people who agrees to save the keys in the browser.
The problem is that many of these programs save them in a simple text file. That is any other person who gains access to our computer or mobile device can get hold of them. Either physically or virtually, we cannot expose our security.
The second drawback is that many of the accounts used by the various sites are linked. That is, if someone gets your email password, they can access, for example, one of your social networks. Finally, if it is desktop devicesRelying on the browser as a password manager can be tricky. We mean the moment you need access an account on another computer. Thus, by not remembering he password you can lock the account.
Steps to view the passwords stored in the most used browsers
If you want check how easy anyone can access your passwords, you should try to do it yourself. They are simple steps that can be achieved in minutes.
In the same way, another person only needs this time to violate the security of all your accounts:
Chrome
If you want to do it from your computer, the first thing you should do is open Google Chrome:
- Once in it, click on “Profile”. If you logged in with your account, your profile photo will appear.
- Within the displayed menu, click on “Manage your Google account”.
- In the side panel select “Security”.
- Scroll down until you find the section “Login to other websites”.
- Inside this box you will find the “Password manager”. Click on it.
- In this new window it will appear a list of all sites and apps whose passwords were saved by Google.
- Click on the one you want visualize.
- Do the same about the icon eye locked to display the corresponding password.
It is also possible to carry out this process from the mobile version browser.
For it:
- Enter the app.
- In the upper right corner press the three points of “Plus”.
- Login to “Settings”.
- Then do the same in “Passwords”.
- Tap on “Check and manage the passwords saved on the page passwords.google.com”. In this same menu you can also delete or export them to another device.
iPhone
- If you use this same browser on iPhone phones, the first thing you should do is open it.
- Click on the ellipsis vertical corners.
- Press the settings icon and then “Passwords”.
- Within the list that will be displayed, choose which one you want to see and press “To show”.
Mozilla
Carrying out this process in the desktop version is very simple:
- Click on the button menu. It is in the upper right corner of the window.
- Then click on “Logins and passwords”.
- A new tab in which you can find on the left, a list of the sites and the right its respective user and password saved.
- To discover the password, just click on the icon eye.
Smartphone
If you use the mobile version of this software the process is a little different:
- After accessing the application press on the menu button of the same.
- Click on “Setting”.
- Then do the same in “Privacy” and then do it in “Manage logins”,
- Once in this tab you can see the list from each site with stored key.
- Click on the one you want to see the password.
- Choose “Show password”.
EDGE
Microsoft’s new browser also offers the possibility of storing passwords Y users.
To access the list with all of them, perform the following steps.
- Press the start menu on Windows and writes “Credential Manager” and run it.
- Within the utility window choose “Web Credentials”.
- You can see all the sites and their respective data saved login. Deploy from the arrow to access them individually.
- Click on “Show” to show the hidden key.
Safari
To see the passwords saved in the default Mac browser you must follow these simple steps:
- Login to the mentioned software.
- click in the preferences panel and then in “Passwords”.
- Within the list of options choose “Details”.
- A second easier way is to tell Siri “Show me my passwords.”
To view this information in your iPhone’s browser, you will have to perform slightly different steps:
- Login to “Settings”.
- Within the list, locate and select “Safari”.
- In the section “General”, click on “Passwords”.
- Sign in to them confirming your identity using the fingerprint.
- Doing so will show all sites whose passwords are stored in the browser.
Opera
- Opens the Navigator.
- Then press the button “Options” which is in the upper left corner.
- Click on “Setting”.
- Choose “Privacy & Security” on the side panel.
- Do the same about “Manage saved passwords”.
- To view the keys, click on “To show” in each place of your interest.
What are the safest methods to store passwords safely?
As you may have seen, access the passwords, no matter which browser you use, is more than simple. But don’t worry, as you won’t need to dust off the old scorer. This is because there are different programs that perform the task of remembering them.
But even though you may think that is the same to use the browser, we assure you not. This is because this type of software encrypt all data that you store in it. In turn, to access this list you must have a master key. So you only need to remember one password.
According to the Spanish Internet User Security Office, these are the best options:
KeePass Password Safe
Allows you to securely protect your login data. Use AES and Twofish encryption technologies. It is available for all operating systems desktop for free. You can download it from here.
Download KeePass Password Safe Windows
Password Boss
Another manager that also has a anti-theft system of remote erase. Is able to send you alerts if your security is being affected in real time. In addition, it offers its own web browser and an automatic password generator. Find them here.
Download Password Boss Windows
Bitlocker
That’s right, this tool that comes installed with all Windows from the Vista version it is able to offer you the security you need for your passwords. Keeps and encrypts all documents Y passwords that you have stored on the disk.