Stop saving passwords in your browser

Do you save passwords in your browser?

If answer is yes,its time to stop that.Both Firefox and Google chrome are saving passwords in clear text format and anyone who have physical (or remote) access to your computer can see your passwords without any hacking skills.




Type chrome://settings/passwords in Google Chrome browser if you don’t believe me.You can see all your Passwords saved in Chrome, in plain-text format.There’s no master password, no security, not even a prompt that “these passwords are visible”.

In Firefox,  Options > Security tab > Saved passwords > 'show passwords' will display all your passwords and username in a neat list,that too in clear text format.Only added advantage is that you can (and right now should) set a master password, which you'll be asked for if you subsequently try to ,view those passwords. Chrome doesn't offer a master password
 

So if you are a person who leave your office / Personal laptop on your table without locking it,you are exposing all your passwords to a stranger.It will only take couple of seconds to gain access to all your important passwords for banking ,emails or social media.Anyone can do that.No need of any hacking skills

Try yourself
The simplest way to find out is to try it yourself. If you have Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox installed, set yourself a challenge - how many passwords can you steal from your own computer in, say, one minute?

Solution


So how can you protect your passwords? You can delete them from Chrome. You can set a password on Firefox. More robustly, set up a screen lock on your computer and activate it before you walk away, no matter where you are. Don't let people use your user account - even people you regard as friends - if you're not watching them. You could also use software such as LastPass, which store your passwords and have their own master password. Some software  can also sync with mobile devices.

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