Tool Highlight: Password managers

Passwords are the most annoying thing ever. That seems a bit bold. But let's face it, they are. Especially when you have to share them. Shared usernames and passwords are a very common way to give other people access to tools. But how do we do it securely?

Don'ts

Let's start with a list of do's and don'ts. These things should be very common knowledge and shouldn't surprise you.

Avoid using the same password.

It is very easy and convenient to use the same password everywhere. Many companies have one password that everyone knows so they can access everything. But... What happens if someone leaves the company, and this time not in a good way? They still have access to some of your tools and account because they know the password.

Use Excel or Google Sheets to share passwords.

Many companies use spreadsheets to share passwords. They put the file on a shared drive or in the cloud and call it a day. But what happens if that file is stolen. And I know it is very unlikely that the files will be stolen. I could tell you a story about when I was a kid and found a file like that on my school's shared file storage and got access to the administrator account and had access from my home computer to the entire school network, but I think you get the point.

Use Post-its or whiteboards.

We talked about digital forms of password storage, but somewhere there are still Post-its stuck to computer monitors. Or passwords written on whiteboards. Although people on the Internet cannot see them, anyone who enters your office can.

Do's

So what should you do?

Use a password manager.

This is like an Excel spreadsheet but with more features. You only have to remember 1 password, the password for your password manager, everything else you can forget.

Use random passwords.

If we solved the password sharing problem, we can also solve the password repetition problem by using a random password. Most password managers will automatically fill in the password on the website you are trying to use it on. So you don't have to remember the password. There are many forms of random passwords these days, from complicated numbers and letters to a combination of a few words.

Use a password manager that allows you to share passwords.

Password Manager allows you to share a single password with many passwords. This means you can share passwords easily and securely. If an employee leaves, you can simply revoke their access to the password manager and they will probably not be able to log in anywhere. (Unless they copied the password themselves).

ToolHive

Where does ToolHive come in? ToolHive is not a password manager. But you should add the password manager as one of your tools. What ToolHive can help you with is giving you an overview of access to the tool. With "Request Access", an employee can request access to a tool. With the password manager, you can then easily share the tool's password.

Any tips?

There are many password managers. Even iCloud can share passwords.

At ToolHive we use 1Password and recommend it.