LastPass and Dashlane announce automatic password changers
If you ever had your computer compromised by a computer virus, hacker or other malicious software running on it you know that you are done after you remove the threat from it or format it.
Depending on what happened, you may also need to change passwords online. The same is true if a service got hacked on the Internet that you have been a member of, and things get even worse if you happen to use the same password and email address at a lot of sites.
Having to change passwords on all of those sites can take a long time. I just checked my KeePass database for example and it contains hundreds of accounts. If I would have to change all of them, I'd spend at least a day doing that and nothing but.
The companies LastPass and Dashlane, both known for password managers, announced the beta launch of automatic password changers today. It is interesting to note that both companies are not associated in any way.
Anyway, the basic idea behind the feature is to use the software to change account passwords automatically. Dashlane users can sign up for the beta on this website.
The feature supports a total of 71 websites and services right now that include Twitter, Reddit, Spotify, Samsung, Skype, Yelp, Outlook, Ikea, LinkedIn and Google to name a few. The full list of sites and services supported is available here.
A click on one of the supported sites in the password changer menu will change the account password automatically. There is also a "change all passwords" button to change passwords on all supported sites. According to The Verge, the feature comes courtesy of PassOmatic which Dashlane acquired some time ago.
Passwords that are generated are unique and random according to Dashlane. It even supports sites with two-factor authentication but a prompt will appear in this case in which the code needs to be entered.
LastPass announced a similar feature today as well but it works in a slightly different fashion than Dashlane's solution. The company's Auto-Password Change module has been added to the beta version of LastPass on Chrome, Safari and Firefox (starting with version 3.1.70).
The feature supports 75 different web services and sites currently including Facebook, Amazon and Dropbox. The change password automatically button appears when you click on edit for a supported site.
When clicked, LastPass opens a new tab in the browser, logs you in, creates a new password, submits that new password to the service and saves it on a successful edit in LastPass.
Closing Words
I can see the appeal of the solution and it is likely that many Internet users who use these password managers will make use of it. Others may dislike the fact that the whole process is taken out of their hands.
Now You: What's your take the new feature?
I’ve been reading so much about dashlane, seems like a lot of people are concerned with their system & the cost.. I’ve been using abine’s products for years and I’d rather send my $40 a year to them. you get a lot more than just a password changer/vault. I love my masked emails (no spam is awesome) and masked credit cards (I’ve yet to get an email from my bank saying my cards been compromised and I am a frequent online shopper)
Guys forget about the features check this post, dashline offer premium for free. http://www.ceffectz.com/discussions/get-dashlane-premium-for-free
“Others may dislike the fact that the whole process is taken out of their hands.” How on earth is anything taken out of anyone’s hands? This is an optional feature. If you don’t want this, leave it turned off, and the product acts the way it always did. What a retarded thing to say. Do you not know any better, or are you just trolling?
You can still dislike it, right, even if you don’t use it.
Addendum :
KeePass previous version 2.25 has a different and more detailed Import menu structure.
I have no problem getting the current LastPass Export CSV file in.
I’ll keep that KeePass version for now.
And LastPass under my left elbow :-)
P.S. My LastPass CSV file(s) is (are) readable with NotePad++..
LastPass output format = url,username,password,extra,name,grouping,fav
Keepass input format = “Account”,”Login Name”,”Password”,”Web Site”,”Comments”
Is this what they call a mismatch, hence thus therefore the error?
Thanks for your patience too.
JFJB
Thanks for the update, Martin, and your continued efforts to bring forth news and tips.
There is one odd thing with Keepass Import CSV file from LastPass.
I get an error box saying “Entry: #0” which, when redirected to the online help, refers to the CSV format, as if one or the other had changed it…
Current KeePass v1.28 portable (updated first by overwriting old files, 2nd update by copying only new files)
Current LastPass v3.1.1 FF plugin (last updated).
I’ve never encountered that error with previous versions of either program/plug-in.
Am I the only one having made a mistake, or reported the issue?
I would be very leary of allowing any program under the control of others to change my passwords for me.
I agree. Then again, most users who use these programs use the program to generate a random password for them and save it afterwards. The new automated way does the same thing but without letting the user know about the generated password.
If some of you have better security practices then that’s good but for most people out there, solutions like LastPass can exponentially increase their posture thereby protecting you.
Not sure why anyone would trust the cloud with their passwords, particularly companies that have a poor track record when it comes to breaches (Lastpass).
http://keepass.info/ is my recommendation.
Is there any easy way to switch the things from LastPass to KeyPass?
“The company’s Auto-Password Change module has been added to the beta version of LastPass on Chrome, Safari and Firefox (starting with version 3.1.70)”
Where does one get this ‘beta’ version of LastPass for Chrome? Can you please put a prominent link in your post? Even the LastPass post does not specify its secret location :-)
PS I am asking because I have 3.1.75 extension version but I don’t see the option to change passwords in LastPass.
Good question. I just checked, and the most recent stable version on Chrome is 3.1.75 and the feature is already integrated.
The beta page is here but there is none currently it seems: https://lastpass.com/beta.php
So… I can’t find the FireFox add-on version 3.1.70. The latest version on LastPass.com is 3.1.54.
I give up for a few days. I still can’t see the ‘reset’ password button for any websites on FireFox.
I am using chromium – so that might be the problem. I will install FireFox and check if the extension supports it.