Now you can automatically change passwords
Even if you're diligent about creating strong, unique passwords at all the websites you frequent, the nontrivial risk that you can eventually be compromised remains. After all, major hacks were commonplace in 2014, and 2015 will likely be no better.
That's why many security experts suggest routinely changing your passwords, so you don't maintain the same ones for a very long period. With that in mind, you can improve your security posture by switching to LastPass or Dashlane, two password management programs that can now automatically change passwords for you.
The latest version of LastPass, for example, features Auto-Password Change, which works in conjunction with both Chrome and Safari browsers. To use it, you simply open the entry for the website you want to change and click Edit. Then click the Change Password Automatically button and let LastPass do the rest.
LastPass then completes the password reset for you behind the scenes, and it saves the new entry for you automatically. Right now, it works with about 80 popular websites, so you shouldn't expect LastPass to be able to change any and every site you frequent. But all the most popular sites are represented, including Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR), Amazon (AMZN), and Pinterest. You can browse the complete list of supported sites on the LastPass support page.
Dashlane does LastPass one better. Instead of making you visit the entry for each website individually to even see if auto-password change is an option, Dashlane has created a new Password Changer window. Choose it, and you can see as complete list of sites you use that Dashlane has the ability to change automatically.
From here, you can choose to change the password for individual sites or select a group of sites -- even all of them -- and automatically reset their passwords in bulk.
Dashlane offers compatibility with a similar set of sites as LastPass, also about 80 in all. But while you get automatic access to this feature in LastPass just by using the latest version of the software, Dashlane puts you on a waiting list even if you're already a Dashlane user. You can sign up for access to this feature at the Dashlane website.
Both LastPass and Dashlane have upped the convenience ante significantly, although Dashlane's implementation is notably the better of the two. If you already use one or the other, you'll want to try out this new feature. If you're not a user of password managers, this is one more great reason to start (with Dashlane in particular).
You can certainly use the free version of either program, but most people will want to pay for the annual premium subscription, which includes essentials like the ability to sync your passwords across multiple PCs and devices. And therein is Dashlane's only real chink: Priced at $40/year, it's more than three times the price of LastPass, which clocks in at just $12/year.
