A password manager deal that has users worried
The world of password managers has just a few big names. Among the most popular of these tools, which let users create unique, strong, nonmemorable passwords for all of the many dozens of sites and accounts in our lives today, are LastPass, Dashlane, Roboform, 1U Password Manager and Keepass. Last week, LastPass users got word that their password manager has been acquired by online services company LogMeIn.
LogMeIn described the deal like this:: "A high growth business with millions of loyal users and an award winning product line, LastPass will immediately bolster LogMeIn's position in the multi-billion dollar identity and access management (IAM) market, while accelerating one of the company's key strategic growth initiatives." And LastPass said, "we can't imagine a better team to align with our values and product-driven mission."
On the surface, this seems like a positive step for LastPass that should provide it with the resources it needs to grow and innovate. It could also become part of an integrated-services package with other complimentary LogMeIn business units, such as join.me (a remote meeting service), Cubby (a cloud storage service akin to Dropbox) and, of course, LogMeIn itself, a remote desktop connection tool.
User feedback was swift and severe, though, both in comments on the LastPass site and in forums across the Internet. Users are concerned, in part, that LogMeIn is going to mix up the freemium model that LastPass has long employed, although LastPass has tried to reassure customers that's not the case in a hastily written damage control blog post:
"First of all, we (LogMeIn/LastPass) have no plans to change our existing business model. Secondly, this acquisition provides us with access to resources that will enable us to innovate faster, as we continue to strive to deliver an even better product than the one you have come to know and love. It is also important to note that the current LastPass team is staying in place and remains committed to deliver on the promise of privacy, security and convenience that has been our mission since day one."
So, is there cause for concern? Probably not -- at least in the short term. Neither company has given any reason to believe the free version of LastPass will be retired, nor will the mix of features between the free and paid versions be revised. If you're already a LastPass user, you can safely stay with it for the foreseeable future.
If and when it makes sense to migrate to a new password manager, keep in mind that the transition is easy: Virtually every competing password manager on the market, both free and subscription, imports passwords from LastPass and other managers.
