ICE Product Review: LastPass Password Manager Software

What is it?

LastPass is a free, feature-rich password manager and Web form filler. It has almost every software feature found in any competitor, plus some unique features of its own. Numerous mobility options mean you can use it wherever you are.

LastPass puts all of your individual passwords behind one master password. When you type in that master password, LastPass can then automatically log you in to any web site you visit with saved login credentials. Even better, LastPass syncs passwords over the internet, so all your saved passwords on your work computer, for example, will always be synced up on your home computer.

This product as reviewed is FREE to individual users. There are some more features you can get with a paid version as well.

That is the magic question on everyone’s mind when you think about saving passwords to an internet based system. So here is the answers we got from the security page on the website from the developers themselves.

1. All sensitive data is encrypted locally
All encryption/decryption occurs on your computer, not on our servers. This means that your sensitive data does not travel over the Internet and it never touches our servers, only the encrypted data does.

2. We use Strong Encryption
We use the same encryption algorithm that the US Government uses for Top Secret data. Your encrypted data is meaningless to us and to everyone else without the decryption key.

3. Only you know the key to decrypt your data
Your encryption key is created from your email address and password. Your password is never sent to LastPass (only a one way hash of your password when authenticating), so the components that make up your key remain local. This is why it is so important to not forget your LastPass password, we do not know it and without it, your encrypted data is meaningless.

4. We allow you to use unique, strong passwords
No more using the same password for all of your sites. No more writing down passwords on little pieces of paper. We encourage our users to use our password generator to create strong passwords for each site. With LastPass, you will be safer online than ever before.

5. No more using your browser’s insecure password manager
Were you surprised at how easy we retrieved all of your passwords from your browser when you installed our software using the LastPass application? Unfortunately, any malicious application can easily do the same. With LastPass, this will no longer be possible.

I have been using some form of online password software for several years now, my very first encounter with these products was started with other products. I have used 3 different ones prior to being introduced to LastPass. While you can get password saved in your installed browser, LastPass goes way being local use. It is a cloud application that allows access from virtually any computer.

I began using LastPass exclusively in December of 2009 and now it is the ONLY one I use. We have also made this the enterprise solution for our workers that can share some of the information needed for access to sensitive online data storage access and multiple site logins. I can give them access to the single sign-on for LastPass while changing individual site passwords at will and without notification to downstream users. This helps to enhance my security without compromising the need for protected passwords.

Also being able to do form fills on the fly from all PC’s and Mac’s in our networks without any need to carry the cards from place to place lets me keep the physical cards out of the wallet, potentially reducing the risk or lost or stolen cards from a lost wallet.

So, while I am more comfortable than most with the security issues of online data storage, I would still HIGHLY recommend this product to newbies. It is easy to set up, has alot of support and can be upgraded to phone use/mobile devices for pennies a day. The functionality is robust and it just WORKS!

ColderICE Rating

4.5 cubes (Excellent)

Where can you get it?