Password Manager Blues

One of the benefits of having a password manager is that you’re occasionally reminded that you created an account with some website ages again, used it once then never went back.

In my case, that’s an awful lot of accounts! Some of those sites don’t exist any more, either they shut up shop (pun intended) or were acquired.

Of the remainder, my experience has been roughly 50/50 whether I can close or delate said account.

More recently, I decided to change password managers, as the one I used to use is OK but I’ve always had problems with their iPad app. Of course, it’s not on the list of automated options for data import, meaning that I had to export my data to a CSV file, then edit said CSV file so that the new password manager will accept it.

Moral of this story? Don’t just shop for password managers based on what platforms they support and what features they offer — also check their support to find out how good that side is, and double-check how you can get your data out again should the need arise.

Also, if you’re not using a password manager currently, you really should. At the very least, make sure you’re letting your browser help you create and remember strong passwords.

(I’m not naming names here, as I don’t wish to imply that the makers of either password manager have done anything wrong. Ideally, there would be some degree of standardization on data portability between all these services, as well as data security.)