Internet security specialist Bitdefender has launched a new password manager in a browser extension that will come with its consumer and premium applications, superseding Bitdefender Wallet.
According to Ciprian Istrate, vice president at Bitdefender Consumer Solutions, the new Bitdefender Password Manager aims to streamline the creation and management of passwords across multiple platforms from Windows to MacOS or Android, allowing users to generate and use unique and complex passphrases for each account, synchronising passwords across all platforms.
“Despite [consumers] understanding the importance of strong passwords as a security best practice, the ease of memorising a few passwords and reusing them everywhere outweighs increased security risk for most,” Istrate said in the company announcement.
Weak passwords make it easier for cybercriminals to compromise user accounts, commit identity theft and steal data and credentials that can be sold for profit. Many password management solutions already exist, but can themselves be inconvenient to use, noted Istrate.
Bitdefender Password Manager aims to change that.
Not only can users import their current credentials from Bitdefender Wallet, browsers like Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and other password managers like Dashlane or LastPass, but their credentials can be synchronised automatically and securely across multiple devices, Bitdefender said.
The solution allows users to generate a secure, complex and unique password with one click, as well as automatically saving and prefilling credentials for regularly visited websites.
Bitdefender Password Manager also locks itself with a PIN or automatically logs users out after a period of inactivity, with access regained by use of the master key.
All data is encrypted and decrypted locally, and the account holder alone has access to the master password, according to Bitdefender, whose research has suggested that about 50% of consumers use a single password for all their online accounts and activities.
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