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How to Make a Good Username | Create a Unique and Secure Username

See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames, why secure usernames are important, and how to create them effectively!

Cybersecurity should be on the top of everyone&rsquo;s mind, in both your personal and professional life. One easy step that everyone can take today to make their online lives safer is to adopt a password manager. However, not all password managers are made for teams, so when looking to adopt a tool in your business, you need to find one with tools designed for collaboration. Here are five of the best password managers for teams.

TeamPassword is the best password manager for teams. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today and try for yourself.
<h2>What features are needed in a password manager for teams?</h2>
Teams have different needs than individuals, and password managers are no exception to this rule. If your password manager isn&rsquo;t making collaboration easier, then at best it is going unused. At worst, it leads to cybersecurity lapses as your team compensates for missing features with <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/top-5-dangerous-ways-to-store-your-passwords" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">less safe methods of password storing and sharing</a>.&nbsp;

Here are the most important features when choosing a password manager for teams:
<ol>
<li>
Extensions for every browser
</li>
<li>
Strong, random password generator
</li>
<li>
Ability to share passwords across groups and subgroups
</li>
<li>
App-based multi-factor authentication
</li>
<li>
Activity logs
</li>
<li>
Email alerts
</li>
<li>
Free trial
</li>
<li>
Simple interface
</li>
<li>Stellar customer support</li>
</ol>
<h3></h3>

<h3>Extensions for every browser</h3>

The last thing you want is for your passwords to be stored across multiple password managers. Unfortunately, this is the reality for most people when they use Firefox on their personal laptop, Safari on their smartphone, and <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-find-my-google-password-list" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Chrome</a> on their work computer.&nbsp;

The best password managers for teams keep all of your passwords secure and in one place by having extensions for every browser. That way, wherever you are browsing you have access to all of your accounts.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/QYGpbDGFRMa90T6XOpgr" alt="undefined" width="528" height="278"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K3RgZLHSyZqzdo8ghBn7sJy9Hql0bQkUPphWHXnltYgAE-8AVOxenV7c8tLQ9n_xhokZNUFZzz-m5oYzacOkiUFwnA=w640-h400-e365-rj-sc0x00ffffff" width="445" height="278" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">
<h3>Strong, random password generator</h3>

The core function of a password manager is to create <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/strong-password-generator" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">strong, random passwords</a> and then remember them for you. This should happen right in the password field when setting up a new account, making life easier for busy professionals.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/joRPSM67RQepvvYMPy1g" alt="undefined" width="427" height="300">
<h3>Ability to share passwords across groups and subgroups</h3>

Some accounts are just for you, others are for your team, and still others can be shared across the entire company. If you are a freelancer, then you might even have shared accounts with multiple different companies. Whether the account is shared with 1, 5, or 100 people, those who need access should have it and those who don&rsquo;t, shouldn&rsquo;t.&nbsp;

The best password managers for teams allow you to share your accounts with big and small groups so everyone has access to the tools they need to succeed.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/aPfurwBSQ3iHxBG9rqrq" alt="undefined" width="409" height="300">
<h3>App-based multi-factor authentication</h3>

It is a well-known fact in cybersecurity circles that <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/why-do-hackers-want-your-email-address" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">email accounts are the prime target of hackers</a>. That&rsquo;s because email addresses are often used to recover accounts or for multi-factor authentication (MFA). That is, once a hacker has access to your email address, they probably have access to everything else you own.

App-based MFA changes this by creating a separate tool just for MFA codes. This is more secure and convenient, making it the superior choice for protecting your <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/master-password-what-is-it-and-do-i-need-one" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">master password</a>.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/z1a3h5dzSNuHTKffMDTj" alt="undefined" width="291" height="300">
<h3>Activity logs</h3>

With so many people seamlessly accessing the same accounts, issues may arise. Someone might change something that another person is working on or accidentally delete a needed document.&nbsp;

Activity logs provide a record of who accessed what account and when. If something has changed, then it is easy to track down who was in the account last, send them a Slack message, and confirm what they did.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/V2c9nKfQpiM9P0RRhJ9v" alt="undefined" width="440" height="300">
<h3>Email alerts</h3>

Activity logs are a great way to react to minor issues as they unfold. However, some changes need proactive attention in real time. Email alerts let you know when something big has changed in your password manager account:

<ul>
<li>
Somebody has been added or removed from the team
</li>
<li>
A new account has been created
</li>
<li>
An account has been deleted
</li>
<li>
Access rights of individuals have been changed
</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/r1ElepSLSHybk03phEiR" alt="undefined" width="338" height="300">
<h3>Free trial</h3>

Even the best password manager for teams will only benefit your company if it is used. Having a free trial gives you the opportunity to test out the tool with your staff and decide if it is the best option for your team.
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/qY8BPqnTxeNQ6LO9Fa4g" alt="undefined" width="262" height="240"></a>

<h3>Simple interface</h3>

Not everyone is comfortable with technology and every new tool can become a point of stress. Making sure the password manager reduces the difficulty of storing and sharing passwords is critical. When people don&rsquo;t find a tool helpful, they bypass it, which in this case could mean a critical cybersecurity gap.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/K3kchoi6Se2smmEDPSgQ" alt="undefined" width="437" height="300">
<h3>Stellar Customer Support</h3>
It's no small choice to trust a password manager with your credentials, and no matter how secure or intuitive a password manager is, you should feel confident that personal, quick support is available if you need it.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/wbuCTYqgRcedBad9J9Al" alt="undefined" width="262" height="232">
Additionally, you want your team members to get help from the experts - not take time out of your day to try and figure something out.&nbsp;
<h2></h2>
<h2>7 best password managers for teams</h2>
Here are seven of the best password managers for teams:

<ol>
<li>
TeamPassword
</li>
<li>
LastPass
</li>
<li>
1Password
</li>
<li>
Bitwarden
</li>
<li>
Dashlane
</li>
<li>
NordPass
</li>
<li>
Keeper
</li>
</ol>

<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/Hdga86yqQ02cbVlYZq49" alt="undefined" width="570" height="100">
<h3><a href="https://teampassword.com/features" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeamPassword</a></h3>

TeamPassword is a password manager designed for teams and organizations. It features a user-friendly interface that simplifies password storage, organization, and management. The onboarding process is easy, and users can take advantage of features such as autofill and browser extensions to streamline login and save time.

In terms of security, TeamPassword ensures the protection of passwords and sensitive data with industry-standard, military-grade AES 256-bit encryption.&nbsp; It implements robust encryption measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches, providing peace of mind for users and their teams.&nbsp;

For efficient collaboration, TeamPassword offers unlimited and customizable groups. These groups allow users to organize passwords and selectively share them with team members who require access, ensuring that sensitive information remains confidential.

The goal of TeamPassword is to provide a password manager that is so straightforward teams can easily adopt and use it without requiring additional onboarding time. Still, customer support is a priority for TeamPassword. They offer live assistance from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST, with an average response time of under five minutes. Additionally, support is available via phone and email, ensuring users have access to help when needed, how they want it.

TeamPassword offers competitive pricing plans, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes. For an annual subscription, the cost ranges from $1.50 to $5.00 per user per month, providing organizations with flexibility based on their budget and requirements.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/wprW8wNRT5OUSGlkJtk1" alt="undefined" width="560" height="98">
<h3><a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/lastpass-alternative" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">LastPass</a></h3>

LastPass, is currently the most popular password manager, <a href="https://www.privacytools.io/guides/7-publicly-known-lastpass-security-breaches-since-2011" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">although their market share has diminished recently due to seven known security breaches</a>. Still, it offers a wide range of features to enhance security including a security dashboard for identifying weak or duplicate passwords and emergency access for trusted individuals.&nbsp;

LastPass has faced criticism for its complexity, potentially hindering user adoption. Sharing passwords can be done through email or shared folders, requiring recipients to have a LastPass account.&nbsp;

Pricing starts at $0 for individuals and $6 per user per month for teams, with additional costs for certain integrations.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/FrMqjXR5SQS51eg3leHK" alt="undefined" width="570" height="100">
<h3><a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/1password-alternatives" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">1Password</a></h3>

1Password is a versatile password manager suitable for individuals, families, and businesses of all sizes. It offers fast and secure access to your vault using PIN and biometric unlock options. With Watchtower, it scans and alerts users about compromised passwords.&nbsp;

While praised for its customization options, some find it complex, impacting employee adoption. Sharing records is easy, even with non-1Password users.&nbsp;

Support is available through their contact form and community forum.&nbsp;

Pricing starts at $7.99/user/month for comprehensive business features.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/O3RI3W9LS5mzZVldEetu" alt="undefined" width="570" height="100">
<h3><a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/bitwarden-vs-1password" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Bitwarden</a></h3>

Bitwarden is an open-source password manager, offering transparency and enhanced security through its publicly accessible source code. This allows experts to identify vulnerabilities quickly, bolstering overall security.

Sharing passwords with other Bitwarden users is easy by adding them to your organization's vault. As an admin, you have control over whether individuals can edit or only view the shared passwords.

Support for Bitwarden is done via email, and their community forum provides a wealth of information and support, given its open-source nature.

Affordability is a key feature of Bitwarden, catering to various budgets with pricing plans tailored for individuals, families, and businesses including a limited free plan. Pricing for Bitwarden ranges from $0 to $5 per user per month, depending on the chosen plan.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/O0jBFFIKRL6FMU9aFXko" alt="undefined" width="564" height="99">
<h3><a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/dashlane-vs-keeper" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Dashlane</a></h3>

Dashlane is a password manager suitable for personal and business use. It allows users to manage and access their passwords across desktop and mobile devices. With features like one-click passwords, automatic password generation, and password sharing options, Dashlane provides essential password management capabilities.

One standout feature of Dashlane is its patented encryption, ensuring robust protection of passwords while seamlessly integrating across devices. This offers peace of mind for users concerned about sharing sensitive information, as Dashlane itself cannot access stored passwords.

Dashlane prioritizes user-friendly design and ease of use. Its streamlined interface allows users to quickly grasp and implement the platform. The organized features make it intuitive for new users to navigate and utilize effectively.

Pricing for Dashlane's starter plan, accommodating up to 10 users, begins at $2.00 per user per month. Larger teams can opt for the "Team" package, starting at $5.00 per seat per month.
<h2><img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/hNhOgNoGS46R9hHWnkgD" alt="undefined" width="508" height="152"></h2>
<h3><a href="https://www.keepersecurity.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Keeper</a></h3>
Keeper Security offers a password manager that focuses on strong security and a variety of enterprise-focused features. They're a popular choice for IT teams that want to bundle the password manager with Keeper's other security solutions like Privileged Access Management, Secrets Management, Remote Infrastructure Access, etc.&nbsp;

Pricing starts at $2.00 per user/month for 5-10 users and $3.75 per user/month for their standard business plans. Enterprise pricing requires contacting them for a quote.&nbsp;

<h2><img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/qX7B9NXTyCZzaVSFz4pg" alt="undefined" width="503" height="111"></h2>
<h3><a href="https://nordpass.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">NordPass</a></h3>
While they primarily cater to individual users (who hasn't seen a NordVPN sponsored YouTube video), NordPass does offer password management plans for businesses.

They offer a typical password manager experience, and are an appealing choice if you've already bought into the Nord family of products.&nbsp;

Pricing starts at $1.99/user for a 10-user pack and a one-year commitment, though this does not include their security dashboard or professional support. Business and Enterprise are $3.99 and $5.99 per user per month, respectively, for annual plans.&nbsp;
<h2>TeamPassword is the best password manager for teams</h2>

TeamPassword has the security and simplicity needed by diverse teams. In addition to all of the basic features expected in a password manager, TeamPassword has been designed with collaboration in mind.&nbsp;

<ul>
<li>
Share passwords across varied groups so everyone has access to the tools they need while key accounts are kept secure from those who don&rsquo;t need access.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Use email alerts and activity logs to proactively monitor major events and have a reactive papertrail for less critical changes.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Ensure you have only one password list and that it is available everywhere with extensions available for every browser and apps for iPhone and Android.&nbsp;
</li>
</ul>

TeamPassword enhances collaboration and makes life easier for everyone.

TeamPassword is designed for teams. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today and try for yourself.

The best password managers for teams go beyond suggesting a strong password and saving them securely for you. They unlock collaboration.

The best password managers for teams go beyond suggesting a strong password and saving them securely for you. ...

5 Best Password Managers for Teams (2024)

7 Best Password Managers for Teams (2024)

If your business isn&rsquo;t thinking about security compliance standards to protect its own business, then it better at least be concerned about protecting its customers&rsquo; data. That&rsquo;s because businesses don&rsquo;t want to do business with vendors, suppliers, or partners they can&rsquo;t trust.

Here&rsquo;s what you need to know to make sure your password management system meets security compliance standards.&nbsp;

TeamPassword is the easiest way to meet password security compliance standards. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today and try for yourself.
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#whatissecuritycompliance" rel="follow">What is security compliance?</a></li>
<li><a href="#typesof" rel="follow">Types of security compliance</a></li>
<li><a href="#whatispasswordsecuritycompliance" rel="follow">What is password security compliance?</a></li>
<li><a href="#passwordsecurityrequirements" rel="follow">Password security requirements for SOC2</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="whatissecuritycompliance">What is security compliance?&nbsp;</h2>
Security compliance is the active steps taken and processes implemented by an organization to protect data&mdash;their data as well as users&rsquo; data. This includes both robust measures to protect and monitor data as well as realistic risk assessments to understand how potential breaches could impact the organization.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s important to emphasize that security compliance isn&rsquo;t something achieved once and then never thought about again:

<ol>
<li>
Security compliance standards change with new knowledge and tools, so what is considered compliant today won&rsquo;t be in a few months or years.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Security compliance is an active state, meaning that processes must be implemented and followed consistently to remain compliant with (cyber)security standards.
</li>
<li>
Many security compliance standards require regular company audits for re-certification to confirm the organization is maintaining their strict adherence to safe and secure data processes.
</li>
</ol>
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/9526B3lSF21T8mRDWjnP" alt="9.webp" width="575" height="383">
<h2 id="typesof">Types of security compliance</h2>

Security compliance standards are often industry or function specific. That means the average company is likely to pursue multiple certifications as a way to present their commitment to keeping data safe.&nbsp;

System and Organization Controls (SOC) is probably the most well-known security standard. Achieving SOC 1, SOC 2 Type I, and/or SOC 2 Type II can be considered the minimum requirement to even enter some markets as most companies are unwilling to share any data with businesses that aren&rsquo;t undertaking SOC security audits on a regular basis.
<h3>System and Organization Controls (SOC)&nbsp;</h3>
Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), SOC documents the internal controls in place regarding any data that could impact financial statements, where the audited organization or those sharing data with it.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s important to note that SOC 1, 2, and 3 aren&rsquo;t levels of security compliance, but rather measuring and reporting on different things in different ways.&nbsp;

Here are the main levels of SOC compliance:

<ul>
<li>
SOC 1: A SOC 1 report is designed for organizations that handle a customer&rsquo;s financial data, such as a payment processor, point of sale system, or payroll provider. It&rsquo;s meant to show customers that their financial data will be handled securely.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
SOC 2: SOC 2 reports allow organizations to demonstrate their cloud and data center security controls are sufficient. SOC 2 Type I is an audit performed at a moment in time. SOC 2 Type II is an ongoing audit that measures compliance over a period of time. In both cases, they are <a href="https://secureframe.com/hub/soc-2/type-1-vs-type-2">attestation reports</a> where management states their commitment to securely processing data and then the CPA firm agrees or disagrees with their claims.
</li>
<li>
SOC 3: SOC 3 reports do not contain confidential information and are therefore usually performed after successful SOC 1 and/or SOC 2 audits to provide useful marketing materials. They are written for a general audience.&nbsp;
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other security compliance standards</h3>

While SOC is one of the most recognized security compliance standards, it is far from the only one. In fact, while you might not think of them as similar to SOC, you&rsquo;re probably at least somewhat familiar with the majority of these other security compliance standards:

<ol>
<li>
CCPA/CPRA: The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and more recent California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) gives residents of California the right to view any of their personal data stored by businesses with at least $25 million in revenue or 50,000 users, as well as the data shared by them with third parties, and sue if they feel their data has been misused.
</li>
<li>
FedRAMP: The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) provides a standardized approach to security assessment, monitoring, and authorization for cloud offerings. Businesses looking to provide cloud services to the federal government must prove they are FedRAMP compliant.
</li>
<li>
GDPR: Since 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides rules for how businesses must process the personal data of EU citizens.
</li>
<li>
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA): The United States Congress passed GLBA in 1999 to improve consumer privacy and cybersecurity in the financial services industry.&nbsp;&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
HIPAA: The US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) creates extremely strict standards for how a patient&rsquo;s digital health data may be used and how it must be stored, as well as provides provisions for hefty fines and/or prison terms when health data is not stored, accessed, or shared according to the HIPAA regulations.
</li>
<li>
PCI DSS: The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) protects credit card users by regulating how cardholder data is used before, during, and after transactions.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX): Introduced in the wake of the Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco scandals, SOX is designed to increase the transparency and accuracy of corporate financial reporting.
</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="whatispasswordsecuritycompliance">What is password security compliance?</h2>

Password security compliance includes the specific processes put in place and followed by organizations to prevent any breach to their business due to weak, <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/have-i-been-pwnd-what-to-do-when-it-happens">pwned</a>, or reused passwords.&nbsp;

While <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-manage-passwords">password management doesn&rsquo;t need to be hard</a>, the fact is that it is an often overlooked part of cybersecurity. Since processes from the early days of a business become entrenched, bad practices that were implemented early without much thought tend to become entrenched.&nbsp;

For example, many companies still insist on using a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-sheet-templates">password sheet</a> even though it opens them up to major security breaches.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/WKnu96PZRJSw9RWFMzqW" alt="10.webp" width="575" height="383">
<h2 id="passwordsecurityrequirements">Password security requirements for SOC 2</h2>

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) does not provide explicit, step-by-step instructions on how to meet their standards. Instead, they have Trust Services Principles, which highlight what is expected of a cybersecurity compliant organization.
<h3>Trust Service Principles</h3>

While the Trust Service Principles don&rsquo;t tell organizations exactly how to keep their users&rsquo; data secure, they provide a philosophical framework that, when implemented, prove a business&rsquo;s commitment to cybersecurity.&nbsp;

These are the five Trust Service Principles:&nbsp;

<ol>
<li>
Security: This is the practical protection of data and systems through things like access control, firewalls, and identity management systems.
</li>
<li>
Confidentiality: In essence, data must be encrypted at all times, when stored or transmitted. Furthermore, the &ldquo;principle of least privilege,&rdquo; i.e. employees should have the bare-minimum access to do their job, must be followed.
</li>
<li>
Availability: Systems should be fault-tolerant so organizations can maintain a reasonable and explicit SLA.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Privacy: Any collection, storage, or processing of personally identifiable information must follow the organization&rsquo;s written data usage and privacy policy.
</li>
<li>
Processing integrity: Businesses should have robust quality assurance and performance management processes in place so that their systems function as designed without errors, vulnerabilities, delays, or bugs.&nbsp;&nbsp;
</li>
</ol>
<h3>Trust Service Principles and password managers</h3>

Considering these five Trust Service Principles, password security compliance must include a password manager. Only password managers store and transmit passwords securely, ensure availability of passwords, and keep them private, even when <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-password-managers-for-teams">sharing accounts with teams</a>.

Furthermore, TeamPassword utilizes multi-factor authentication (<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/2fa-vs-mfa">MFA</a>) and data encryption to help you keep personal data private and confidential.
<h2>TeamPassword can help you reach SOC 2 Type II security compliance&nbsp;</h2>
TeamPassword is a highly secure, easy-to-implement password manager that can make password security compliance a breeze for businesses of all sizes.

We are committed to proving our security compliance standards through regular auditing. Our hosting provider is accredited with the the following standards:

<ul>
<li>
SOC 1 and SOC 2
</li>
<li>
SSAE 16
</li>
<li>
ISAE 3402 (Previously SAS 70 Type II)
</li>
<li>
ISO 27001
</li>
<li>
PCI Level 1
</li>
<li>
FISMA Moderate
</li>
<li>
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)
</li>
</ul>

We keep your passwords safe, secure, and easily accessible. That makes it easier for you to keep your clients&rsquo; data safe, too.&nbsp;

TeamPassword helps you protect your data and that of your clients. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.

Security compliance is a process aimed at protecting an organization’s data, and that of their clients. Here’s what you need to know.

Security compliance is an ongoing, active process aimed at protecting an organization’s data, as well as the data ...

SOC 2 password security compliance requirements in 2024

Security compliance is an ongoing, active process aimed at protecting an organization’s data, as well as the data of their clients. Here’s what you need to know.

Password managers are an effective way to generate, store, use, and even share strong, random passwords securely. They allow users to create and store unique and difficult to guess passwords for every account by removing the need to remember them. This is done using password generators and AES 256 encryption, along with a variety of other features that help users track how their passwords are being used.&nbsp;
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#whatdo" rel="follow">What do password managers do?</a></li>
<li><a href="#dowork" rel="follow">Do password managers work?</a></li>
<li><a href="#howwork" rel="follow">How does a password manager work?</a></li>
<li><a href="#aresafe" rel="follow">Are password managers safe in 2024?</a></li>
<li><a href="#doneed" rel="follow">Do I need a password manager?</a></li>
<li><a href="#whyuse" rel="follow">Why should you use a password manager?</a></li>
<li><a href="#benefitsof" rel="follow">What are the benefits of using a password manager?</a></li>
<li><a href="#allsame" rel="follow">Are all password managers the same?&nbsp;</a></li>
</ul>
TeamPassword makes it easy to keep your accounts safe from cybercriminals. Don&rsquo;t believe us? Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/5EgbpyxIQjSdfdHRsxO9" alt="undefined" width="551" height="367">
<h2 id="whatdo">What do password managers do?</h2>
Simply put, password managers take away the tedious, unfriendly tasks of creating and remembering passwords away from humans. The average person uses over 200 accounts, and each account should have a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/strong-password-generator">unique, strong, and random password</a>. However, the human brain isn&rsquo;t capable of remembering over 200 long strings of random characters.&nbsp;

(As a test, can you recall your credit and debit card numbers right now? That&rsquo;s only two sets of 16 numbers, and for most people the answer is &ldquo;no.&rdquo; Imagine if they also had upper- and lowercase letters and characters, were even longer, and if you didn&rsquo;t know them by heart you couldn&rsquo;t shop anymore!)

While <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/what-is-a-passphrase">passphrases</a> are a useful memory hack for key account passwords you may need to remember, it&rsquo;s still not a reasonable task to remember over 200 four-word passphrases.

This leads many people to use simple passwords, and then reuse them again and again, which is a huge cybersecurity risk to you and your business.&nbsp;

The solution is to use a password generator so you can generate, save, use, and share unique, difficult-to-crack passwords for every account securely.&nbsp;
<h2 id="dowork">Do password managers work?</h2>
The answer is emphatically &ldquo;yes.&rdquo; Password managers generate a new password for every account for you. They then store them securely until needed. If you choose the <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-password-managers-for-teams">right password manager for your team</a>, they can even allow you to share accounts with colleagues without ever sharing the actual credentials.

<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-manage-passwords">Password managers are the only way to manage passwords securely and easily.</a>

It&rsquo;s easy to conclude that password managers do work by solving the real human tendency to take shortcuts on password creation and management. In fact, some companies still store passwords in a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-sheet-templates">Google Sheet</a>.

But, how do password managers work?&nbsp;
<h2 id="howwork">How does a password manager work?&nbsp;</h2>

There are really two things to understand about how password managers work:&nbsp;

<ol>
<li>
How do password managers create new passwords?
</li>
<li>
How do password managers store and retrieve passwords securely?
</li>
</ol>
<h3>How do password managers create new passwords?</h3>
<a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">Password generators</a> create strong, random passwords for you. They take the rules a website has for creating a password (for example, the maximum number of characters and the types of special characters allowed) and then generate a random password utilizing the maximum number of characters and maximum variety of characters to make the strongest password possible.&nbsp;

These passwords are impossible for humans to remember, but that&rsquo;s okay because the password manager is going to store and retrieve the passwords for you.&nbsp;

So, how do they do that?&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/69xesKUWSv63YFIjhEyc" alt="undefined" width="551" height="367">
<h3>How do password managers store and retrieve passwords securely?</h3>

Without getting too technical, <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-best-ways-to-store-passwords-2023">passwords are stored safely in a password vault</a> thanks to two technologies working together: an encryption and a key. Most password managers use 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which is a military-grade cipher adopted by the NSA in 2005.&nbsp;

AES is the encryption, while 256-bit is the key. In essence, AES turns your passwords into gibberish so that a hacker can&rsquo;t see your actual passwords even if they steal the file containing them. Then, 256-bit is a key that tells the system how to turn the gibberish back into the password when you need to use it. The number 256 refers to the 2^256 different possible combinations of zeroes and ones that make up the key. That results in a <a href="https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=2%5E256">78-digit number</a>, making it highly unlikely anyone would ever guess the right key.
<h2 id="aresafe">Are password managers safe in 2024?</h2>

Fundamentally, password managers are safe. They use military-grade encryption to store and retrieve passwords and provide a way to create unique passwords that match the maximum complexity allowed by the application.

While it&rsquo;s true that <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/09/experts-fear-crooks-are-cracking-keys-stolen-in-lastpass-breach/">LastPass</a> has seen a series of hacks, including having their encryption key stolen, most password managers are very secure. For example, TeamPassword has consistently upgraded their security protocols over the last years to make sure they are many steps ahead of cybercriminals.&nbsp;

<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/top-5-safest-password-managers">Here&rsquo;s a list of the most secure password managers if you want to be extra careful when selecting one.</a>
<h2 id="doneed">Do I need a password manager?</h2>
Pretty much everyone needs a password manager. If you have any online accounts, then you need a password manager. Thankfully, <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-password-manager-for-iphone">Apple</a> and <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-manager-for-android">Google</a> have created built-in password managers.While they aren&rsquo;t perfect, they are so far ahead of using the same password for every account that in a very real way they are making the world safer.

The question is really whether Apple Keychain or the Chrome Password Manager are sufficient. If you run a business, share accounts, switch between Apple and Windows environments, or want the added security of creating space between your <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/why-do-hackers-want-your-email-address">email account and password manager</a> account, then you probably need a third-party password manager like TeamPassword.&nbsp;
<h2 id="whyuse">Why should you use a password manager?&nbsp;</h2>
Password managers are easy. That&rsquo;s the real answer. It is a rare case in the world where the easy way is also the right way, but for password managers that&rsquo;s the truth. They make your life easier while also making your Internet use safer.&nbsp;

Once you start using a password manager, you only need to remember your <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/master-password-what-is-it-and-do-i-need-one">master password</a>. That one password unlocks all of your accounts so you don&rsquo;t need to remember over 200 passwords, and you won&rsquo;t be tempted to use the same password for over 200 accounts either.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/p5LBt2YETmqxABtyNwuA" alt="undefined" width="551" height="367">
<h2 id="benefitsof">What are the benefits of using a password manager?</h2>
Depending on the password manager you choose, there are many benefits to using one. Here are some of the primary benefits of using a password manager:

<ol>
<li>
It&rsquo;s easy: Password managers make it easier to create, store, use, and share passwords.
</li>
<li>
It&rsquo;s secure: Password managers create unique, strong, and random passwords for every new account and then store and retrieve them securely using military-grade encryption.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
It&rsquo;s collaborative: Using a password manager in your company makes it easier to share needed accounts without sharing the credentials so work can be done together.
</li>
<li>
It&rsquo;s cost effective: Password managers are an inexpensive way to improve cybersecurity, and through sharing expensive accounts securely businesses usually save money overall.
</li>
<li>
It&rsquo;s simple to implement: The right password manager can be set up on all your devices and browsers in minutes and then is unobtrusively waiting in the background for whenever you need it.
</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="allsame">Are all password managers the same?</h2>

While any password manager is better than no password manager, they are not all built the same. Some are locked to a particular system. For example, the iCloud Keychain is only available on your Apple hardware, whereas the Chrome Password Manager only works in the Chrome browser.

Some other password managers require complicated setup as they are open source solutions. For IT professionals, this might be considered a benefit but for most people, even most people in the tech sector, that makes them harder to use (and therefore less likely to be used).

Finally, not all password managers are designed for teams. If your team shares accounts, then you need a password manager that can help you share access to software securely without divulging the login credentials directly. Only TeamPassword is built for teams.
<h2>TeamPassword can keep you and your business safe</h2>
Password managers are an effective way to improve your online safety. They make it easier to manage passwords according to the best practices recommended by cybersecurity professionals.&nbsp;

By providing unique, strong, and random passwords for each new account and then remembering them for you, you're not tempted to reuse easy-to-crack passwords. This keeps every account safe and available when you need them.

Best of all, password managers are easy to use and available automatically through browser extensions. It&rsquo;s rare to find a situation where the easy solution is the best one. With password managers, that&rsquo;s the case.

TeamPassword can protect your important accounts from yourself. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.

Password managers aren’t complicated. They create and store hard to guess passwords securely to keep you safe. Here’s what you need to know.

Password managers aren’t complicated. They create and store strong, random passwords securely so you don’t need to remember ...

What is a password manager, and how do they work?

Password managers aren’t complicated. They create and store strong, random passwords securely so you don’t need to remember them. Passwords are saved in an encrypted environment that can only be accessed by a user's unique login. Some are designed for individual use and have limited accessibility, while others are designed for teams and can be accessed on any device or browser.

The average person has 200 online accounts. Many of them come with a monthly subscription. To save money, businesses try to share these accounts as much as possible. With different email addresses associated with the different accounts, different renewal dates, and even different credit cards being used, this can be an organizational (and budgeting) nightmare. Here are two password sheet templates you can use to keep track of all of your web logins.&nbsp;

Be warned though, a Google Sheet or Excel file is never a safe option for storing sensitive login credentials. While it can be helpful to track all the other information, from who owns the account to whether it&rsquo;s still active, it&rsquo;s always recommended you use a password manager to safely store your usernames and password.

TeamPassword makes it easy to keep your accounts safe and organized. Don&rsquo;t believe us? Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#whatis" rel="follow">What is a password sheet?</a></li>
<li><a href="#proscons" rel="follow">Password sheet pros and cons</a></li>
<li><a href="#explained" rel="follow">TeamPassword's password sheet templates explained</a></li>
<li><a href="#bestalternative" rel="follow">Best alternative to a password sheet</a></li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/5VHDUQFBSxO4Yzt1ijZu" alt="undefined" width="450" height="300">
<h2 id="whatis">What is a password sheet?</h2>

A password sheet is a place to store all information related to the varied accounts an organization, team, or individual uses to perform their job. It can help keep track of important renewal dates, who on the team owns the account (and therefore pays the subscription), whether the account is active or dormant, the email associated with the account, the login page for easy access to the tool, and any other relevant information.&nbsp;

Disclaimer: While some people use password sheets to also keep track of login credentials (usernames and passwords), TeamPassword strongly discourages this action. <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/top-5-dangerous-ways-to-store-your-passwords">An unencrypted password sheet is a very dangerous place to store a password.</a>
<h3>Google Sheets vs Microsoft Excel vs CSV password sheet</h3>

The choice between Google Sheets and Excel is one of access. Google Sheets can be easily accessed and edited by everyone on the team, so there is a single version of the password sheet. However, that access can also be seen as an even greater security risk, which is why some people may prefer to use Excel password sheets.&nbsp;

In this case, a single owner maintains all of the relevant information and shares it when necessary. This makes it a bit more time-consuming to <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-safely-share-passwords-with-coworkers">share passwords with teams</a>, but it also adds another level of security.

To make it easier to use the spreadsheet program of your choice, our password sheet templates are in CSV (comma-separated values) format, which is fully compatible with both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/3DhPtLgVTASiM9axds3L" alt="undefined" width="450" height="300">
<h2 id="proscons">Password sheet pros and cons</h2>
It&rsquo;s unquestionable that storing all of your passwords in one place provides huge value to your business. It makes it easier to share needed accounts, reduces the likelihood of being locked out of an account due to a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-find-a-lost-password-from-ages-ago">forgotten password</a>, and it gives you visibility into the cost of all your subscriptions.&nbsp;

That being said, there are better ways to store passwords, online and offline. Here are the pros and cons of using a password sheet to store web login credentials.
<h3>Password sheet advantages</h3>

Here are some of the main advantages of using a password sheet:

<ul>
<li>
Keep data together: All of your information is one place, making it easy to find account information.
</li>
<li>
Easy to share information: Google Sheets can be shared with your entire team. While this isn&rsquo;t <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-best-ways-to-store-passwords-2023">the best way to store passwords</a>, it is very convenient.&nbsp;&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Helps with budgeting: Keeping track of which accounts are active, how much they cost, and when they renew can help with budgeting and burn rate analysis. It can also prompt regular meetings about which accounts are still providing ROI to your business.
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Password sheet disadvantages</h3>

While there are many disadvantages to password sheets, especially when compared to a password manager, here are three major reasons this is not a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-password-managers-for-teams">good password solution for teams</a>:

<ul>
<li>
Password sharing isn&rsquo;t granular: You either give an employee access to all logins or none of them.
</li>
<li>
Password sheets aren&rsquo;t secure: If someone gains access to the file, then they can access all of your accounts.
</li>
<li>
Credentials aren&rsquo;t automatically updated: If someone changes a password and forgets to update the password sheet, then people may be locked out of important accounts.
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="explained">TeamPassword&rsquo;s password sheet templates explained</h2>

Here are simple explanations for each column of our two password sheet templates. To get the most out of these CSV templates, we recommend adding filters to the columns and color coding to the rows based on account status for better searchability.&nbsp;
<h3>Password sheet template 1</h3>
This password sheet is much simpler. It doesn&rsquo;t include as many columns, so more information is left to the notes. This can make it slightly less valuable, but it also increases the likelihood every team member will fill in all needed information and be able to do so without explaining the process.&nbsp;

<ul>
<li>
Name: Place the name of the account owner here.
</li>
<li>
URL: This is a link to the login page. Username: This is the account username (or email address, depending on which is used).
</li>
<li>
Password: This is where you&rsquo;d place the account password. Remember: TeamPassword strongly discourages this unsafe security practice. As an alternative, you can list which <a href="https://teampassword.com/features">password manager</a> is storing this information.
</li>
<li>
Notes: You can put useful information about the account here. This can include the subscription cost, whether it is billed monthly or annually, when the renewal date is, why the account is needed, who on the team uses the account and for what function, etc.
</li>
<li>
Organization: This is where you place the name of the business, for example &ldquo;TeamPassword&rdquo; for your password manager.
</li>
<li>
Group 1/2/3: You can put the groups that use the account here, for example, &ldquo;Marketing&rdquo; or &ldquo;Sales.&rdquo;
</li>
</ul>

<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13fhHW5dMWY5EHerRrkecKxelnJC9GB5_dDBsNro1_JU/edit?usp=sharing">Click here to download this password sheet template.</a>
<h3>Password sheet template 2</h3>

This password sheet template is a lot more in depth. It provides more columns and granular details. For larger teams with hundreds of accounts, this can make it much easier to sort the information.&nbsp;

<ul>
<li>
Owner: This is the team member who owns the account. That might be the person in the role who uses the account the most, the person who created the account, or the person who pays the subscription on their credit card. When these three people are different, you should either be consistent about what ownership means or add two more columns.
</li>
<li>
Create date: This is the date that the account was first created. This is usually also the renewal day for annual subscriptions.
</li>
<li>
Cost (annual/monthly): This is the cost of the account and whether it is billed annually or monthly. You could separate this information into two columns to make it easier to sort subscription fees from high to low. In addition, it&rsquo;s worth keeping track of the previous prices in the &ldquo;Notes&rdquo; section.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Email Address Used: The email address (whether individual or a company-wide one) is worth keeping track of separately from the username because they are not always the same. If you need access to the email address for <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/2fa-vs-mfa">2FA or MFA</a>, then this makes it easy to know where the confirmation email was sent.
</li>
<li>
Username: Similar to the first password sheet template, this is the account username&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Password: Again, this is where you&rsquo;d fill in the password information for the account. Remember: TeamPassword strongly discourages this unsafe security practice. As an alternative, you can list which <a href="https://teampassword.com/features">password manager</a> is storing this information.
</li>
<li>
Login URL: Again, as with above, this is a quick link to the login page for faster access to your account.
</li>
<li>
Active?: This simple column allows you to sort all accounts by active/inactive to review your subscriptions on a regular basis.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
MFA needed?: Put a &ldquo;no&rdquo; here if there is no multi-factor authentication needed or the method (email, Microsoft Authenticator app, text, etc.) otherwise.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Notes: Similar to the first password sheet template, this is a great place to add any other information needed. One other piece of valuable information could be a link to an internal &ldquo;how to&rdquo; video for complicated software.&nbsp;
</li>
</ul>

<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sBrQGaSMN67LxcszndufbG0sXTmYTt5td0eRlBqLoic/edit?usp=sharing">Click here to download this password sheet template.</a>
<h2 id="bestalternative">TeamPasswords is the best password sheet alternative</h2>
Many companies use a password sheet because it is a cheap and easy way to keep track of and share all their web login credentials. While there is some value to this practice, the security risks far outweigh the benefits of such an unsafe password management system.&nbsp;

The better method, which gives all the benefits of a simple password sheet template along with superior security, easier sharing, and better tracking of usage, is a password manager. TeamPassword is built for teams and provides all the features you need to store and share passwords securely.

TeamPassword can protect your important accounts better than a password sheet. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.

Looking for a password sheet template to use in your business? Download ours for free, but there's a better way to manage your passwords.

Are you looking for a password sheet template to use in your business? Download ours for free, but ...

Password Sheet Templates: Keep Track of Your Online Accounts and Subscriptions in 2024

Are you looking for a password sheet template to use in your business? Download ours for free, but it might not be the best idea to store your passwords in Google Sheets or Excel.

<h1>Smishing: What you need to know to keep yourself safe in 2024</h1>
About 400 million spam SMS messages are sent everyday in America alone. Most of them include malicious links to spoofed homepages designed to steal your sensitive information, such as bank details or your work email password. This is what is meant by smishing, and a single successful SMS scam has the potential to cost your business millions.&nbsp;
Here&rsquo;s what you need to know to protect yourself from smishing attacks.
TeamPassword makes it easy to keep your accounts safe from cybercriminals. Don&rsquo;t believe us? Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.

[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#whatis" rel="follow">What is smishing?</a></li>
<li><a href="#statistics" rel="follow">Smishing statistics</a></li>
<li><a href="#tactics" rel="follow">Smishing tactics</a></li>
<li><a href="#examples" rel="follow">Smishing examples</a></li>
<li><a href="#prevent" rel="follow">How do you prevent smishing attacks?</a></li>
</ul>

<h2 id="whatis">What is smishing?&nbsp;</h2>
Here is a simple definition of smishing:
Smishing definition: Smishing, for SMS + phishing, is a cybersecurity attack that uses text messages to send malicious links to individuals in hopes of obtaining their sensitive information.
Simply put, smishing is the latest version of phishing. As a refresher, here&rsquo;s the progression in cyberattack attack vectors from email through phone calls and now text messages:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/spear-phishing">Phishing</a> uses emails to guide people towards spoofed homepages to steal data.
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/vishing">Vishing</a>, for voice + phishing, uses the phone with a similar goal in mind&mdash;to get the person to divulge personal or corporate information that can be used in further cyberattacks.
</li>
<li>
Smishing is the latest evolution and takes advantage of the poor spam protection in place for SMS messaging.
</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="statistics">Smishing statistics&nbsp;</h2>
According to <a href="https://www.robokiller.com/spam-text-insights">Robokiller</a>, over 19 billion spam SMS messages were sent in America in December 2023 alone, representing about 19 messages per person. Most of these are smishing scams. &nbsp;
To put that into perspective, that&rsquo;s approximately 3 billion SMS scam messages sent per week in 2023, over 400 million per day, and nearly 300,000 per minute.&nbsp;
The most affected states by volume are California, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and New York.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/woRxuFEAQOCk8NNZKEcV" alt="undefined" width="500" height="333">
<h2></h2>
<h2 id="tactics">Smishing tactics</h2>
Just like phishing and vishing, smishing attacks typically attempt to either entice you to click a link with the promise of a reward or scare you into clicking with the warning of some major financial loss.&nbsp;
As shown with real-world smishing examples in the next section, two common types of rewards are packages that couldn&rsquo;t be delivered or cash that couldn&rsquo;t be transferred. It&rsquo;s easy to be fooled by these as the average family is ordering so much from Amazon that it can be hard to remember whether or not you are waiting on a delivery.&nbsp;
Likewise, digital cash apps have gone from niche business to the norm in the last five years, and they often provide little recourse if someone unwittingly transfers money as part of a scam.&nbsp;
On the other side, many smishing messages try to scare you into thinking an important account, usually a bank, streaming service, or telecom account, has been compromised and if you don&rsquo;t check now something bad could happen. The sad irony, of course, is that if you click on their dangerous link and fill in your account details on their spoofed homepage, your account will in fact soon be compromised.
<h2></h2>
<h2 id="examples">Smishing examples&nbsp;</h2>
To help prove the smishing stats above are accurate, here are some real world smishing examples from my iPhone over the last couple weeks. Note that I am in Canada, so while the particulars might be different (Canada Post not USPS, Rogers not AT&amp;T, INTERAC e-Transfer not Venmo, CRA not IRS, and CIBC not BOA), the strategies should be all too familiar. &nbsp;
These real-world smishing examples display both the &ldquo;reward&rdquo; and &ldquo;warning&rdquo; style of SMS scams.&nbsp;
<h3>Reward-style smishing examples</h3>
<img height="223" width="277" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/kz46pOhfIJpwAS4jTjdFb55_bi-biALW8dhc8QEvVGb78Tses0hKMwQebRIKMQGmcZBqYAbdka6M_5HJBbCGA8W4LhJseY0HloWhL51K_bbPH74Utn2H9HWjb05kSx41bNUyS8IVxhB2tvwUzW1fJk-1u569JVLOrDa4B1QD5-XX6lcaO0CN7pLpF6Xy7w" alt="Smishing text claiming to be Canada Post with a link to a spoofed Canada Post page.">

<img height="315" width="247" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ieQ0D5N_4zmY0SrTViN7l2TfObS8cTFRo7CugUaqmdeauisL8-JpvUbHIQOMjvcnL0LCKMHpgT3jAjgogFEMBlOtKDQv2a1991DdZQ7a5PfIViQ_gImrSM192BZLDbZZnblbf3yjPu7CDC5MRyr6P5H7UYEyXrb0-jZ6U4OPWCpsw7yUc1AActH3vOjc4A" alt="Third-party delivery service SMS scam message saying you will not get your delivery without clicking the dangerous link.">

<img height="223" width="260" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/CszyGoEEbHshbavo56q2-sH-ylYsRVagphKg1-WZwYZh8Me_TfG7BqOd3F6zulXHgOZZ815VEJ2Kh9P3MG7DP-LUo7hsGMdBdrJkwt8_wr03UzqxdF4aqOFeh9yXFWcpz7z33VmlAoWuA_e51NNozeVVh63H7G78BgmAcGUzHCWawOdMUUrKvgiBbybkag" alt="Smishing text claiming to be for an INTERAC e-Transfer, hoping you&rsquo;ll compromise your banking details in exchange for $450 from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).">
In these three examples, the smishing messages claim to be in possession of something that cannot be transferred without more information. Two are product deliveries which could not be safely dropped off at a house. They claim that, to get those deliveries, you must click the malicious links and provide further information.&nbsp;
In the third example, the scammers are claiming to be from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which is the equivalent to the IRS in America, which apparently owes the receiver $450 to be sent via INTERAC e-Transfer. To receive the funds, you will be asked to divulge your banking details.&nbsp;
<h3>Warning-style smishing examples</h3>
<img height="214" width="249" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/othoH8Hmkk-4ayxBPqm8P2_hyRHLh__RdqN1P_w21P80_odu8517hwO7P8qcAd0oH0o4sKaxA7gyNa761pMj2sfL0DiuYdw2FGNeAfUu69s-Ebe-6_BHKGnyOGaduFVeo6LHsbwUjw2efztY_bIWj1ALRFynRMbASC_MCpHNVAb_PA2j9tMv6XCIiPJnOw" alt="A smishing SMS message claiming to be Rogers with a warning that a payment could not be processed, which could lead to service interruptions within 24 hours.]">

<img height="220" width="262" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/6-XxrP3JGeSasj4H0fi5SJPXmYH0adk97jvukXMg8Ca3S7TjoiW-LyWRuqch5P0805ZGLRVOrh8txFF5WqrYyr46dGbnQXwDSWjmJAqcgT9Sr7_tuaT_kNY6Bb95KCxGcgO63ya3KPUd7IrWuyjrl9x1FYm9NHTAVGGHRia2S_3EiJRGIq56IX-POEfulA" alt="An SMS scam text claiming that your CIBC debit card has been locked due to unusual activity.">&nbsp;
Here are some common examples of scare tactics used in smishing campaigns. In the first example, the criminals claim to work for Rogers, which is a major Internet, cable TV, and mobile phone provider in Canada. While logically most people know they are too valuable as customers to lose service within 24 hours of a missed payment, this is a very common part of a smishing message.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s because adding a ticking clock makes it more likely that someone will quickly click on the malicious link instead of double-checking their payment history on their banking app to see whether their last payment went through. &nbsp;
In the second case, the hackers are pretending to be a large bank in Canada (CIBC). If you don&rsquo;t know already, debit cards issued by the same bank have the same first four digits. This added detail makes the SMS message seem more legitimate to those who don&rsquo;t know that.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h2 id="prevent">How do you prevent smishing attacks?&nbsp;</h2>
The sad truth is that governments seem unwilling to make strong laws against spam emails, phone calls, and text messages. Telecom companies are likewise unwilling to voluntarily take on the burden of protecting their clients from phishing, vishing, and smishing on their own. It&rsquo;s too expensive, difficult, and it would open them up to liability if they took on the responsibility.&nbsp;
That means it is up to individuals to keep themselves safe against the dozens of SMS scams they will encounter every month. The most important thing you can do is be vigilant. &nbsp;
When you receive a text message or email, assume any rewards are too good to be true. Conversely, if it&rsquo;s trying to scare you into an action, take a deep breath and know that nothing ever requires your immediate action.&nbsp;
Some smishing threats are easier to detect. For example, the IRS isn&rsquo;t going to make you pay a debt with Bitcoin or Apple Store gift cards. However, even the seemingly legitimate ones, such as the CIBC example above, have the telltale signs of scams. Look at the URL. That is not the real CIBC web address.&nbsp;
If you are unsure, close the text message and go to your banking app. If something does seem wrong, get on the phone and call the bank. (Use the phone number listed in the app and not one in the text message!)
Along with general training around being skeptical, businesses can equip their employees with the tools needed to enhance their cybersecurity. Foremost among these is a password manager that <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/strong-password-generator">generates and stores a unique, strong, and random password</a> for each account.&nbsp;

<h2>Use TeamPassword to prevent smishing attacks&nbsp;</h2>
TeamPassword stores all of your usernames and passwords securely. While the bogus web addresses could fool an employee who is distracted or not trained to look, it won&rsquo;t prompt your password manager to fill in your protected details.&nbsp;
Furthermore, by creating and securely storing unique, random, and strong passwords for each account, one mistake will never multiply to hackers having all of your credentials. Finally, having safe and easy ways to share accounts with coworkers means there is no need to ever share passwords through unsafe means, such as in a reply to a phishy text message.
TeamPassword can protect your important accounts from smishers. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.

Smishing is the latest form of phishing. Scam SMS text messages are sent in hopes users will click on malicious links and then divulge data.

Smishing is the latest form of phishing. Scam SMS text messages are sent out in hopes users will ...

Smishing: What you need to know to keep yourself safe in 2024

Smishing is the latest form of phishing. Scam SMS text messages are sent out in hopes users will click on malicious links and then divulge sensitive data.

When people are thinking about common vectors for cybercrimes, a voice phone call might not come to mind. However, over the last decades, criminals have found it increasingly profitable to gain information over the phone. Vishing, or voice phishing, is when a cybercriminal uses the phone to gain sensitive information from the recipient as part of a larger cyberattack. Here&rsquo;s what you need to know to keep yourself safe from vishing attacks in 2024.&nbsp;

TeamPassword makes it easy to keep your accounts safe from cybercriminals. Don&rsquo;t believe us? Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#whatisvishing" rel="follow">What is vishing?</a></li>
<li><a href="#vishingexample" rel="follow">Vishing example</a></li>
<li><a href="#vishingstats" rel="follow">Vishing statistics</a></li>
<li><a href="#commonvishingtactics" rel="follow">Common vishing tactics</a></li>
<li><a href="#howtoprevent" rel="follow">How do you prevent vishing attacks?</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>What is vishing?</h2>
Here is a simple definition of vishing.&nbsp;

Vishing definition: Vishing (voice phishing), sometimes referred to as a phone scam, is when cybercriminals use phone calls to gain sensitive information from the recipient as part of a cyberattack.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/dJiqlM9S7a7v9O6WxBjJ" width="601" height="400">
<h2 id="whatisvishing">What is the goal of vishing attacks?</h2>

Ultimately, vishing attacks like most cyberattacks, are about gaining money from the victim. This can be done directly, by getting the person on the phone to transfer money during that phone call or subsequent ones, often using cryptocurrencies or gift cards to make it harder to reverse and track the payments.&nbsp;

However, for businesses, vishing attacks are often designed to get more money indirectly, by getting sensitive information, such as usernames and passwords, to further a larger sophisticated attack.&nbsp;

For example, vishing is often part of a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/10-cyberattacks-recently-used-by-hackers-2023#ransomware">ransomware attack</a>.
<h2 id="vishingexample">Vishing example&nbsp;</h2>
If you search news sites for vishing examples, you&rsquo;ll find dozens. Many of them are long-running scams that target the elderly and gain a few hundred to thousands of dollars per victim. However, <a href="https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/european-police-take-down-9m/">the total gained can reach the millions</a> as these scams are hard to investigate and easy to scale.&nbsp;

While less common, vishing attacks also threaten business, and the total dollar value of a single attack can easily exceed millions of dollars. Caesars and MGM, two Las Vegas casinos, were attacked using vishing and <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/spear-phishing">spear phishing</a> techniques together.&nbsp;

Criminals used information found on LinkedIn to impersonate employees on the phone with the IT department. Then, they used the new credentials provided by IT to break into their systems and install ransomware.&nbsp;

The results were devastating. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahbarsky/2023/09/20/caesars-and-mgm-boards-lose-cybersecurity-gambles/?sh=256cf4974463">MGM</a> saw their cash flow drop by 10-20% and market capitalization decrease by $2 billion during the 10 days they were unable to operate.&nbsp;

Caesars, unlike MGM, decided to pay a reported $15 million to the <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/resources-for-ransomware">ransomware-as-a-service</a> hackers. Indeed, if you allow the vishing scheme to get to the point where ransomware has been installed on your business&rsquo;s system, then paying the ransom is often the most economical route.
<h2 id="vishingstats">Vishing statistics</h2>

Phone scams have been around for decades, but the nature of these schemes has changed dramatically in the last decade. Criminals are now able to &ldquo;spoof&rdquo; local phone numbers, even your grandchild or coworker&rsquo;s phone number, to make their pitches seem more authentic.&nbsp;

In addition, they can use information publicly available on <a href="https://aag-it.com/the-latest-phishing-statistics/">Linkedin</a> to further benefit their case. These tools combined with lots of practice have made it very hard for even IT professionals to recognize a visher.&nbsp;

That&rsquo;s why about <a href="https://www.truecaller.com/blog/insights/truecaller-insights-2022-us-spam-scam-report">one third of all Americans</a> have fallen victim to a phone scam at some point. All of these attacks combined have pushed the economic cost higher, from $29.8 billion in 2021 to $39.5 billion in 2022.&nbsp;

Around <a href="https://www.proofpoint.com/sites/default/files/threat-reports/pfpt-us-tr-state-of-the-phish-2023.pdf">300,000 to 400,000</a> vishing phone calls were recorded daily in America in 2022. Despite this, only 30% of professionals were familiar with the term &ldquo;vishing&rdquo; in 2022, up from 25% in 2019.&nbsp;

Vishing represents the third most popular vector for cyberattacks on businesses, with the average loss from a successful attack reaching <a href="https://techreport.com/statistics/vishing-statistics/">$10.1 million</a>.
<h2 id="commonvishingtactics">Common vishing tactics</h2>

According to the Federal Trade Commission (<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/phone-scams">FTC</a>), &ldquo;There is no prize&hellip; You won&rsquo;t be arrested&hellip; You don&rsquo;t need to decide now&hellip; Only scammers demand you pay certain ways&hellip; [and] Government agencies won&rsquo;t call to confirm your sensitive information.&rdquo;&nbsp;

That&rsquo;s a pretty good summary of common vishing tactics. Basically, they use the same tools as marketers to make you feel like you need to make a decision now and the stakes are high enough that you should listen to the visher instead of your gut.

Here are some common specific vishing strategies:

<ul>
<li>
Bank or other account problems: The visher pretends to be from your bank and says there is an issue with your account. They might have just enough information to make you think it is legitimate. For example, the first four digits of your credit card is likely the same as every other person using the same bank. They then get you to give up more sensitive information so they can steal money from your account.
</li>
<li>
Tax or other payment problems: In this case, the scammers pretend to be a member of a government organization (probably the IRS in America, CRA in Canada, and so on). They tell you that you must pay immediately as the fines on your tax return are increasing quickly. Remember, outside of Nicaragua, no government wants Bitcoin.
</li>
<li>
Technical support: In this case, the vishers are looking to gain entry into some of your personal accounts, especially your <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/why-do-hackers-want-your-email-address">email account</a>. They can then use &ldquo;lost password&rdquo; functions or your tendency to reuse passwords to get into all of your other accounts.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Free prize: In this case, instead of scaring you into giving them money, they try to get payment information in exchange for the promise of a big prize.
</li>
<li>
Impersonation: Instead of posing as a bank or other organization, some vishing attacks include impersonating a specific person. Common examples include posing as the CEO or CFO of your employer, or as your grandchild.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Investment or timeshare scams. Vishers might convince you that, if you pay right now, you can lock in a great investment deal, or cheap vacation, or really anything else that someone might be tempted to accept.
</li>
<li>
Charity scams: Fear and excitement can get you to do something you might not otherwise, but so can sadness or guilt. Charity scams do just that by making you feel sad or guilty and therefore more inclined to hand over payment information.&nbsp;
</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/QCjkejDQfKiAtEYWEkuT" width="601" height="400">
<h2 id="howtoprevent">How do you prevent vishing attacks?&nbsp;</h2>

No vishing attack can succeed if you do three things: slow down, hang up, and call back.&nbsp;

<ol>
<li>
Slow down: The IRS is not going to put you in a position where you have to pay a fine while on the phone. They definitely aren&rsquo;t going to make you pay with crypto or gift cards! Whatever emotion they are pushing&mdash;fear, guilt, excitement&mdash;just take a couple of breaths and think about whether this is a scam.
</li>
<li>
Hang up: If you have even the slightest feeling something is a scam, then it&rsquo;s almost definitely a scam. Simply hang up. If the call was legitimate, then you can find out during Step 3.
</li>
<li>
Call back: If someone from the Bank of America calls you, then you can always hang up, find the number online, and call that number to ask about your account. If the issue was legitimate, then they&rsquo;ll know about it. Otherwise, pat yourself on the back for dodging a scam.&nbsp;
</li>
</ol>

As an IT leader, you should equip your team with the knowledge and tools they need to avoid vishing scams.&nbsp;

<ol>
<li>
Knowledge: A paltry 30% of Americans know the term vishing. While many more probably have a general idea of what phone scams are, they might not be aware of just how sophisticated they can be. You should be informing them of the pitfalls and how to protect the business from this major threat.
</li>
<li>
Tools: There are many types of software available to protect employees from vishing attacks. Foremost among the tools needed is a way to protect your most sensitive information. <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-password-managers-for-teams">TeamPassword is the best password manager for teams.</a> When your employees don&rsquo;t need to know the credentials to share them, they can&rsquo;t accidentally share them with hackers.
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Use TeamPassword to prevent vishing attacks</h2>

TeamPassword can help you stay safe from the threat of vishing attacks. By creating and securely storing unique, random, and strong passwords for each account, they are off limits to those trying to steal your information. The less information available publicly, the harder it is for vishing calls to sound legitimate.

Furthermore, by making it easy to securely share passwords within the company, employees know that anyone asking for such information over the phone is a scammer.&nbsp;

TeamPassword can protect your important accounts from vishers. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today and try for yourself.

Vishing is when hackers use the phone to get sensitive information from the recipient. Here’s what you need to know to stay safe.

Vishing is when hackers use the phone to get sensitive information from the recipient as part of a ...

Vishing: What you need to know to stay safe in 2024

Vishing is when hackers use the phone to get sensitive information from the recipient as part of a sophisticated cyberattack. Here’s what you need to know.

Learn what to do if you forgot your Facebook password and how to use TeamPassword to make sure you never forget a password again.

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Password encryption is essential to store user credentials stored in a database securely. Without password encryption, anyone accessing a user database on a company's servers (including hackers) could easily view any stored passwords.
Even a strong 32-character password created using a <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">secure password generator</a> is useless without password-encryption! If someone can read your password on a server, they can use it simply by copy/pasting it&mdash;no matter how long or complicated the password might be!
Encryption scrambles your password before saving it on the server. So, if someone hacks the server, instead of finding password123, they find a random series of letters and numbers.
In this article, we're going to explore the world of password encryption, why <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/tips-and-tricks-to-create-a-strong-password">strong passwords matter</a>, and how you can practice better password management!
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">TeamPassword</a> is the password management solution for small businesses! Create, store, and share login credentials safely with employees, contractors, and clients. <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today!
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#understandingpasswordencryption" rel="follow">Understanding Password Encryption</a></li>
<li><a href="#howdoespasswordencryptionwork" rel="follow">How Does Password Encryption Work?</a></li>
<li><a href="#5commonpasswordencryptionmethods" rel="follow">5 Common Password Encryption Methods</a></li>
<li><a href="#whystrongpasswordsmatter" rel="follow">Why Strong Passwords Matter</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="understandingpasswordencryption">Understanding Password Encryption</h2>
To explain password encryption effectively, we must first grasp the language. Several terms might be unfamiliar, so here is a quick intro to password encryption terminology.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Key: Used to lock and unlock passwords using a random string of bits. You get private and public keys that crypt and decrypt data differently, but we won't get too deep in the weeds with keys!</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Bits: A logical state with one of two possible values, including 1/0, true/false, yes/no, or on/off as typical examples.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Block (block cipher): A deterministic algorithm operating on fixed-length groups of bits, called blocks.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hash function: The algorithm that uses the key to create password encryption and decryption. A hash function is essentially a piece of code that runs every time someone saves a password or logs into an application.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hash: A random series of numbers and letters representing your password. The hash function uses your hash instead of the raw password for authentication.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt: Additional letters and numbers appended to the hash</li>
</ul>
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2 id="howdoespasswordencryptionwork">How Does Password Encryption Work?</h2>
When you save a new password, a hash function creates a hash version and saves that on the server.&nbsp;
Every time you log in using your password, the hash function recreates the hash to see if it matches what's stored. If the hashes match, the algorithm passes the authentication and logs you in.&nbsp;
For example:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Original password: Pa$$w0rd123</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hashed password: 6AF1CE202340​FE71BDB914AD5357​E33A6982A63B</li>
</ul>
While this might seem secure, simple hashed passwords aren't hack-proof.
The hash function only creates a unique hash for each password, not each user. So, if multiple users have the password, Pa$$w0rd123, the hash will be exactly the same.
To overcome this encryption vulnerability, engineers salt passwords so each hash is unique, even if the passwords are identical.
<h3>How Salt Works</h3>
A salt appends a unique value of 8 bytes (16 characters) to the password before the hash function creates a hash. This way, even identical passwords are unique before the hash function.
For example:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Two identical passwords: Pa$$w0rd123</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt value one: E1F53135E559C253</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt value two: 84B03D034B409D4E</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password one before hash: Pa$$w0rd123E1F53135E559C253</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password two before hash: Pa$$w0rd12384B03D034B409D4E</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password one hashed value (SHA256): 72AE25495A7981​C40622D49F9A52E4F15​65C90F048F59027BD9​C8C8900D5C3D8</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password two hashed value (SHA256): B4B6603ABC670​967E99C7E7F1389E40​CD16E78AD38EB1468E​C2AA1E62B8BED3A</li>
</ul>
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2 id="5commonpasswordencryptionmethods">5 Common Password Encryption Methods</h2>
<h3>1. Data Encryption Standard (DES)</h3>
While applications no longer use Data Encryption Standard (DES), it's important to mention this password encryption method because of its history and influence on more secure modern standards.
IBM developed DES as a 56-bit encryption technology in the early 1970s. The NSA adopted and improved DES before it was approved worldwide as the encryption standard.
However, since the late 70s, hackers have been able to break DES encrypted passwords. In 1999, ethical hackers managed to break a DES key in under 24 hours.&nbsp;
To make DES more secure, engineers created Triple DES and later Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which we still use today.
<h3>2. Triple DES</h3>
Triple DES uses three 56-bit keys (blocks) to create 168-bit encryption (some security experts argue that Triple DES is only 112 bits strong). Although Triple-DES is slowly being phased out, many financial institutions still use it to encrypt ATM PINs.
<h3>3. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)</h3>
AES is the new encryption standard&mdash;trusted by the United States Government and many other prominent organizations globally. At 128 bits, AES is sufficiently secure, but most organizations prefer heavy-duty 256-bit encryption.
At <a href="https://teampassword.com/security">TeamPassword</a>, we use 256-bit encryption to store passwords, ensuring the highest levels of security for our clients. We're also a <a href="https://teampassword.com/security">secure hosting provider</a> holding multiple security accreditations.
Hackers can only break an AES encrypted password through a brute-force attack&mdash;trying password combinations to find the right one.
To counter brute-force attacks, applications will lock an account after a certain number of attempts or use tools like Google's reCAPTURE.
<h3>4. Blowfish</h3>
American cryptographer, Bruce Schneier, designed Blowfish in 1993 as an antidote to the weak DES encryption. Blowfish uses a 64-bit block and variable key length of 32 to 448 bits.
Although Blowfish is more robust than its DES predecessor, the 64-bit block is still vulnerable to attacks, most commonly birthday attacks&mdash;a cryptographic attack that exploits the mathematics behind the algorithm.
To solve Blowfish vulnerabilities, engineers created Twofish in 1998 (128-bit blocks with 256-bit keys) and Threefish in 2008 (256, 516, 1024-bit blocks with 256, 516, 1024-bit keys).
<h3>5. Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)</h3>
RSA is one of the oldest and widely used to transfer data securely. The encryption works with two keys, two large prime numbers, and an additional auxiliary value.
Due to the complicated encrypting and decrypting process, there is no known method for breaking RSA encryption.&nbsp;
Although widely used for transferring data, RSA is slow and not suitable for password encryption.
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2 id="whystrongpasswordsmatter">Why Strong Passwords Matter</h2>
Password encryption can only prevent criminals from viewing saved credentials stored on a server&mdash;but cannot prevent hackers from guessing weak/commonly used passwords. If you <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/colonial-pipeline-ransomware-attack-dont-reuse-passwords">reuse the same password for multiple accounts</a>, this also puts you at risk!
Encryption is most effective when users create robust, unique passwords for every account. For example, a random 32-character password with letters, numbers, and special characters hashed and salted is near impossible to guess or decode, even using a computer!
In another scenario, let's assume you have a strong 32-character password, but you use it for every account. If hackers manage to steal that password, they have access to every account using the same credentials! Your strong password is effectively useless.
<h3>Improving Your Password Management</h3>
Now that you understand password encryption and the associated vulnerabilities, you can see why strong passwords are essential.
Effective password management is crucial to protect yourself against cyberattacks or in the highly likely event of a data breach where hackers steal your credentials.
Criminals are after the low-hanging fruit&mdash;people who use weak passwords!
5 tips for creating stronger passwords:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Create strong passwords for every account. The easiest way to do this is using a password generator. <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">TeamPassword has a free password generator</a> anyone can use to create passwords from 12-32 characters using uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. We recommend creating passwords as long as the application will allow.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never create passwords shorter than eight characters, with 12 being our recommended minimum.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never reuse the same password for multiple accounts.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never create passwords with your name, family member's names, or pet's names. With social media, this information is freely available. Criminals can add those names to algorithms for brute-force attacks.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Don't store passwords in digital notepads or spreadsheets. We recommend using a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager like TeamPassword</a> to create and store your credentials.</li>
</ol>
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2>Why You Need a Password Manager like TeamPassword</h2>
We have so many accounts these days; it's almost impossible to create unique, memorable, secure passwords for each one. A password manager solves this problem.
Instead of remembering the credentials for every account, you only need to memorize the one to log into your password manager.&nbsp;
TeamPassword keeps all of your credentials safely stored and encrypted, so you never have to memorize a password again. Instead of entering your credentials, you use one of TeamPassword's browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, and Safari) to log into accounts.
<h3>Built for Teams</h3>
TeamPassword's best feature is its ability to share credentials with team members securely. Instead of sharing passwords, you provide access through TeamPassword.&nbsp;
Employees <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">use TeamPassword</a> to log in, meaning you never share raw passwords&mdash;no more worrying about unauthorized access or sharing.
You can create groups in TeamPassword to share access with employees, clients, contractors, and freelancers. When someone no longer needs access, remove them from the group with a single click. No need to change passwords every time someone leaves a project!
<h3>Built-In Password Generator</h3>
TeamPassword features a built-in secure password manager so you can create robust passwords for every account. TeamPassword also ensures you never reuse the same credentials so that you won't fall victim to credential stuffing attacks!
With a built-in password generator, you can change passwords regularly, and TeamPassword will update the new credentials for all users!
<h3>Monitor Login Activity</h3>
TeamPassword's activity log keeps track of every action across all of your accounts&mdash;logins, password changes, new team members, sharing access, and more.
You can also set up email notifications for all TeamPassword actions so that you can react fast to any suspicious activity.
<h3>Get Your Free TeamPassword Trial</h3>
Password encryption is not enough to protect your business from password vulnerabilities! You need a robust password manager like TeamPassword to create, store, and share credentials securely.
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> and let TeamPassword secure your company's digital assets.

Password encryption is the number one component of password security. TeamPassword encrypts passwords with state-of-the-art technology to keep passwords safe.

Password encryption is the number one component of password security. TeamPassword encrypts passwords with state-of-the-art technology to keep ...

What is password encryption and how much is enough?

What is password encryption and how does it work?

Over the last decade, the gig economy boom has allowed professionals worldwide to switch to freelancing and build a network of international clients.&nbsp;
According to Upwork, 1 in 3 US workers engaged in freelance work during 2020. Some of the most successful freelancers earn hundreds of thousands of dollars per year through platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Toptal.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
Does your company hire freelancers? How do you <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/should-i-share-data-with-freelancers">share passwords with freelancers</a>? TeamPassword is an affordable password management solution for small businesses, startups, and agencies to share credentials securely with team members and freelancers. <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h2>10 Successful Freelancers</h2>
Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in their given field with excellent track records&mdash;many have worked with the biggest companies in the world!
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>1. Scott Luscombe - Graphic Designer / Shopify Expert / Website Developer / Copywriter&nbsp; - Canada</h3>
Scott Luscombe is a freelance graphic designer, Shopify expert, website developer, and copywriter from Uxbridge, Canada. He holds a degree in Illustration from Sheridan College and a degree in Marketing from the University of Toronto.
Scott has been a freelancer for most of his professional career and has earned over $500k on Upwork. He has completed over 311 jobs and worked&nbsp;10,956 hours!&nbsp;
Scott's work includes graphic design and branding, illustration and icons, copywriting, website design and development, UX/UI, and printing and packaging. He also provides freelance coaching and consulting. Scott is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer currently charging $99 per hour for various creative gigs.
Some of Scott's most notable work includes designs for Coca-Cola, the Canadian Cancer Society, Nickelodeon, and Wallet Ninja (to name a few).&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>2. Kathy Edens - Marketing Consultant / Freelance Copywriter - United States</h3>
<a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~016177d19f0624c1a7?viewMode=1">Kathy Edens is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer</a> with over $300k platform earnings! Kathy has been self-employed as a marketing consultant and freelance copywriter for almost ten years from her home in Ohio, United States.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Professional Writing and Psychology from Oregon State University, which she says "...helps me understand how to reach your target audience with words."&nbsp;
Kathy has ghost-written several non-fiction books on various topics, including social entrepreneurship, healthcare, real estate investing, and the cannabis industry, to name a few.
Kathy also writes web content, sales pages, email marketing content, case studies, white papers, brochures, press releases, and more. Kathy's rates start at $86 per hour for her writing and marketing services.
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<h3>3. Koen van Oeveren - UX designer - Netherlands</h3>
Koen van Oeveren is a freelance UI &amp; UX designer from North Brabant, Netherlands, with almost ten years of experience. Koen works with several design agencies in the Netherlands, designing apps, websites, and eCommerce experiences for many international brands.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Koen holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Communication and Multimedia Design from Avans University in the Netherlands. Koen's <a href="https://www.koenvo.com/index.html">portfolio website Koenvo</a> was nominated for a <a href="https://www.awwwards.com/sites/koenvo-ui-ux-portfolio">2021 awwwards. Award</a>.
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<h3>4. Pascal Strasche - Product / UX designer - Germany</h3>
Pascal Strasche is a product and UX designer with more than ten years of design experience from Germany. He holds a Master of Arts in Interaction Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design, both from HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
For almost a year over 2020/2021, Pascal worked as the sole product designer to design Con Cubo's SaaS tool that helps complex organizations visualize and manage teams. He's also worked with German steel giant XOM Materials to find product solutions to digitalize&nbsp;Germany's steel industry.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In 2019, Pascal founded Product Design Resources, a growing archive of 800+ design resources, weekly updated for the design community.
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<h3>5. Paul Hunkin - Developer - New Zealand</h3>
Paul Hunkin is a freelance software consultant and developer from Tauranga, New Zealand, but currently living in Portugal.&nbsp;
Paul has over ten years of experience as a software developer with an impressive work history, including Google, NASA, InfoSys, and the Chinese aerospace industry leader COMAC.
He's worked with several early-stage startups designing everything from high-performance big-data systems to complex web applications to 3D rendering engines. He's also built a lot of the foundational code for independent games on Android.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
Paul is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer with over $400k in platform earnings. His rates start at $120 per hour for software development. <a href="https://paulh.consulting/">Check out Paul's website</a> for more about his impressive portfolio and work history.
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<h3>6. Jana Galat - Writer / Brand Strategist - Canada</h3>
Jana Galat is a freelance copywriter and brand strategist from Ontario, Canada. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Management and Organizational Studies from King's University College and an Honors in Business Administration from Western University.
Jana has extensive experience writing landing pages, email campaigns, social media ads, and print materials and says, "I am obsessed with creating copy that sells..."
After several years of professional work experience, Jana went freelance in 2019 and has quickly built a reputation as a <a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01bfa17a48301876dd">Top Rated Upwork Freelancer</a> with over $70k in platform earnings. Jana's rates start at $100 per hour for copywriting and brand consulting.
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<h3>7. Kate H. - Logo Designer / Branding Expert - United States</h3>
Kate is a freelance professional logo designer and branding expert from Maryland, United States. Kate&nbsp;ran her own green wedding brand which she sold to mywedding.com in 2014, allowing her to focus on helping small&nbsp;businesses figure out what they want (and who they are) and translate that into design.
She holds a Master's degree in Environmental Management from Yale School of The Environment, and a J.D. in environmental law from Pace Law School.&nbsp;
Kate's skillset includes redesigning and updating material to make it easier to understand, building a consistent brand from a simple starting point like a logo, and creating unique logos that guarantee results.
Kate is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer, and her rates start at $225 per hour. You can find out more about Kate on her <a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~013ce73876c1c18126" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Upwork profile</a>.
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<h3>8. Marcos Rezende - UX designer - Canada</h3>
Marcos Rezende is a UX Designer from Ontario, Canada, with more than 13 years of experience. Marcos has worked in over 30 industry sectors for multinational organizations in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Brazil.&nbsp;
Some of Marcos' notable projects include apps for Ontario's COVID-19 dashboard, Urban Master Planning collaboration platform, and Reaction (kid's e-learning app), to name a few.&nbsp;
Marcos loves sharing his industry expertise with aspiring UX designers and regularly writes for the popular UX publication Career Foundry. Total recognizes Marcos as part of its "Top 3%" of global freelancer talent&mdash;a title given to elite freelancers in their given field.
We don't have access to Marcos' rates, but the best UX designers on Upwork earn upwards of $100 per hour. As a Toptal Top 3% freelancer, Marcos likely charges $200-$300 per hour.
<a href="https://www.marcosrezende.com/">Marcos Rezende's website</a> was nominated for the prestigious <a href="https://www.awwwards.com/sites/ux-portfolio-marcos-rezende">awwwards.</a> in 2021.
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<h3>9. Tanya Litvinova - UX/UI Designer - United States</h3>
Tanya Litvinova is a freelance UX/UI designer from New York City, United States. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising Design / Communication Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Tanya specializes in product, mobile, and web design as well as user experience flow, research, and validation.
"I have a passion to make the complex simple, shape behavior, design, plan, and strategize. Aiming for the best user experience, all the while balancing the needs of business and technology to create engaging, habit-forming digital products."
Tanya has worked with Fortune 100 &amp; Fortune 500 companies and successfully delivered business-transforming data-driven analytics, responsive BI dashboards, enterprise web apps, and management systems. Some of Tanya's notable clients include KOCH Industries, BlackRock Financial, BCG Group, and FireEye, to name a few.
<a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~0165035041b26e96df">Tanya is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer</a> with more than $200k platform earnings. Her current rate starts at $162.50 per hour.
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<h3>10. Guangming Lang - Data Scientist - United States</h3>
Guangming Lang is a freelance data scientist from Michigan, United States. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from New College of Florida and a Master of Science in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan. Guangming has also completed several Coursera courses in data science and machine learning.
Guangming has been a freelancer since 2013 and has worked across several industries, including fintech, trading, medicine, biotech, advertising, and HR.&nbsp;
Guangming is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer with over $400k in platform earnings. He's completed 216 jobs on Upwork totaling 3,805 hours! Guangming's current rates start at $200 per hour.
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<h2>Secure Freelancer Workflows With TeamPassword</h2>
No matter how talented or reputable the freelancers and contractors you hire, your company must use secure workflows to protect your digital assets.
Freelancers often need access to shared accounts and tools. Using a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager</a> is the first step to securing these accounts and platforms. You can also use a password manager to share credentials with employees, clients, and other stakeholders to ensure you never expose raw passwords via email, spreadsheets, chat apps, and other non-secure methods.
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">TeamPassword</a> lets you create groups to share access with only those who need it. When they're done, revoke access with a single click. No need to change passwords every time someone leaves the team.
If you do need to change a password, TeamPassword's built-in <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">password generator</a> lets you create secure passwords between 12-32 characters using numbers, letters (uppercase/lowercase), and symbols.
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Ready to onboard clients and freelancers securely with TeamPassword's robust <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password management solution</a>? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a free trial</a> to secure your company's digital assets today!

Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in their given field.

Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in ...

10 extremely successful freelancers and what they do

Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in their given field with excellent track records—many have worked with the biggest companies in the world!

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