It’s hard to keep everything you need to remember in your head. Especially if it’s not something you’re used to, or interested in, or if you’re an anthropomorphic egg.
If you forget how to do something I’ve emailed about (how to use LastPass, how to lock your computer, how to archive your emails), you can find archives of most of the emails (including this one!) as articles on NTCHelp.net.
You can search for articles by text search, “tags” (like “security” or “lastpass”), or you can search by date.
Search by textSearch by TagSearch by Date
So when you find yourself saying “I Don’t Remember How to Do That,” reach for a cold glass of NTCHelp.net!
P.S. If there’s something you’d like to see covered in a future article. Put your question/topic in a help ticket, and I’ll put it on the list. Thanks!
Wait…you do have a LastPass account, don’t you? No? That’s ok, read this first, then come back.
Now that you have a LastPass account, there are a few important things to do (and to avoid) to make sure you get the most out of it while keeping the security of your passwords intact.
Here’s your initial checklist (explanations of how to do each of these follows this list):
Set an idle timeout in the browsers you use.
Set LastPass to log you out when you close your browsers.
Lock your computer when you leave it.
Set an idle timeout in the browsers you use, and have LastPass log out when browsers are closed: This will make sure that you don’t stay logged on to LastPass indefinitely, which is a security risk. You’ll want to follow these steps on your computer and any computer you use LastPass on.
Click on the LastPass icon in your web browser: (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc:
Select Preferences:
Check the two security boxes, with the values below, then click Save.
Lock your computer when you’re away from it.
This is pretty easy. On Windows, press the windows key + L
This will lock the screen so that you have to enter your password upon returning to your computer.
On Mac it’s, um…let me Google that.
[…Google-ing…]
On a Mac it’s CTRL + SHIFT + EJECT, or in picture form:
To recap, do these three things:
1 & 2) Tell LastPass to log out when you close your browser and Set an idle log out time:
3) Lock your computer when you’re away from it.
windows =
mac =
Awesome. Thanks for doing that. Remember, you can’t spell “Security” without “U”!
Hi, it’s me: LastPass! I am here to help you be more awesome.
Time to install me on your computer, and reap the benefits of having secure passwords, without the burden of having to remember them all!
Go to LastPass.com.
Click the big red “Download Free” button.
If you’re using Firefox or Chrome:
You’ll be prompted to add an extension to the browser. Follow the prompts.
If you’re on Internet Explorer:
On the next page, click the red Download button.If your computer asks you whether you want to Run or Save the file, choose “Run.”
If your computer just downloads the file, open the file after it downloads.
Follow the install instructions, and answer “Yes” to questions about whether you want to allow the program to continue.
This installation has multiple steps, but shouldn’t take more than about 10 minutes. The plugin will be installed into your default web browser. Let Bill know if you have any trouble. NTCHelp.net is the place to do that.
I’m a red square with an asterisk in it! Or maybe I’m a snowflake on a red trampoline! I live in your browser and on your phone!
Some call me “The Last Password You’ll Have to Remember,” and I’d have to say: that’s pretty accurate!* My job is to make it easy to secure your passwords. You only have to remember one (sufficiently strong)** unique master password.
How I work, in a nutshell:
Instead of typing in your username and password to sites you visit (or having your web browser remember them, which is convenient but generally very insecure), you log into LastPass (that’s me!), and I enter your username and password for you.
Or, in video form:
In my next post, I’ll explain how to install me on your computer. It’s pretty easy, not to mention “required by NTC’s Information Security Policy.” Which is really another way of saying, “It’s fun!”
Your Friend,
LastPass
* (There may be a password or two you’ll have to keep in your head, but the majority of passwords you can “set and forget”)
** How strong is a “sufficiently strong” master password? For NTC, it means your password must be at least 8 characters, and have at least one letter and one number, and it must be unique, as in you are not using it for anything but your LastPass master password.
It’s hard to believe it’s August already, and that means…the First Annual NTC Security Month!
Image credit: Me
There are so many mandatory fun things to look forward in this month-long celebration of NTC’s commitment to information security. Here’s a sneak preview list of what’s coming down the pike…
Stretch your creativity, as you create a new, more secure password for logging in to Windows!
New Password Manager: having to remember passwords on the web will be a thing of the past!
Learn special “Secret Agent” skills for encrypting and decrypting sensitive information!
New “cloud” Antivirus to keep the bad guys at bay!
Learn the simple tricks the pros use to keep their computers and information secure!
And more!
So go to the store, buy a hat, and hang on to it, because NTC Security Month is just getting started!
