Most Brits don’t use a password manager to handle their credentials, and would rather try to memorize them all, a new report from Bitwarden says.
As a result, many of us tend to use the same login credentials for up to ten different digital services, but often end up forgetting passwords, forcing users to go through the entire password recovery process.
Still, a significant portion of the consumers sees no problem in the way they handle their credentials.
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Total recall
Polling more than 1,600 internet users on how they view and manage their own password security, Bitwarden found that 64% of Brits try to keep all their credentials in their heads. Almost a third use a pen and paper to refresh their memory every once in a while.
Even though that’s essentially a good thing, every six in ten (60%) have to reset their passwords regularly, as they tend to forget them.
Most Brits aren’t familiar with password security best practices, the report further claims. More than a third of the respondents use the same passwords for anywhere between five and ten sites, and tend to share their credentials with other people.
Most of the time they’ll share them verbally, but they won’t shy away from using a messenger app or email.
Strong passwords
But there are good news, too. Most Brits create longer passwords (9-15 characters) and believe workplaces should provide them with password managers. As a matter of fact, more than half (55%) use it in the workplace, today.
“It’s encouraging to see so many people reporting familiarity with password management best practices,” said Bitwarden CEO Michael Crandell. “While there are holdouts, it shows we need to do more education on the benefits and ease of use of password managers. We don’t think hackers are going to go away, so we want to provide basic password management, for free, to individuals everywhere.”
Usually, security experts advise against sharing passwords, writing them down on a computer or storing them in emails, as these things could easily lead to compromised accounts. Writing them down on a piece of paper is also not recommended, especially in a shared office.
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