LastPass is a password manager that has become increasingly popular in recent years for its features and ease of use. If you’re looking to up your security game, LastPass is a great option to consider. Here are five ways you can use LastPass to make your life easier:
- Create an account and get started with LastPass right away. You can create an account for free on LastPass.com or by using the app on your phone.
- Use LastPass for online passwords and login credentials. If you need to keep online passwords safe, then using LastPass is a great way to do it. Just enter the username and password you want to protect into the lastpass://username/password field in the lastpass settings page, and then click save changes.
- Use LastPass for secure email storage. If you need to store sensitive emails in a secure place, then using LastPass is a great option. Just enter the email address you want to protect into the lastpass://email/password field on the lastpass settings page, and then click save changes.
- UseLast Pass as your primary vault for storing important documents and files. If you have important documents or files that need to be stored securely, then usingLast Pass is a great option for doing it! Just enter the filename of the document or file you want to store into the lastpass://filename field on the lastpass settings page, and then click save changes.
LastPass is more than just a password manager. It’s an encrypted vault where you can store secure notes, secret bookmarks, and even entire files. It can also save your address and credit card numbers and fill those into online forms.
Store Secure Notes
You can store Secure Notes in LastPass as well as passwords. To do this in LastPass on a desktop, click the LastPass icon on your browser’s toolbar, select “Secure Notes,” and click “Add Note.” In the LastPass app for iPhone or Android, open the “Notes” section in your vault and tap the “+” (plus sign) button.
LastPass has secure note templates to help you organize your data. For example, if you’re making a note containing the information on your driver’s license, you can select the “Driver’s License” note type and then enter data in fields like Number and Expiration Date. There are similar templates for Wi-Fi passwords, credit card numbers, social security cards, passports, and anything else you might want to store.
To type whatever you want, you can select the “Generic” option and get a big text box. If you want to store another type of data in your vault, you can even create a custom template. Just click the “Note Type” box, scroll to the bottom, and click “Add Custom Template.”
You can save as many notes as you want and even sort them into folders. To find your notes, click LastPass icon > Secure Notes, or select “Secure Notes” in the vault in the LastPass smartphone app. You can also search through all your secure notes using the search box in LastPass.
Like any passwords you save to LastPass, these notes are securely encrypted and stored in your vault. When LastPass is locked, no one will be able to see them. And they’ll be accessible on all your devices via the LastPass app, as they sync just like passwords.
You can store an unlimited number of items in your LastPass vault, but LastPass says you’ll start to see your vault slow down after 2500 items.
RELATED: Why You Should Use a Password Manager, and How to Get Started
Keep Files in Your Vault, Too
Better yet, you can attach files directly to secure notes. LastPass lets you store entire files in your vault.
This might be particularly useful for identity documents, for example. You could take a photo of your driver’s license or passport and attach it to the appropriate secure note, so you’d always have a photographic copy if you need it in the future. However, you can attach and store any other type of file, too.
Files you store in here are encrypted just like passwords and notes, so this is more secure than just storing them in your Dropbox account or your smartphone’s Photos app.
To do this, click the “Add Attachment” button while creating or editing a secure note to add any file you like. In the smartphone app, tap the paperclip icon at the top of the screen while editing a note to attach a photo.
According to the LastPass documentation, each attachment can be up to 10 MB in size. Free LastPass accounts can only store 50 MB of files, while paid LastPass accounts can store up to 1 GB.
Make a List of Secret Bookmarks
LastPass can store secret bookmarks that are hidden from your normal web browser. If you have sensitive websites you want to remember but don’t want anyone else knowing about, keep them here.
To create a new bookmark, click LastPass > Sites > Add Site.
Enter the address of the web page you want to visit in the URL box. For example, if you wanted to bookmark Google Calendar, you’d enter https://google.com/calendar. Name the bookmark whatever you want—for example, “Google Calendar.”
You can store the bookmark wherever you want. For example, you might want to place it in a dedicated “Bookmarks” folder so you can easily find it.
When you’re done, leave the username and password fields blank and click “Save.”
You can now click LastPass > Sites, click the name of the bookmark folder you created, and click the name of the bookmark to open it in a new browser tab immediately. This list of bookmarks will appear under Sites in the LastPass smartphone app, too.
This works because you can visit your vault and click any saved site to open it. LastPass will automatically fill in your username and password. However, if you save a site without a username and password, LastPass will still remember its address and let you quickly open it.
Automatically Fill Your Address, Credit Card Number, and More
LastPass can remember and fill in more than just usernames and passwords. You can save your name, address, phone number, credit card numbers, and other personal details in LastPass to make entering them easier online.
To create a form fill profile in LastPass, click LastPass icon > Form Fills.
If you see a Default form fill profile, click “Edit” to edit it, or click “Add Form Fill” to create a new one. Or, if you want to fill your credit card number quickly, click “Add Credit Card” instead.
LastPass lets you fill in all kinds of information, including your name, birth date, gender, mailing address, email address, phone number, credit card information, social security number, bank account routing numbers, and more. Save your data by clicking “Save” when you’re done.
You can even create multiple profiles if you like. For example, you could create one profile for your mailing address and another for a family member’s mailing address if you frequently order packages online for that person.
When you want to fill in this information online, click the profile icon in a field and select your form fill profile, saved credit card, or whatever else you want to fill in.
You can also click LastPass icon > Form Fills and click the name of a form fill. The information from your saved profile will be automatically filled into the form on the current page.
Set Up Emergency Access, Just in Case
LastPass offers an Emergency Access feature that can give someone else access to your saved information if you’re ever incapacitated.
Here’s how it works: When you enable emergency access, you choose another person’s LastPass account and specify a wait time, like 48 hours. That person can request access to your account at any time. LastPass will email you, and you can choose to deny the request if you like. But, at the end of your wait time (for example, 48 hours), the timer runs out, and LastPass will give that person access to all your data.
For example, you might want to make a trusted family member or friend your “emergency access user,” just in case. If you ever end up in a coma, that person will be able to gain access to your saved information. But that person can never gain access to your data without your permission while you’re capable of denying the request.
To start setting this up, open your LastPass vault (LastPass icon > My Vault) and click “Emergency Access” at the bottom left corner of the vault page. Your emergency access user must have their own LastPass account, but even a free account will work.
Image Credit: LastPass
