PSA: My neighbor convinced me to stop using a password manager

I was talking with my neighbor, a retired IT guy, over the fence last week. He said, 'Putting all your keys in one digital lockbox is just asking for trouble.' He argued that a single breach of the manager's vault gives an attacker everything. I've used one for 5 years and always thought it was the safest way. But his point about a single point of failure really hit different. Has anyone else moved away from a password manager for this reason, and what's your system now?

3 comments

3 Comments

milesrobinson3mo ago

That "single point of failure" idea gets brought up a lot. I read a security article that said the real failure point is usually reusing weak passwords everywhere. A good manager with a strong master password and two factor is still way safer than what most people do on their own. I tried going back to memorizing a few and changing them up, but I just ended up writing them down on a sticky note, which is way worse.

lily_craig3mo ago

Still feels like putting all your eggs in one basket though.

park.tara16d ago

My neighbor tried the same thing with me about smart thermostats - said having your whole house controlled by one app was a bad idea. But @milesrobinson is right, the sticky note route is way worse for most people, I see it all the time with my friends who swear they don't need a manager.