Why Should I Use LastPass

LastPass makes it easy to have unique passwords for every single account you have -- because it remembers them for you!

According to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigation report, 81% of data breaches are caused by poor credential management. A password manager is the next step after DUO MFA in securing UC Berkeley’s credentials and improving UC Berkeley’s overall credential management. Account breaches can happen when using weak passwords or reusing old passwords/sharing passwords across accounts.

LastPass simplifies your online life by remembering your passwords for you and alleviating these poor habits. With LastPass to manage your logins, it's easy to have a strong, unique password for every online account and improve your online security.

What is a password manager?

A password manager is a software application that stores, retrieves, and manages complex passwords, storing them in an encrypted format. Password managers store login information and automatically enter them to log you into your online accounts.

Why use a password manager?

A password manager makes your internet experience easier and safer. With a password manager to manage your logins, it's easy to have a strong, unique password for every online account and improve your online security. It stores login information of various accounts and automatically enters them into web forms to save you time. This helps prevent:

  1. The need to remember multiple passwords.

  2. Poor password behavior such as low complexity or one repeated password for multiple sites.

  3. Attacks like keystroke logging.

Why use LastPass?

  • One master password is all you need to remember to access all of your accounts! It’s like a CalNetID for your entire internet.

  • You can bring your passwords with you to any platform: web, desktop, and mobile. The passwords on one platform sync in real time on every other platform. This means, for example, if you change a password for a webpage on your web browser, it will automatically update the password on your tablet and mobile LastPass account.

  • LastPass is secure:

    • The latest algorithms (AES-256, PBKDF2 SHA-256, and salted hashes) are used to encrypt passwords. LastPass never sees your passwords in plaintext and your master password never leaves your machine.

    • Your passwords are encrypted and decrypted at the device level. Your master password, and the keys used to encrypt and decrypt data, are never sent to LastPass’ servers and are never accessible by LastPass or the Information Security Office. This means that even if your LastPass data is intercepted or compromised, your passwords are still safe. LastPass employs a 'zero-knowledge' model: all sensitive data is encrypted locally at your device with a key that is never transmitted to the host (LastPass). As such, even under government subpoena, LastPass could ever only turn over an encrypted blob with no key. This serves to protect your data from internal and external threats alike. This is why it is not guaranteed that your account will be recoverable if your Master Password is lost.

    • Additionally, adding DUO MFA provides an extra layer of security for your LastPass account.

  • LastPass has amazing customer service.

    • Promptly speak with a live technical support representative, who is happy to assist you.

    • By phone, call LastPass Business Support at 1-866-890-6809 (Sunday, 7:30pm - Friday, 8:30pm U.S. EST)

    • For LastPass Premium, open a priority support ticket. With your Premium account, your support tickets are the first tickets addressed in the LastPass support system

  • LastPass has support for various fingerprint readers, including Windows Biometric Framework, as a Premium feature. Once enabled, you can use the Fingerprint reader to log in to the LastPass browser extension, rather than having to enter the Master Password. This includes Master Password reprompts as well.

  • You can change a site’s password with a single-click. LastPass’s Auto-Password Change [BETA] currently supports 75 of the most popular websites. Learn more about generating a password

  • Gives the ability to securely store other critical pieces of information such as notes. LastPass can store notes and small pictures with the same security it uses for passwords. If you have important travel documents or itineraries, emergency contact info, or financial information, this is the perfect place to store it all.

LastPass helps you make better passwords with its Password Generator. The generator can be adjusted for length, types of characters, readability, pronounceability, and other options.