LastPass 3.0

Storing all of your passwords in a single, secure password manager means you can use a different, strong password for every site, without worrying that you'll forget. It also means that a successful attack on your password stash could give a hacker access to every one of your secure sites. If that thought worries you, the free LastPass 3.0 is just what you need. Your data is stored online in encrypted form that even the company can't read, and it's encrypted going to and from your PCs. You can protect your LastPass data with more different kinds of two-factor authentication than any other password manager I've encountered.

It won't be long before LastPass 4.0 makes the scene; we expect it sometime this summer. However, the developers at LastPass have slipped some interesting new features into the product without waiting for a new version. In particular, LastPass now supports automatic password changing for selected websites.

A big part of the 3.0 release was an update to some (but not all) of its user interface. The browser-button menu has been streamlined, and now supports in-menu search. Firefox users can choose a different browser button icon. Most user interaction now takes place exactly where you were already focusing. For the most part, it's just a stronger, better-looking edition.

LastPass 3.0: LastPass Vault

From the online LastPass Vault you can access all of your passwords, form-fill profiles, and account settings. You can access the Vault even from a computer without LastPass installed, to view your data, but actual password management requires the LastPass client.

LastPass 3.0: New Save Password Prompt

New in version 3.0, the prompt to save a password that you've entered appears right below the password itself.

LastPass 3.0: Password Details

At the time you save login credentials for a site, you can name the entry as you wish and assign it to a new or existing folder.

LastPass 3.0: Password Generator

New in this edition, you can bring up the password generator by clicking an icon overlay in the password field. LastPass's password generator remains one of the most flexible.

LastPass 3.0: Password Replay

LastPass can automatically fill in saved credentials when you revisit a site. If more than one set of credentials is available, it now puts the menu of choices adjacent to the password field itself.

LastPass 3.0: Browser Menu

In version 3.0 the browser menu has been streamlined a bit. Note, too, that Firefox users can pick from a variety of browser button styles.

LastPass 3.0: Search from Menu

Here's a welcome change; you can now search your saved credentials directly from the browser-button menu, without having to open the full LastPass Vault.

LastPass 3.0: Virtual Keyboard

Even the strongest password can be compromised by a hardware keylogger. If you're not confident about the security of the PC you're using, you can foil keyloggers by using the built-in virtual keyboard.

LastPass 3.0: Grid Multifactor Authentication

Two-factor authentication is always better than master password alone, and it doesn't have to be high-tech. To use grid authentication, you print this card and keep it in your wallet. The login process will ask for the characters at specific letter/number coordinates.

LastPass 3.0: Multifactor Choices

Even users of LastPass's free edition can crank up security by using Google Authenticator for login. Authentication using Toopher, Duo Security, or Transakt is also available.

LastPass 3.0: Biometric Authentication

Many modern laptops include a built-in fingerprint reader. You can enhance the security of your stored password data by requiring biometric login.

LastPass 3.0: One Time Password

If you know that you may have to log into LastPass from an untrusted computer, generate some one time passwords to take along. Each only works once, so it doesn't matter if someone shoulder-surfs the password or steals it using a keylogger.

LastPass 3.0: Form-Fill Profiles

You can create any number of profiles for filling Web forms, each with personal data, address information, contact details, a credit card, and more. You can also create profiles that contain just credit card data.

LastPass 3.0: Filling Forms

When you click in a form field, LastPass offers to fill the form using one of your profiles. In testing, it proved quite accurate.

LastPass 3.0: Profile Capture

Here's an unusual feature. If you fill out a form manually and submit it, LastPass will offer to save what you entered as a new profile. Handy!

LastPass 3.0: Security Challenge

Take the LastPass Security Challenge to see how good your password security habits are. Naturally you'll want to raise your score as close as possible to 100 percent.

LastPass 3.0: Challenge Details

The report you get from the Security Challenge is completely actionable. Scroll down to see a list of all your passwords, starting with the weakest ones. You can click a link to visit the site and change to a stronger password; LastPass will capture the change.

LastPass 3.0: Sharing Credentials

Click an icon next to any of your passwords in the LastPass Vault to share it with other friends who use LastPass. You can choose whether to reveal the password to them, or just let them log in without seeing the password.

About Our Expert

Neil J. Rubenking

Principal Writer, Security

My Experience

When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my "User to User" and "Ask Neil" columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

The Technology I Use

Much of the testing I do, particularly testing with real-world ransomware, is just plain dangerous. To perform such tests safely, I sequester them inside virtual machines managed by VMWare Workstation. For cross-platform testing, I use a MacBook Air, a Google Pixel 4, and a 6th-generation iPad.

I rely on my Delphi coding skills to create and maintain small applications. These include programs to check whether an antivirus correctly handled the malware it detected, launch dangerous URLs and record the security program’s reaction, and analyze the malware that I collect for use in testing. I also wrote a tiny browser and text editor for use in testing security apps that have predefined reactions for known products.

I do my writing and research on a Dell OptiPlex desktop, relying on Microsoft Word (my fingers know all the shortcuts). Many of my articles include charts and analysis; Excel is my go-to for those. When work hours end, though, I escape the bounds of Microsoft and Windows. There’s an iPhone in my pocket, I relax with my oversized iPad, and my Kindle Oasis is always loaded with the best science fiction and fantasy.

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