One of the main security barriers that we have in our day to day are passwords. As we know, it is essential to have strong and complex keys that provide us with reliability when logging on to the Internet. Something that has become increasingly popular is the use of password managers . We have many options at our disposal, for all types of operating systems and devices. Is a key manager integrated in the browser more secure or is a separate one better, in a third-party program? We are going to talk about it.
Is it better to have a password manager in the browser or an extension?
As we say, we have the possibility of using password managers that are integrated in the browser or make use of independent programs, third-party plugins. We are talking about browsers like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, which have this possibility in their own way, without having to use external software. But we also have the option of installing a third-party program where we can manage our keys.
It should be mentioned that there is no better one and a worse one, but it will depend on each user, on what they interpret as more positive in their day to day. The first thing we should know is that for simplicity, to make things easier, making use of a key manager integrated in the browser is the best. As we have indicated most modern browsers have one. This means that simply by logging in with our account we can already access all the keys and we can also do it on different devices.
What negative point can we find? Typically, that key manager owns the browser, so it will not be open source. This could pose a privacy problem if we think about it, as we don’t really have full control over how our data could be used. Also keep in mind that these key managers usually have no other options than the basic ones, which are essential for their operation.
Advantages and disadvantages in both cases
Instead we have the option of using third-party extensions in the browser . There are open source password managers and they can even be linked to programs that we can install on devices, beyond the browser. This undoubtedly gives us a greater range of possibilities, since we will have more functions, more control over our data and, ultimately, they are more complete.
An interesting advantage of third-party key managers is that we can install the extension in different browsers. For example we can have it in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. In this way our keys will always be available regardless of the browser we use. This is something that we could not achieve if we use our own and integrated manager in each of the browsers.
However, the built-in password managers in the browser have the advantage that we don’t need to add anything new. If we are going to use the same browser on all our devices, it definitely simplifies all the work.
As for security , the truth is that there may be leaks and vulnerabilities that affect both cases. Whenever we use an online key manager, the risk of a security breach, even a minimal one, exists. So in this sense, in case of using a third-party administrator, it is always advisable to check what we are installing and see that it is really reliable.
In short, as we see there are positive points for each of the options. In the end it will be up to users to choose one or the other. If we talk about privacy, having more control, perhaps the best thing is an open source extension. If, on the other hand, we want ease and not have to install anything additional, making use of a key manager integrated in the browser may be best.