We’ve covered this in another browser password post, but here are more details. This is something we will teach you how to UNDO. Having your browsers store your passwords is one of the biggest vulnerabilities to going online. You may think it’s simple, easy and because you have to login to your computer – secure. You’d be incorrect. Malware knows where these password files are hidden on your hard drive and seeks them out to use them for their own dastardly goals.

The list of passwords will help you with your “to do” list of probably places you still have active accounts.

If you choose to go with our recommended implementation of LASTPASS, LASTPASS will automatically run through your browser files and seek out the passwords, bring them into LastPass and DELETE them from the browser files to secure your online experience. As long as you follow their prompts and then do not ever select, “REMEMBER ME” prompts from any source other than LastPass, you will remain secure.

Let’s start with your Mac – before you even go to Safari:

Password Locator for Macs

  1. Click the “Finder” icon. Click “Go” at the top of the menu and select “Utilities” from the drop-down menu. Double-click “Keychain Access.”
  2. Click the “Passwords” tab on the sidebar to the left, and double-click the account you wish to open. Check the box next to “Show password.”
  3. Type your system administrator password and click “OK.” Your password will show up in the box next to “Show Password.”
  4. Click the red button in the upper-left corner of the screen to exit the window. Press “Command-Q” to exit Keychain Access.

Be aware (11/2016): So for now, IF YOU ARE USING SAFARI 10 TO SAVE YOUR PASSWORDS: either turn on iCloud Keychain syncing to save a copy on Apple’s servers, or get a secondary/paper backup copy (that does not depend on backup copies of your files) of all those outrageous random digit passwords Safari is generating for you. Because if you break your specific machine, they may be gone.

Consider MacPass as a security option, similar to LastPass

 

Time is ticking on Mozilla’s Firefox – export your passwords now, and then delete them all.

To export saved passwords in Firefox to a file, do the following.

  1. Visit the following link using Firefox: Password Exporter.
  2. Click “Add to Firefox”. Confirm the installation request.
  3. Restart Firefox when prompted.
  4. The add-on adds a new button Import/Export Passwords to Preferences – Security. You can reach it quickly by entering the following text in the address bar: 
    about:preferences#security

    You’ll see the “import/export passwords” option.

  5. Click the button to export so you can import into a spreadsheet or another type of list program.

You are done! The extension will allow you to export saved Firefox passwords to a CSV or XML file. There is a special option to obfuscate passwords, which can be useful when you need to hide your passwords from other people who can open your file.

Time to move on to Chrome:

Export Saved Google Chrome Passwords to a File

By default, Google Chrome doesn’t allow you to export saved passwords to a file. The browser can save them, and they will be available in the current profile or synced across your devices if you have enabled it. But there is also a way to export saved passwords to a file.

Export Saved Google Chrome Passwords to a File

  1. Open the Google Chrome browser and type the following text into the address bar: 
    chrome://flags/#password-import-export
  2. This will open the flags page directly with the relevant setting.
  3. The setting is called Password import and export. It allows you to enable the import and export functionality of password settings. You need to select “Enabled” in the dropdown list.
  4. Once you change this setting, re-launch the browser as prompted.
  5. Now, click the three dots menu button and select Settings.
  6. In Settings, scroll down to the “Show advanced settings…” link and click it.
  7. More settings will appear. Find the section “Passwords and forms”.
  8. Click the link “Manage passwords”.
  9. In the next dialog, you will find new buttons “Export and “Import” below the list of saved passwords in Google Chrome.
  10. That’s it. When you click the export button, your passwords will be saved to a *.CSV file. To secure the operation, Chrome will ask you to type your current Windows password. This will safeguard your Chrome passwords from anyone else who has access to your unlocked PC.Type your WINDOWS password and specify the file where your passwords will be saved.
  11. The CSV file will contain the following information: the user name, the target URL, your user name and password for that site. The passwords will be stored unencrypted, so keep this file in a secure place or encrypt the file itself. Highly recommend to upload to Drive. You may choose to print out this list, too, and date it, tuck it away securely.

Better details from one of my digital heroes, Kim Komando >