However, even though the cloud seems to be the most secure method of storing them, it is not always the best option. The hack suffered by the servers of Last pass This is further proof of the lack of security measures for this type of services, at least among small developers, since, for the moment, the big ones like Microsoft, Apple and Google have never suffered any type of hacking ( remember they are obligated to communicate if this happens).
Microsoft Authenticatorthe Microsoft platform integrated into the Edge browser and also available on iOS and Android mobile devices, is currently one of the best options available on the market in addition to being completely free. But if you don't want to know anything about these types of applications at all and still want to have your passwords on a USB stick, you have two options.
Encrypt the contents of the USB stick
If you use Excel to store passwords that you use on the Internet, you can protect the file with a password that prevents access to it, a password that, using certain tools available on the Internet, can be eliminated, so copying the file to a USB drive is not enough.
To make it truly safe to transport passwords on a USB stick securely, what we need to do is encrypt the drive using Bitlockeran application available for free on Pro versions of Windows.
This application encrypts all contents of the USB drive and, when connected to a PC, asks for a password to decrypt the contents and allow access. If we do not have the password, we will never be able to access the content, let alone recover it, so it is important to remember it, since, one could say, it is the master password that unlocks access for everyone.
Use a sticky password
But if you don't want to use a simple encrypted Excel file on a flash drivealso encrypted you can use Sticky Password app. Sticky Password is a password manager that allows store on a USB stick Passwords available in the Windows version are secure and encrypted at all times, without having to encrypt the entire USB drive.
What this application does is install a portable version on the USB or internal hard drive and protect access to all passwords via a master key. Unlike the option to encrypt the entire USB drive, Sticky Password only encrypts the contents of the file where passwords are stored.
Although this application is available on free versionthis does not include password synchronization, so to always have them with you and updated it is necessary to purchase an annual subscription at the price of 19.95 dollars or pay for a lifetime license at the price of 49.95 dollars.
We can try the version completely free Prime and thus evaluate whether this way of managing and always having passwords with you is really worth it or resorting to the method that we indicated in the previous section.
