VPN giant NordVPN has launched its latest service, NordPass – a dedicated password manager that aims to reduce the stress of having to remember and create new passwords.
Originally announced back in July, the new service has launched today (November 26), and users can sign up to NordPass right now.
You can use NordPass to securely autofill your password and login details, without having to remember them all yourself. Plus, it can automatically generate complex and unique passwords for you. NordPass will be compatible with most major web browsers.
See our guide to the Best Password Managers
What Features Does NordPass Offer?
As a Password Manager, NordPass appears to have a strong set of features at launch, although none of them are outside of what you would expect from this type of service:
- Two-factor authentication – NordPass comes with two-factor authentication, an extra level of protection for users to verify that they are who they say they are. For NordPass, users will have the option of enabling the feature, so that attempts to log into the service will need to verified separately via the dedicated app.
- Browser extensions – NordPass is compatible with major web browsers, and has extensions available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera, so that your passwords will be auto-filled from within the the browser itself, as well as giving quick access to other NordPass features.
- Sync with multiple devices – With NordPass, users can sync their details across six different devices.
- Sharing information – NordPass users can share data, such as passwords, credit cards and notes with family, friends and coworkers,
- Dedicated apps – NordPass has dedicated apps for both iOS and Android platforms.
- Import passwords – If you’re juggling multiple password managers, or looking to move from one to another, NordPass can import your passwords from other apps.
How Much Does NordPass Cost?
NordPass has launched with discounts in place, meaning that users who sign up for longer periods are rewarded with the biggest discounts.
The standard price for a one month pass is $4.99, and committing to this sets up a rolling subscription that will see you charged this amount each month. This makes it slightly more expensive that its contemporaries, such as Dashlane and 1Password. However, commit to a year or two and the price drops dramatically. A one year plan offers a saving of 40% and is charged at $2.99 a month, while 50% can be saved on a two year plan, at $2.49 a month.
NordVPN has also stated that there is a freemium version of NordPass, that is free to use but with more limited features. However, at the time of writing this plan isn’t available on the NordPass site.
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Should You Use a Password Manager?
There are plenty of great reasons to use a password manager. Firstly, they remove the headache of juggling multiple passwords and trying to remember what your Amazon, Twitter, Instagram etc passwords actually are.
Today, we all use a lot of sites, which means that we need a lot of passwords. This can lead to sloppy practice, such as reusing the same password across multiple sites, a huge no-no, and one that could expose you to having your details compromised. If a site’s security is breached and fraudsters get hold of your password, you can mitigate the threat by making sure it’s unique. However, if you’re using 123456 for every site you use, it could be payday for scammers. Password managers can go even further, by actually generating passwords for you (and remembering them too, naturally).
A lot of password managers have free versions, so is it worth paying for one? Paid-for password managers offer a lot more functionality than their free versions. Most commonly, they allow syncing across multiple devices, which means that if you’re often going between your phone, tablet and laptop, the password manager will effortlessly juggle all devices without any intervention, managing your passwords. You can also expect better tech support – with the paid-for NordPass option, NordVPN are offering 24/7 assistance.
Some password managers go a step further to protect your identity, and will automatically notify you should one of your passwords be breached. To find the right password manager for you, check out our dedicated Password Manager reviews.
