Firefox Lockwise lets you securely access the passwords you’ve saved in Firefox from anywhere — even outside of the browser. Features 256-bit encryption and Face/Touch ID. The Firefox Password Manager securely stores the usernames and passwords you use to access websites and then automatically fills them in for you the next time you visit a website. This article will show you how to use the Password Manager to remember, view, edit, remove and protect your passwords, and also how to disable the Password Manager.
Password managers are the most recommended tool by security experts to protect your online credentials from hackers. But many people are still hesitant to use them. Here’s why password managers are safe, secure and your best defense against password-hungry cyber criminals.
What is a password manager?
Think of it like a safe for your passwords. When you need something inside the safe, you unlock it. Password managers work the same for your online credentials.
You create a single, super-strong password, which acts like a key. Install the password manager app on your phone, computer, browser and other devices. Your passwords are securely stored inside it. Anytime you need to log in to an account, unlock your password manager and retrieve your login info.
Myth 1: Password managers aren’t safe or trustworthy
With website vulnerabilities and security incidents on the rise, some people are wary of trusting a tech tool to manage their passwords. What if the password manager gets hacked? Reputable password managers take extra steps to lock down your info and keep it safe from cyber criminals.
A good password manager:
- Doesn’t know your primary password (so hackers can never steal it)
- Only stores encrypted versions of your credentials and data on their servers
- Can generate strong, secure passwords
Myth 2: Password managers aren’t 100% secure, so I shouldn’t use one
No tool can completely guarantee your online safety. Even the most elaborate lock can be broken into. Yet we still lock our doors to our houses and cars.
The alternative to using a password manager is to rely on your own memory to remember all your credentials — or worse yet — writing them down. This inevitably leads to recycling passwords or using variations — a bad habit that hackers love.
Password managers can be such an effective security tool because they help us improve bad habits. With a password manager installed on your computer and phone, it’s a lot easier to take your logins everywhere so you can use unique, strong passwords on every account.
Myth 3: Storing all my passwords in one place makes them vulnerable to hackers
Depending on the password manager, your passwords could be stored on your local computer or on a remote server run by the password manager. Any data you store in a trustworthy password manager — passwords, logins, security questions and other sensitive info — will be securely encrypted.
The only way to access your data is with a single primary password that only you know. You use this password to unlock the manager on your computer, phone or other devices. Once it’s unlocked, a password manager can fill in your logins to websites and apps. It’s important that your primary password be strong and unique.
Myth 4: Remembering all my passwords is safer than trusting technology to do it for me
Our memories sometimes fail us. Ever clicked a “forgot password?” link? It’s very common to use variations of the same password to make them easier to remember. With a password manager, you don’t need to remember any of your credentials. It can be installed on all your devices and will auto-fill your passwords for you. Once you get in the habit of using one, you’ll no longer have to worry about forgetting your credentials.
Myth 5: It’s a huge pain to set up a password manager
Sure, it takes time to log all your credentials in a password manager, but you don’t need to do it all at once. You can always start small and change just a few passwords at a time. Try installing a password manager and creating new, unique passwords for the websites you visit most frequently. Over time, as you log in to other sites, you can add others.
Firefox Lockwise is an app for iOS and Android that gives you access to passwords you’ve saved to Firefox. It works by syncing logins from the browser to the app, allowing you to take your login info with you. To get started, sign into Firefox account on your computer (start here if you don’t have one), then sign into Lockwise on your device and sync your logins.
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The Firefox Password Manager securely stores the usernames and passwords you use to access websites and then automatically fills them in for you the next time you visit a website. This article will show you how to use the Password Manager to remember, view, edit, remove and protect your passwords, and also how to disable the Password Manager.
- To get your passwords everywhere you use Firefox, turn on sync.
Table of Contents
- 3Managing usernames and passwords
When you enter a username and password that you haven't already saved for a website, Firefox will ask if you want to save it.
In the prompt:
- To have Firefox remember your username and password, click on . The next time you visit the website, Firefox will automatically enter your username and password for you.
- If you've stored the wrong username or password, just type the right one into the website and Firefox will prompt you to save it. To save the new username and password, click on .
- To tell Firefox to never remember usernames and passwords for the current website, click the drop-down menu and select Never Save. In the future, when you log in to the website you won't be prompted to save the username and password.
- If you later change your mind and would like Firefox to ask you to save usernames and passwords for this site, you'll need to go into your Firefox OptionsPreferencesSettingsPreferences and remove the site's entry from the Privacy & Security panel Exceptions list.
- To skip saving your username and password this time, click . You'll be prompted to save your username and password the next time you visit the site.
You can also manually add website logins. Click the menu button and select Logins and Passwords. Select the button at the bottom left side of the Firefox Lockwise page to manually add a website address, login, and password.
If you have more than one account for a site, Firefox can save all your logins. Each time you log in to a site, you can choose the login information you would like Firefox to use.
Add another login account: To save an additional login for a site, enter the login credentials and click Save when prompted. Use the drop-down arrow to see a list of saved usernames for that site. You can also start typing to narrow the results.
If more than one login is stored for a website, the list of usernames will appear when you click the login field. Select the username you want to log in with.
- Click the Firefox menu button.
- Click on Logins and Passwords. The Firefox Lockwise about:logins page will open in a new tab.
From here, you can view, copy, edit or remove your saved logins.
After you select an entry from the list of logins, you can perform these actions:
- Click to copy a username or password.
- Click to see the password.
- Click Edit to change the username or password.
- Click Remove (or Delete, depending on your Firefox version) to remove the login from Firefox.
See Edit or delete a login in Firefox Lockwise on desktop for more information.
Remove all saved logins
- Click the Firefox menu button.
- Click on Logins and Passwords.
- Click the 3-dot menu on the top right corner.
- Choose Remove All Logins.
If you want to back up your saved usernames and passwords or move them to a different application, you can export this data to a .csv (comma separated values) file. See Export login data from Firefox Lockwise for more information.
You can also import login data from a .csv (comma separated values) file. See Import login data from a file for more information.
Firefox Password Storage
If you use the same simple password for everything you will be more susceptible to identity theft. The Create secure passwords to keep your identity safe article shows you an easy method for creating secure passwords and using the Password Manager, as described above, will help you remember them all.
Even though the Password Manager stores your usernames and passwords on your hard drive in an encrypted format, someone with access to your computer user profile can still see or use them. The Use a Primary Password to protect stored logins and passwords article shows you how to prevent this and keep you protected in the event your computer is lost or stolen.
Firefox offers to remember passwords by default. To change your settings:
- In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and select Preferences.Click the menu button and select ...
- Select the Privacy & Security panel and go to the Logins and Passwords section.
- To prevent Firefox from saving logins and passwords for a certain website, click the button to the right of Ask to save logins and passwords for websites and add the website URL.
- To prevent Firefox from saving logins and passwords for all websites, remove the check mark next to Ask to save logins and passwords for websites.
- Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.
Firefox Password Recovery
These articles will help you solve any problems you might be having with usernames and passwords: