Shop online securely this holiday season

This post is presented by Dashlane .

Christmas season used to mean spending days dashing between stores to rack up presents for loved ones. Now it means buying online from people and companies all over the country, maybe even the planet.

Online shopping is the norm now, so protecting your credit card information involves more than covering the keypad as you enter your PIN at the cashier’s stand. To avoid losing your payment information this shopping season, the best line of defense is a good password manager.

Dashlane offers an intuitive, powerful, multifunctional password manager that offers easy tools for tracking and updating your online security.

‘Tis the season to get secure

Using a password manager is a great idea no matter the season. But since online fraud spikes by more than 20 percent during the holiday season , it’s an especially good time to start. It doesn’t matter how much time you spend online, or how little exposure to risk you think you have. There are few better or easier ways to get a serious boost in security.

Using a password manager like Dashlane removes opportunities for data to be stolen or lost. It wrangles all of your many account logins under a single master password. And you can stash your credit and debit card info in Dashlane’s secure vault, too ― where it can be autofilled on every shopping website you’ll use.

If you’ve fallen into the bad habit of reusing the same password on multiple sites ― a definite no-no, according to security experts ― Dashlane also makes it simple to turn things around. Dashlane can generate a unique, super-secure password for every website you log into. So no matter how many accounts you use, you won’t need to worry about forgetting one of your logins.

Dashlane security alerts keep you informed

Plus, if there’s ever a site-wide security breach that exposes millions of users’ data ( unthinkable, right ?), the incident will generate an alert that prompts you to change your credentials for that site. So, next time a heavy hitter like Amazon, Etsy, Walmart or some other shopping hub loses control of its users’ passwords and other confidential info, you can take action to minimize the breach’s impact on you.

Dashlane actually has its roots in shopping. Its developers originally conceived it to make checkout lines faster. Since online shopping took over, Dashlane kept up with the many ways online activity can be slowed down or undermined by the typical password login process and data entry process for payments in online checkouts.

Dashlane will even save your online shopping receipts, so it’s a great buying buddy.

Keep security simple

The words “online security” can sound technical and complicated. But the best approaches to online security are just the opposite.

After opening a free Dashlane account, the Password Changer feature walks you through the simple process of automatically updating any weak passwords you might be using on compatible websites. With your passwords reset, logging into any compatible site takes just one click.

Web forms and credit card numbers are just as easy to fill out, all backed by two-factor authentication for extra security. You can set Dashlane to authenticate upon each login, or just when connecting a new device.

With Dashlane, everything is contained in a straightforward, eye-pleasing dashboard. From there, you can manage security on any device, whether it’s the passwords on your Mac’s Safari browser or Face ID logins via your iPhone XS. Dashlane also offers robust desktop and iOS apps for managing all your passwords. And now that iOS 12 is out, you can take advantage of Apple’s latest security tweaks , which make using password managers like Dashlane easier than ever on iPhones and iPads.

Dashlane also gives you an overall perspective of your online security. Dashlane’s Security Dashboard serves up an easy-to-understand score that reveals your weaknesses. Better yet, it offers concrete steps you can take to fortify your online payment security.

Start using Dashlane today for free

For all the reasons and more, Dashlane is the official password manager of Cult of Mac . And it can be your password manager, too ― at no cost!

The free version of Dashlane lets you store up to 50 passwords on one device. You also get instant form and payment autofill functionality that will make online shopping safer and better. Plus, if one of the online stores you use suffers a data breach, you’ll get that crucial Dashlane security alert so you can make any necessary changes.

If you want to use Dashlane across all your devices, you’ll pay just $4.99 a month to sync your passwords and other data across all your devices. That’s well worth the peace of mind that comes from a meaningful layer of extra security, especially at transaction-heavy times like the holidays.

The list of people to shop for is overwhelming enough. Why add a long list of passwords to remember?

Price:Free (with premium options)

Download from: Dashlane