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LastPass vs alternative password managers

While the LastPass password generator and manager have faced a history of data breaches, significantly impacting its reputation, the service continues to enjoy popularity

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Is LastPass Password Generator Good for Crypto Users in 2024?

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The plaintiffs allege that they were deceived into buying securities and that Coinbase’s business model is illegal.

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Coinbase and Its CEO Hit With New Class-Action Lawsuit

A heated debate between Ripple's CTO David Schwartz and Cardano's creator Charles Hoskinson has stirred the cryptocurrency community, focusing on regulatory biases and the future of XRP.

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Ripple CTO and Cardano Creator Clash Over the Future of XRP

conducted by the B2B review and rating platform GoodFirms in 2023, it was found that 30% of respondents, all IT professionals, experienced data breaches directly linked to weak passwords. Additionally, Cybernews, a cybersecurity research platform, 

that "123456" was the most common password in 2023.

Despite increased awareness of the importance of strong passwords, many users still rely on predictable combinations. This issue has prompted some countries, like the United Kingdom, to take legal action. On April 29, the UK government enforced regulations under its Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) framework, mandating strict password protocols for Internet-connected devices to encourage the use of unique, non-trivial passwords and mitigate cyber threats.

How Legitimate Crypto Recovery Companies Work: Opinions about Jurat, Crypto Asset Recovery, and CNC Intelligence Review

While the UK is updating its laws to bolster its residents' defense against cyber threats, it is crucial to take personal security measures, such as creating strong and unique passwords. The LastPass password generator, a feature of the LastPass password manager, has been a popular choice for this purpose for a long time. However, after it fell victim to a cyber attack in 2022, there have been strong concerns about its reliability. 

Is the LastPass password generator and manager still effective for cryptocurrency users in 2024? Let's delve into the details.

Firstly, let's understand what LastPass offers. The team behind LastPass claims this product is a manager that can effectively secure passwords in a vault, accessible via a locally hosted file. Acting as a centralized hub for password-related tasks, LastPass facilitates auto-filling passwords, password synchronization across different devices, generating robust passwords, and monitoring their strength.

The LastPass password generator is touted to allow users to create the most secure and random passwords, aligning with security best practices. Users can access the random password generator via the LastPass icon in their web browser toolbar, browser extension, or vault. Customization options include password length and character types.

Random passwords generated by LastPass can contain up to one hundred characters and offer three modes: "Easy to say," "Easy to read," and "all characters." After selecting preferences, users can copy the password to their clipboard or generate a new one as needed. LastPass recommends logging out and back in using the new password for enhanced security.

Is the LastPass random password generator and manager free forever?

At the time of publication, LastPass did offer a free 

for one device type. According to the official website, it provides unlimited passwords, one user account, a LastPass password generator, and several useful features such as saving and auto-filling passwords, one-to-one password sharing with other LastPass users, access to a security dashboard, dark web monitoring, and passwordless login.

a thirty-day free trial for the Premium plan. Meanwhile, the Premium plan added additional functionality to the free features, including access across all types of devices, one-to-many sharing, and advanced multifactor options.

This plan also provided emergency access, which grants one-time access to your vault to another LastPass user in the event of an emergency or crisis, as well as personal customer support. Additionally, Premium customers could upgrade their secure notes storage of 50 MB from the Free plan to 1 GB. This storage can be used for backing up critical documents such as passports, credit cards, insurance cards, and tax documents.

The regular price for the Premium plan was €2.90 per month, while at press time, there was a 20% discount and the plan was priced at €2.32 per month.

LastPass also offered a special Families plan which granted all premium features to six users. This plan came with six individual, encrypted vaults and a family manager dashboard for simplified user and security management. This plan also supported grouping and sharing items in folders.

The regular price of the Family plan was €3.90, however, at press time, it was offered for €3.12.

Thus, you currently have a choice of three plans for the LastPass account you create. One of them will allow you to use the LastPass app to generate and store your passwords for free. However, free accounts are limited to the use of a single device type.

The safety of LastPass in 2024 has been a concern following security incidents in 2022 when, both the company and its customers suffered a data breach. The team behind LastPass claims its password management solution features advanced 256-bit AES encryption. However, it did not prevent the security incident from happening.

"Based on its poor track record of security problems, the short answer is that no, LastPass is not safe, and you should probably avoid it," secure email service ProtonMail recommends, adding "If you already have it installed, the safest option is to delete LastPass and to export and then delete any data the company holds so it's no longer at risk."

To better understand the trustworthiness of the LastPass solution, it is also worth exploring customer reviews. At press time, based on 673 customer reviews left on the popular review platform Trustpilot, the password management solution scored only 1.3 out of five stars, which is regarded by the service as bad. Only 7% of reviews gave LastPass five stars, whereas 79% gave it only one star.

It appears that since January 3, all reviews except one, giving the service a maximum number of stars, ranked it rather low.

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Security concerns were mentioned as one of the major issues why users were unsatisfied with LastPass. Many of them also mentioned unauthorized charges to their cards without consent. Some LastPass users also complained about the difficulty in accessing customer support.

Users also report encountering obstacles such as unreasonable requirements for assistance or outright inability to reach a customer support representative. Users found it particularly difficult to cancel their LastPass subscriptions because of hidden cancellation policies and resistance from customer service.

Performance issues and lack of updates were also experienced by many users. Moreover, there were users who voiced such significant concerns with LastPass that they were prepared to take legal action against the service, citing breaches of privacy rights and mishandling of personal information.

The best LastPass alternative to generate and secure passwords

Because of security breaches and numerous customer concerns, LastPass may not be the best random password generator and manager. Which LastPass alternative should you choose to generate secure passwords and store them?

NordPass as the "best for usability" password manager, rating this solution with 4.9 stars out of 5 based on various criteria according to reviews and fees. On Trustpilot, this service scored 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 1,406 reviews, 83% of which gave it the maximum number of stars. While the majority of the most recent reviews about NordPass were positive, there were two negative opinions emphasizing the difficulty of getting refunded after canceling the use of the service as well as the inability to turn off automated updates.

As per Forbes Advisor, this solution is free for personal and family usage, whereas business clients have to pay $1.79 per month.

Among the downsides, Forbes Advisor emphasizes that "Unlike LastPass, it does not provide a native option for one-time password (OTP) generation." Forbes Advisor also points out that "Advanced business features, such as Google Workspace SSO, are only available in the Business or Enterprise plans."

Another top suggestion of a LastPass alternative from Forbes Advisor is Norton Password Manager. Forbes Advisor rated this service at 4.8. Forbes Advisor claims this solution is the best for integrated cybersecurity solutions but points out that Norton Password Manager does not have a user-friendly interface like LastPass.

Other alternatives suggested by the Forbes Advisor experts are Keeper Password, KeePass, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.

The LastPass password generator is certainly not the only application that can be used to create a password and store it. However, if for any reason, you do not want to use LastPass or any LastPass alternative, and prefer creating your passwords manually, it is crucial to keep in mind word and number combinations, as they can significantly compromise your security.

"In total, we were able to analyze 15,212,645,925 passwords, of which 2,217,015,490 were unique," the team behind Cybernews shared in its report adding, "We discovered some interesting things about the way that people create passwords: their favorite sports teams, cities, food, and even curse words," Cybernews claims that it is possible to distinguish demographic patterns based on the passwords chosen by users. "We could even deduce the probable age of the person by looking at which year they use in their password," it states.

It turns out that creating secure random passwords is a real challenge to many users.

Using a year as a password or its fragment is considered a rather basic approach to establishing your online security. Cybernews has found that the birth year of a user is the most popular year to be added to a password, followed by the year when the password was created, as well as any other year regarded as special by the user.

Interestingly, based on the data examined by Cybernews, using the year 2010 in the password was particularly popular in 2023. The platform reports that there were approximately 20 million passwords that incorporated this year and its variations. The second most commonly used year was 1987 with 8.4 million occurrences in passwords, followed by 1991, which was incorporated into 8.3 million passwords.

A name is another common component of a weak password. Unfortunately, millions of users still stick to using names. Based on its data, Cybernews was actually able to access the most popular names.

"The winner is Eva, but just barely. The number 2 name is Alex, which comes in about 50,000 instances less than Eva," Cybernews states, providing further statistics. "After that is Anna, and it tapers down consistently to the  number 10 most common password name, Daniel." In-between, there are such names as Max, Ava, Ella, Leo, Jack, and Ryan, whereas Darcie and Darcey did not enjoy such popularity.

Passwords including names of sports teams

Adding the name of your favorite sports team to your password is another sure way to make it rather weak. Cybernews explains that the data for sports teams incorporated by users in their passwords is so common that it can be assumed the most favorite teams and kinds of sports based on passwords only.

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Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong are facing a new class-action lawsuit alleging that  people were deceived into buying securities and that the exchange’s business model is illegal. The lawsuit was filed in a California district court and claims that Coinbase's digital asset sales violated state securities laws, with tokens like Solana and Polygon being considered as securities. 

Meanwhile, Alexander Vinnik, co-founder of the BTC-e exchange, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. Additionally, three former executives of the bankrupt crypto lender Cred were charged with wire fraud and money laundering.

 and its CEO Brian Armstrong. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California San Francisco Division, alleges that investors were deceived into buying securities and that Coinbase's business model is illegal.

The plaintiffs also claim that Coinbase's digital asset sales violated state securities laws since the company was started. They believe that tokens like 

 (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), Near Protocol (NEAR), Decentraland (MANA), Algorand (ALGO), 

 (UNI), Tezos (XTZ), and Stellar Lumens (XLM) are securities.

According to the lawsuit, Coinbase actually admitted to being a "Securities Broker" in its user agreement and implied that the digital asset securities sold by the exchange qualify as investment contracts or other securities. The plaintiffs pointed out that Coinbase Prime brokerage is functioning like a securities broker.

The plaintiffs want full rescission, statutory damages under state law, and injunctive relief through a jury trial. This is certainly not Coinbase’s first legal rodeo as this lawsuit is very similar to another class-action suit about consumer harm from Coinbase's sale of securities.

 crypto asset sales do not meet securities transaction criteria and questioned the relevance of securities regulations. 

Coinbase is also already involved in a very publicized legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (

) about the classification of tokens sold on its platform as securities. Coinbase recently filed an interlocutory appeal in response to a judge's decision allowing the 

Despite the legal challenges, Coinbase reported an impressive rebound in the first quarter of 2024, driven by improved market performance and the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The exchange posted $1.6 billion in total revenue and $1.2 billion in net income for the first quarter.

 is a process integral to understanding security tokens, and involves representing real-world assets or rights digitally. Essentially, anything can be tokenized, like  ownership and registration of a car. For instance, a token could signify ownership of a car by tokenizing its vehicle identification number (VIN) along with the owner's details, recorded on a 

. Security tokens are created through a very similar process, with a company inputting what the token represents and offering it to investors on exchanges or investment platforms. Ownership of these tokens is then recorded on the blockchain, associated with the owner's blockchain address.

The concept of tokenizing ownership isn't entirely novel, as paper stock certificates were previously issued by companies to investors. These certificates represented ownership or other rights and were very similar to digital security tokens, albeit in physical form. However, digital security tokens are stored and created on a blockchain, offering efficiency and transparency in ownership transfer.

While security tokens and cryptocurrencies share similarities, their fundamental difference lies in their intended use. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and 

 are designed for use as decentralized currencies or transactional mediums. In contrast, security tokens mimic traditional investment assets like stocks or bonds and are intended for investment purposes.

Despite this distinction, certain cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, have been treated as 

 by investors because of their trading and investment potential, although they were not originally designed for these purposes. It is important to note that while they may function similarly in the market, they do not inherently meet the criteria to be considered securities by regulators like the SEC.

In other legal news, Alexander Vinnik, the co-founder of the 

 conspiracy after an investigation into the exchange's activities from 2011 to 2017.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 3 that during Vinnik’s time at the exchange, BTC-e 

 more than $9 billion in transactions with a user base exceeding one million globally, including many users in the United States. The platform was allegedly used to launder money stolen through criminal activities like computer hacking, ransomware attacks, and drug trafficking.

According to the DOJ, BTC-e operated without any essential legal compliance measures, which made it very attractive to people who were looking for a way to conceal money transactions from law enforcement. It was also revealed that Vinnik established many shell companies and financial accounts around the world. This allowed him to facilitate the illicit transfer of funds through BTC-e, resulting in criminal losses totaling at least $121 million.

Vinnik has been dealing with legal battles for the past five years because of his alleged role in BTC-e. 

 in Greece in 2017 on money laundering charges, he was later extradited to France in 2020. In France, Vinnik was acquitted of ransomware allegations but convicted of money laundering charges and sentenced to five years in prison. Despite an unsuccessful appeal by his lawyers who claimed he was only an exchange employee with no involvement in illicit activities, Vinnik was extradited to the U.S. in 2022 after serving two years in a French prison.

As a Russian citizen, Vinnik attempted to secure a prisoner swap deal between Russia and the United States, but his attempt ended up being unsuccessful. This case is just one of many that proves that U.S. regulators are scrutinizing crypto exchanges at the moment. Very recently, the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was 

Three former executives of the bankrupt crypto lender Cred have been 

 with engaging in wire fraud and money laundering before the firm's collapse in November of 2020. Daniel Schatt, the former CEO, and Joseph Podulka, former chief financial officer, face 13 charges each, while James Alexander, former chief commercial officer, is facing four counts. 

Mark Mosley, an acting special agent in the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, described the alleged scheme as predatory as it ended up defrauding victims of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

 in 2020 caused some concerns among users about the safety of their funds. Prosecutors allege that the executives misled customers about Cred's lending and investment practices, falsely claiming collateralized or guaranteed lending and hedged 

. Despite the claims, prosecutors hold firm that Cred engaged in lending that was neither collateralized nor guaranteed.

Schatt and Podulka appeared in court on May 2 and are scheduled to enter a plea on May 8, while Alexander's court date has not been set yet.

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Discussions surrounding the utility and market valuation of cryptocurrencies have brought several high-profile projects under scrutiny. From on-chain data revealing a decline in Cardano's wallet activity to Forbes labeling top-tier cryptocurrencies like XRP and ADA as "crypto zombies," the narrative across the financial technology sector has been rich with debate and analysis. These discussions raise important questions about the long-term viability and practical applications of cryptocurrencies beyond mere speculative trading.

Clash of Titans - Ripple CTO and Cardano Creator Stir Up Crypto Community with Fiery Exchange

In a dramatic turn of events that has captured the attention of the cryptocurrency world, a heated debate has erupted between Ripple's Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, and Cardano's creator, Charles Hoskinson. The discussion, primarily unfolding across various social media platforms, centers on the contentious fate of XRP amidst allegations of regulatory biases and potential conspiracies.

The dispute traces back to recent accusations from the XRP community suggesting that influential figures within the Ethereum community might have swayed regulatory actions unfavorably against XRP. This controversy intensified when Charles Hoskinson, a leading figure in the blockchain space and founder of 

He vehemently denied these conspiracy theories during an online discussion, labeling them as utterly baseless. According to Hoskinson, there is no credible evidence to back the claims that any Ethereum-affiliated individuals influenced regulatory outcomes against Ripple’s digital asset.

However, the argument took a sharp turn when David Schwartz, the CTO of Ripple and a prominent advocate for XRP, countered Hoskinson's dismissals. Schwartz highlighted potential conflicts of interest involving William Hinman, a former official at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Hinman's alleged connections to the Ethereum Foundation were pointed out as possibly having skewed regulatory decisions in Ethereum's favor—a suggestion that could imply a disadvantageous position for XRP if proven true.

Schwartz's remarks incited further controversy, prompting Hoskinson to respond assertively. He accused Schwartz of perpetuating misinformation and fostering a divisive atmosphere within the cryptocurrency community. Hoskinson then reiterated that the allegations of a conspiracy were completely unfounded and stressed that they should not be connected to any previous discussions about Ethereum's regulatory engagements.

This exchange between two of the crypto industry's most influential figures has not only stirred significant interest but also highlighted the ongoing challenges and complexities in the regulatory landscape of digital assets like XRP and ADA (Cardano's native cryptocurrency). Both cryptocurrencies have had their share of legal scrutiny and regulatory challenges, particularly with the SEC.

As the debate continues without a clear resolution, it starts to show deeper issues within the crypto industry concerning transparency, accountability, and the role of regulatory bodies. Crypto enthusiasts and investors are increasingly demanding clarity on how regulatory decisions are made and calling for fair treatment across all digital assets to ensure a level playing field.

This incident also raises important questions about the future of digital currencies and the frameworks governing them. As the crypto market evolves, the need for regulatory clarity becomes ever more apparent, not just for the stability of the currencies themselves but for the protection and confidence of the investors involved.

As both sides of the debate stand their ground, the broader implications for the crypto industry remain uncertain. Stakeholders are watching closely, hoping for a resolution that will bring not only peace within the community but also a stronger, more robust framework for the future of digital finance.

Cardano's Wallet Activity Wanes: Analyzing Implications for ADA's Market Position

In the dynamic crypto realm, wallet activity is a crucial barometer of user engagement and market health. Recent on-chain data suggests a troubling trend for 

, as the network experiences a decline in active wallet numbers. This comes amidst broader market uncertainties and has raised significant questions about the future trajectory of the network’s native ADA token.

Dipping Numbers: A Closer Look at the Data

According to insights shared by on-chain analytics firm Santiment, Cardano appears to be losing steam in terms of wallet activity compared to its peers. The firm's recent report highlighted a modest decrease of 0.1% in the number of non-empty ADA wallets over the past three months. 

In contrast, other top cryptocurrencies such as the meme coin Dogecoin (DOGE) and the leading crypto Bitcoin (BTC) have seen their non-empty wallets grow by 13.8% and 2.6% respectively within the same period.

This trend is particularly concerning given the broader context of ADA's market performance. Data from CoinGecko shows that Cardano has not only seen a decline in wallet activity but also suffered a significant price drop of 31.7% over the last 30 days. Despite a year-over-year increase of 12.6%, the recent downturn has pushed ADA down to the 10th position in global cryptocurrency rankings, trailing behind newer entrants like Dogecoin and Toncoin (TON).

As the market digests these figures, the Cardano price continued to struggle throughout the past day of trading. After dropping more than 2% in the last 24 hours, the crypto is currently trading hands at around $0.4423. This is after it was able to reach a high of $0.4556 during the latest trading session.

The decrease in active wallets might be a red flag, signaling a possible waning interest in Cardano among investors and users. However, it could also represent a potential undervaluation, presenting an opportunity for new investors looking for entry points into a major cryptocurrency at a lower market price.

It's crucial to note that fluctuations in user activity are not uncommon in the cryptocurrency landscape, especially during periods of market volatility and uncertainty. Such trends often precede cycles of consolidation and growth as projects adjust to evolving market dynamics and prepare for new phases of development and expansion.

Industry experts are divided on the implications of this trend for Cardano. Some see the decrease in wallet activity as a temporary setback, likely to reverse as the project rolls out new features and improvements. Others caution that sustained declines could reflect deeper issues within the Cardano ecosystem or broader shifts in investor sentiment.

As ADA navigates these challenging waters, stakeholders and observers alike will be watching closely to see how Cardano addresses these issues and whether it can leverage its technological innovations to regain momentum and investor confidence. The coming months will be crucial for ADA as it attempts to reassert its position in the competitive cryptocurrency market.

Forbes Dubs Prominent Cryptos as 'Crypto Zombies': A Deep Dive into Market Utility and Speculation

In a striking analysis, Forbes has recently categorized several high-profile cryptocurrencies, including 

 and ADA, as "crypto zombies." This designation is reserved for layer-1 blockchains that, despite their significant market valuations, purportedly show limited utility outside of speculative trading. 

The assessment has stirred considerable debate within the crypto community, highlighting the complex dynamics between market value and practical application.

The term "crypto zombie" refers to cryptocurrencies that maintain a large market presence but allegedly lack substantial utility beyond the sphere of trading. Forbes' critique points to a discrepancy between the perceived value and actual functional use of these digital assets, suggesting that their sustained prices are not necessarily reflective of real-world applications.

Forbes singles out Ripple Labs and its cryptocurrency XRP as quintessential examples of this phenomenon. Despite XRP's robust trading volume, which signals its popularity among traders, Forbes contends that its practical use-case scenarios are limited. This perspective challenges the narrative promoted by Ripple Labs, which positions XRP as a revolutionary tool for international money transfers and financial infrastructure.

Ethereum Classic and Algorand Under Scrutiny

The report also casts a critical eye on Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Algorand. Ethereum Classic, known as the "true Ethereum" following its 2016 emergence from a hard fork related to the DAO incident, is noted for its substantial market cap juxtaposed with relatively low network fee generation. Similarly, Algorand, once hailed as an "Ethereum killer" for its high transaction throughput, is criticized for generating minimal income from blockchain transaction fees, highlighting a gap between its technological capabilities and market utility.

Perhaps the most unexpected inclusion in Forbes' analysis is Cardano. Often lauded for the active development and innovation within its ecosystem, Forbes' portrayal of Cardano trading primarily on the popularity of its founder, Charles Hoskinson, and some controversial claims about his educational background, has sparked controversy. Despite these criticisms, supporters of Cardano vigorously defend the network, pointing to substantial inflows and ongoing development activities as proof of its utility and robustness.

The Forbes article has generated a polarized response among the crypto communities associated with the mentioned projects. Some stakeholders acknowledge the challenges related to demonstrating utility in decentralized technologies, while others argue that the ecosystems are indeed vibrant and contribute significantly to the blockchain landscape.

Many suggest that while the "crypto zombie" tag may sound overly harsh, it brings attention to a critical dialogue about the necessity for cryptocurrencies to develop more tangible applications beyond mere speculative trading.

As the crypto market continues to evolve, the debate between market value and utility is increasingly pertinent. Forbes' classification of certain top-tier cryptocurrencies as "crypto zombies" might serve as a catalyst for these projects to amplify their efforts in showcasing real-world applications. Meanwhile, the community's response highlights a robust defense of the underlying technology and a belief in the future potential of these digital assets.