How To Use Secure Password Generator In Chrome and Firefox

Password is the most basic security measure by which we can keep our digital life safe. Passwords allow access to sensitive information to an authorized person while preventing everyone else from accessing the information.

Nowadays, most of the accounts and services we use are cloud-based and we have to use web browsers to access these services. In this article, we will discuss how to generate a secure password right from your browser.

So let’s start with Google Chrome.

Secure password generator in Google Chrome

Google Chrome has a built-in secure password generator. It is enabled by default. If it is not enabled for you, you can follow the steps below to enable it:

1. Open Chrome and go to the following URL:
   <a href="chrome://flags/#google-password-manager">chrome://flags/#google-password-manager</a>
2. Set the flag to Enabled.
   
3. Restart the browser for the changes to take effect.

Once the password manager is enabled, you will see an additional context menu item when you right-click on any password field.

Clicking on Suggest password… will show an automatically generated secure password for your usage. Clicking on the password will automatically fill the password fields along with the confirm password field.

It will also synchronize the password to your logged-in Google account. The saved credentials are available where you have signed in to the same Google account.

Whenever you have saved a password of a specific site in Chrome and you open the site again, you will see a lock sign in the address bar field. You can click on the lock sign to edit the credential details.

Secure Password Generator in Firefox

Firefox also comes with a built-in random password generator. It also saves the password in its own Lockwise password manager.

The password generator in Firefox is enabled by default and it will suggest a random strong password as you click on the password field on any signup form.

For example, I wanted to signup for gtmetrix.com account and here are the steps I took:

1. Open Firefox and go to the website (https://gtmetrix.com in my case)
2. Go to the signup form and fill it. As soon as you click the password field, Firefox will automatically suggest a random strong password below the password field.
   
3. Click on the suggested password and it will automatically be entered in Password and Lockwise will automatically grab the username, password, and the URL and save it for future use.
4. Click on the Confirm Password field and Firefox will automatically come up with the securely generated password in step 3 to be filled in automatically. Click the password to fill the field.
   

Firefox secure password generator works for all HTML based forms. If the automatic password suggestion drop-down is not coming up for you, you can right-click inside the password field and select Fill password –> Use a securely generated password.

Whenever you have saved a password of a specific site in Firefox and you open the site again, you will see a lock sign in the address bar field. You can click on the lock sign to edit the credential details.

Limitations of the built-in password managers of Chrome and Firefox

Although it’s very convenient to have a password manager built right into the browser they have certain limits. Limits like being unable to edit the password you saved first, unable to organize the credentials, etc. are where full-featured password managers come in.

Password manager apps can synchronize credentials across different browsers and different platforms. If you use multiple platforms, then you should certainly be using a third-party full-featured password manager app instead of the built-in password managers.

Password Manager Apps for your browser

If you are not satisfied with the built-in password manager, you can use a third-party full-featured password manager. Here’s a list of some popular password managers:

1. 1password – Password manager for families and businesses with apps for all Operating Systems including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iOS. It doesn’t include a free version.
2. Lastpass – My personal favorite. It does everything which 1password does but has a free version. Its enterprise version is perfect for organizations that need shared password vaults.
3. Nordpass – Password manager from NordVPN which is one of the most popular VPN providers. It must have some great security features built into Nordpass. Cons include having no free version.
4. Dashlane – Great password manager. It includes a free version but is limited to one device only.

These password managers will do the job of automatically generating and saving a random secure password for each site you sign up or sign in. They will also let you organize your credentials information into folders and sub-folders. You will also be able to create auto-fill information of the fields other than username and password.

Online password generators

There are times when you only need to generate a random and secure password. If this is the only task, then you should be looking for online password generators.

Let me list down some of the good online password generators here:

1. Securepasswordgenerator – My personal favorite. It gives you all the options like including selecting password length, numbers, symbols, upper and lower case letters, etc. It also gives you a sentence you can remember to easily remember your randomly generated password.
2. Lastpass online password generator – Lastpass also has an option to generate passwords online without installing anything. It follows a different approach than securepasswordgenerator.net. It has all the features but also can generate passwords that are easy to say and read.
3. 1password password generator – 1password also comes with a password generator. It can generate memorable passwords as well as random pin codes.
4. dinopass – If you are looking for something which is very simple, dinopass is for you. Actually, it is a password generator for kids. It generates passwords that are easy to remember for kids.