How to set up a password manager (a simple walkthrough)

By Iulian · Published 4 June 2026

Setting up a password manager is the single highest-value hour you can spend on your online safety. Here’s how to do it without getting overwhelmed. You don’t have to fix every account in one go.

Step 1: Pick one

Any reputable manager is a big step up from reusing passwords. Good starting points:

• Bitwarden — open-source, with a genuinely useful free tier. A great first choice.
• 1Password — polished and easy, paid.
• Proton Pass — from the makers of Proton Mail, privacy-focused.

Step 2: Create a master password you’ll remember

This is the one password you must memorise, and the one key to everything, so make it long. The easiest strong method is three or four random words strung together, ideally with a number or two. Length matters more than fiddly symbols. More on this in how to create strong passwords you’ll actually remember.

Write it down on paper and keep it somewhere safe at home until it sticks. Do not store it in a note on your phone.

Step 3: Install it everywhere you need it

Install the app on your phone, and the browser extension on your computer. That extension is what makes it effortless, because it offers to fill in and save logins as you go.

Step 4: Turn on two-factor authentication for the manager

Add a second step to the manager itself, so even if someone learned your master password, they still couldn’t get in. This is the one account where 2FA matters most.

Step 5: Add your logins, most important first

You don’t need to do everything at once. Let the manager save logins as you sign in to sites over the coming days. To get ahead, start with the accounts that matter most: your email first (it’s the master key to everything else), then banking, then shopping accounts that store your card.

Step 6: Replace the weak and repeated ones

As you go, let the manager generate a new long, random password for each account to replace the old reused ones. This is the whole point: every account ends up with its own unique password you never have to remember.

Worried a manager isn’t safe? Read are password managers safe? first. And check whether your current passwords have already leaked: how to check if your password has been leaked.