Question about using a password manager for my whole family

I set up a shared vault for my wife and kids last month, thinking it would make things easier. The weird thing was, my son's old video game account got hacked anyway, even with a strong password from the manager. Turns out he had used that same password on a fan forum years ago, and that site had a data breach. I learned that a manager is only as good as the passwords you put in it... you still have to check for old leaks. Has anyone else had a strong password fail because of an old account they forgot about?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan_hall22d ago

It's a real wake-up call, isn't it? I saw a tech writer call this "password sprawl," where your old accounts on forgotten sites come back to bite you. Those data breach checkers are a good habit, but who has the time to check every single old login? Makes you wonder if we should all just assume every password from before 2020 is already out there.

kelly.parker22d ago

Read that too, @susan_hall. It's a scary thought.

the_sandra11d ago

Yeah, that "password sprawl" thing is real. I make my kids sit down with me once a year and we search their old emails for "welcome to" or "your account" to find forgotten sign-ups. Found my daughter's old piano lesson app from 2018 that got breached. Changed that password fast. It's a pain but it's the only way.