"Keep everything online"
Tags: security, webdev, productivity, beginners
Published: 2024-04-09 13:26:25

Where should I even begin, what if I tell you as a developer the most important asset that I own is my password manager account?

Storytime... A few years ago, I was installing some shady software on my Windows machine. And surprise-surprise it was malware! , my system got infected.

I tried to get rid of it but stupid me had given it admin privileges, and it pretty much owned me on my own PC(poetic). So, as a last resort, I had to format my SSD immediately. I remember it was such a mess, I lost so much important data. I did have some backups but not enough.
![computer infected with virus](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2kmf3jz8i962cvbp7w4f.gif)
But if tomorrow I wake up and find out that my operating system got corrupted, my PC has been infected with malware or maybe my laptop has been stolen(ok, this would actually suck a lot ).

It will be inconvenient and frustrating, but atleast I can recover all my important data and get my dev setup back to the current state.
![Clean computer setup](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/c3zae8ctjgjv9n6z038b.jpg)
Now when I think of it, the only things you need to integrate are :

1. Password Manager
2. Browser Account
3. GitHub ( for devs )
4. Personal Cloud Storage


## 1. Password Manager

It's a web application that allows you to store your passwords and all other important secret stuff. You can also use your browser's password manager but I don't recommend it because:

- It's not secure enough. Surfing the web with all your passwords on your browser is risky as Browser Vulnerabilities can also impact the safety of your Stored Passwords.

- Browser Password Managers Only Work With THAT Browser, and it's not a good idea to store all your passwords on every browser.

In today's age, I believe a password manager should be a must for anyone. There are a lot of them but what I use and recommend others too is BITWARDEN.

![Bitwarden password manager](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/938n45qt8x5v9lyudnm1.jpg)

- Free forever
- Unlimited password storage
- 256-bit AES encryption (it means it's pretty secure :) )
- Open-source
- Available on every major platform including Android and iOS (Yes, you can access your passwords on your phone)
- Autofill and password generator

One thing that I am not a big fan of is Bitwarden's UX( user experience ). It's not very smooth and you might have to do some manual work.

But hey, you should always do your own research and find out the best one for you.

![Password managers](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/svx3kz1ul8qzebrvrdxk.jpg)


## 2. Browser Account
If you have access to all your accounts, this one is not that important, but it can save you a lot of time with that y+ENTER for opening YouTube.

![Youtube URL search](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/34oh71dqtt2kh43nc1qm.png)

It's the account you can create in any browser, that saves your history, bookmarks, keywords, password, etc.

So, yeah do make an account, it's good stuff.


## 3. Github
If you are a developer and don't have GitHub, then I don't know what you are even doing. So we are gonna skip this one.

![Github](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/0x05yk5lm1s6xcm2kqh8.jpg)

Okay okay, let's talk a little about it.

Think of it as a platform, where you can store and share your code with others but it's more than that.

If you want to learn more about it you should read this: https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/start-your-journey/about-github-and-git

## 4. Personal Cloud Storage
Everyone knows about this one too. I'm talking about Google Drive, OneDrive, Mega... that kind of stuff, you know that :)

![Cloud storage](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/c7trzuw16j0c6m2zz59g.jpg)

You can backup all the files, photos, videos, anddddd anything.

---
With all these tools, you can access all the important data anywhere, anytime, and convert any machine into your workspace.

The password manager has saved my life a couple of times and one day it might save yours too.

If there is any secret tool or technique you are hiding that can improve my system, please do tell me!!