Where is the safest place to save all my pin numbers and passwords?

royP_2

At the moment I have them written down and hidden in the home but realise they are in danger if we have a fire or break in [ unlikely I know but could happen].
I am a bit wary of saving them on my computer or online.
Any suggestions? 

royP_2

What is the best and safest way to save all the above, most of the above need passwords, pin numbers, security codes etc, no way can I remember them.
I am very wary of online systems and at the moment I have them written down and hidden.
Think about possible thieves breaking in or possible fire [know that is rare but possible].
We need to keep these somewhere just in case I die suddenly, I am 85, my wife will need them as well as my two sons.
Any thoughts?

Murmansk

Safest way is probably with one of the bits of software "Password Managers" designed specifically to do this. I use Dashlane but there are plenty of others. You access and use the software by entering one "Master" password and that's all you have to remember - so make it fairly complex but memorable and give it to your trusted relatives should it be needed. Don't forget or lose that master password or you will be totally and utterly stuck with no way to resolve the problem.

HedgehogRulez

Hardcopy is the best. If it makes you sleep better, don’t leave the notepad out in the open…

ob1kinobi

Depending on your view of 'risk' of data loss you may want to consider using the mobile phone app called 'password safe'. My wife and I have been using this for as long as we have had smart phones. That's almost 20 years and we've never had a problem. The app has a 4.8 out of 5 rating and the data is kept on the phone. You can back up the database and if you ever change mobile handsets it is very easy to restore the data to a new smart phone. I would recommend it but please have a look at some of its reviews. There are other similar mobile apps to consider that do the same thing.

Zanderman

Most straightforward way is to do what you do now, record them on paper. And hide them well. But don't write them in a clear way! I use a notebook for a lot of passwords (for a lot more stuff than just banks) but most are, to some extent, encrypted to some extent (mostly beginnings and ends of numbers and words) in a way that I doubt would help a burglar. Unless they knew me really well, which most burglars wouldn't.

But these would be obvious to anyone who knows me as many are old phone numbers, or street addresses from decades ago that would be guessable to people who were part of my life, even if they only saw a few letters or numbers. Some might think this insecure, but it does mean I'm not reliant on a password manager software system. Though I could lose the notebook!

On a point of detail if you did die suddenly, any accounts in your sole name should be locked. They shouldn't be being accessed by your login as you'd be dead. So whilst I can see why you'd want relatives to access them, they technically shouldn't, unless they are joint accounts. And if they are joint accounts they would have their own access anyway.  If your wife or sons are your executors they can access your personal accounts to administer your estate of course, but that would be done by applying to the banks as executors, not by using your login.

sausage_time

An additional benefit of password managers is that they can generate random and long passwords for log in details.  These will be saved and can be entered in by the password manager.

I would not store my password file on the cloud.  I have a master file and a couple of secure backups stored safely.

flaneurs_lobster

Any password manager app will allow you to store this kind of text data. 

grumpy_codger

I use https://keepass.info/index.html . The encrypted database is stored in a file in your device. I like it for advanced features like Auto-Type - you just press Ctrl+V and it fills the username, the password and some other information if needed, but this usually involves editing the default auto-type sequence.

It can be used for storing securely various information, e.g. card details, notes etc.

More basic password manager I know is internet-based Bitwarden. The encrypted database is stored on their website (and can be exported I guess), that is IMO less secure, but you can access it from anywhere if needed.

Chrysalis

I use keeppass, its a password manager, stores encrypted, unlocked with both encrypted key and password, and doesnt store in the cloud so not vulnerable to data breaches.
For 2FA I use Aegis, which is also a local stored, not cloud solution.

MX5huggy

Any built in password store on your phone/computer. You can then use very long complex random passwords that aren’t crackable by brute force. Have a different password for every website so a data leak doesn’t compromise multiple sites.