Day 4: Simplify and Plan Ahead

Why We’re Taking a Lighter Day

The first few days have involved a lot of security improvements. Today’s focus is on simplifying your login habits and planning for future improvements. This small change will make managing your passwords easier in the long run. If you have not been able to make all the changes in the previous few days, see if you can get some of them done today.

Why are we turning off Browser Password Management?

Your browser storing passwords is convenient, but it’s not the most secure option. Anyone who can get at your computer can log into sites where the browser has the password stored. It will also lead to potential confusion now that you’re using Bitwarden to store your passwords.

You should have set up BItwarden as a browser extension, and enabled Auto-Fill on Day 1: Use a Password Manager. If you haven’t done that yet, go back and do that before following today’s steps.

Step 1: Turn Off Browser Password Management

Browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox offer to save passwords, but using Bitwarden is a better choice:
✅ Better security – Bitwarden encrypts your passwords properly.
✅ Cross-device sync – Access your passwords securely from any device.
✅ Avoids duplicate storage – Reduces confusion about where your passwords are saved.

How to Disable Browser Password Saving on Desktop/Laptop:

🔹 Google Chrome:

1. Open Chrome and go to Settings → Autofill → Password Manager.
2. Turn off “Offer to save passwords”.
3. Turn off “Auto Sign-in”.

🔹 Mozilla Firefox:

1. Open Firefox and go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Logins and Passwords.
2. Uncheck “Ask to save logins and passwords for websites”.

🔹 Microsoft Edge:

1. Open Edge and go to Settings → Profiles → Passwords.
2. Turn off “Offer to save passwords”.

How to Disable Browser Password Saving on Mobile:

🔹 Google Chrome (Android & iPhone):

1. Open the Chrome app and tap Menu (⋮) → Settings.
2. Tap Passwords.
3. Turn off “Save passwords” and “Auto Sign-in”.

🔹 Safari (iPhone & iPad):

1. Open Settings and go to Passwords & Accounts.
2. Tap AutoFill Passwords.
3. Toggle AutoFill Passwords off or set it to Bitwarden if installed.

🔹 Microsoft Edge (Android & iPhone):

1. Open the Edge app and go to Settings → Accounts → Passwords.
2. Turn off “Save passwords”.

Step 2: Remove Existing Saved Passwords

Here’s how to delete saved passwords from your browser after turning off password management. You can use the list of sites in the Saved Passwords screen as a useful list of passwords to change and add to Bitwarden. You may wish to change each of them first and delete them as you go. (This would be my approach)

Google Chrome (Desktop & Mobile)

1. Open Chrome and go to Settings → Autofill → Password Manager.
2. Under Saved Passwords, locate each entry and click the three dots (⋮) → Remove.
3. To delete all saved passwords at once:
   • On Desktop: Go to Settings → Privacy and Security → Clear Browsing Data.
   • Select Advanced, check Passwords and other sign-in data, and click Clear data.
   • On Mobile: Go to Settings → Privacy and Security → Clear Browsing Data, select Passwords, and tap Clear data.

Mozilla Firefox (Desktop & Mobile)

1. Open Firefox and go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Logins and Passwords.
2. Click Saved Logins and manually remove entries.
3. To delete all saved passwords at once:
   • On Desktop: Click Remove All Logins at the bottom of the saved logins page.
   • On Mobile: Tap Delete All Logins under Logins & Passwords.

Microsoft Edge (Desktop & Mobile)

1. Open Edge and go to Settings → Profiles → Passwords.
2. Find each saved password, click the three dots (⋮) → Delete.
3. To delete all at once:
   • Go to Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Clear browsing data.
   • Click Choose what to clear, check Passwords, and confirm.

Safari (Mac & iPhone/iPad)

Mac:

1. Open Safari → Settings (or Preferences) → Passwords.
2. Authenticate, then select and remove saved passwords.
3. To remove all: Click Edit → Select All → Delete.

iPhone/iPad:

1. Open Settings → Passwords.
2. Tap each entry and select Delete Password.
3. To delete all, use Edit → Select All → Delete.

Step 2: Consider Disabling Browser Autofill for Credit Cards

Browsers can store payment details, but they aren’t the most secure place for them.

If you want to disable credit card autofill:

1. Go to your browser’s Autofill settings.
2. Turn off “Save and fill payment methods”.

You may wish to simply not store credit cards, and type them in every time. Or you can consider using Bitwarden to store credit cards. However, this requires paying for Premium.

Step 3: Make a Plan for Future Logins

Instead of changing all your passwords at once, make a simple commitment:
🔹 Every time you log into a site from now on, save it in Bitwarden.
🔹 If the password is weak or reused, change it immediately using Bitwarden’s generator.
🔹 Over time, this will improve your security without feeling overwhelming.

Next Steps

Tomorrow, we’ll focus on securing your email account

✅ Action for Today:

• Turn off browser password storage.
• Decide whether to disable browser credit card autofill.
• Start saving new logins to Bitwarden and updating weak passwords over time.

---

🔒 A little simplification today makes security easier tomorrow!