After the Optus, Medibank, and Latitude breaches, millions of Australians are rightly worried about their online security. The single most effective thing you can do right now — more than any other security measure — is start using a password manager.
Here’s what’s worth using in Australia in 2024, and why it matters more than ever.
Why You Need a Password Manager
The average Australian has 70-100 online accounts. The average person uses 3-5 passwords across all of them.
This means when one service is breached — and breaches happen constantly — attackers take your email + password and try it everywhere else. This is called credential stuffing, and it’s the number one way accounts get compromised.
A password manager solves this by generating and storing a unique, random, 20-character password for every single site. You only remember one master password.
First: check which of your accounts have already been breached →
Best Password Managers for Australians
1. 1Password — Best Overall
Price: ~$3 AUD/month (personal), ~$5 AUD/month (family of 5)
1Password is consistently rated the best password manager for most people. It’s based in Canada with strong privacy laws, has never been breached, and works seamlessly across all devices.
Why Australians like it: Family plan is excellent value, great iOS/Android apps, works with Australian banks.
Standout feature: Travel Mode — hides sensitive vaults when crossing borders.
2. Bitwarden — Best Free Option
Price: Free (genuinely full-featured), $1.20 USD/month for premium
Bitwarden is open source, meaning the code is publicly audited. The free tier is more generous than any competitor. If you’re price-sensitive, Bitwarden is the answer.
Why Australians like it: Completely free for individuals, open source (auditable), self-hosting option for the paranoid.
3. Apple Keychain — Best for iPhone/Mac Users
Price: Free (built into Apple devices)
If you’re all-in on Apple, iCloud Keychain is genuinely good now. It generates strong passwords, syncs across devices, and alerts you to breached passwords.
Limitation: Difficult to use on Windows or Android. Not ideal if you use mixed devices.
4. Dashlane — Best for Dark Web Monitoring
Price: ~$7 AUD/month
Dashlane includes continuous dark web monitoring — it alerts you when your email appears in a new breach. Premium feature, but useful for the security-conscious.
What to Do After Choosing One
- Install the app and browser extension
- Import any saved passwords from your browser
- Start with your most important accounts: email, banking, social media
- Each time you log into a site, let the manager generate a new unique password
- Within a week, most of your important accounts will have unique passwords
Check Your Current Exposure First
Before you start changing passwords, find out which of your accounts have been compromised. This tells you which ones to prioritise.
Free breach check — see all exposed accounts →
The Bottom Line
In 2024, after the year Australia had with data breaches, using the same passwords across multiple sites is genuinely dangerous. A password manager takes 20 minutes to set up and reduces your breach risk by 80%+. It’s the best security investment you can make.
If you want a complete security assessment — covering not just passwords but your full digital exposure — a DataGuard Personal Audit covers everything for $99 →