Passwords Saved? Here's How They Got Into Your Browser
- AnewVista Staff
- Oct 24
- 2 min read
Digital Clean-Up: Editing, Deleting, and Exporting Your Logins
Those passwords didn't sneak into your browser; you essentially invited them! When you log into a new website and click the "Save" or "Remember Me" prompt, your browser's built-in Password Manager encrypts and stores those credentials. This feature, present in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, is designed for convenience, but requires your management for security.
⚠️ The Risk of Saving Tier 1 Passwords
It's particularly dangerous to save your most critical logins—what ANVCS calls Tier 1 Passwords. This includes accounts with financial information, bank access, or sensitive personal data like Social Security Numbers.
If a hacker or malware successfully compromises your computer, browser, or the browser's syncing cloud account, they gain immediate access to all those Tier 1 accounts. Because browser managers are often less secure than dedicated third-party managers, saving critical passwords here is like leaving your vault key under the welcome mat. Never save Tier 1 passwords in your browser.
Accessing & Managing Your Saved Logins/Passwords in browser (Chrome Focus)
While the steps are similar for Edge and Firefox (usually found under Settings ->Privacy & Security or Autofill), here's how to manage your passwords in Google Chrome:
Access the Manager: Type chrome://settings/passwords into your address bar, or go to Settings -> Autofill -> Password Manager.
Edit & Delete: In the list of saved sites, click the three dots next to a login to either Remove the entry (for old or unused sites) or Edit the saved username and password. You'll need to enter your computer's password to view or change the details.
Export Logins: For better security, you should use a dedicated third-party password manager. To migrate your data, look for the Settings gear icon or the three dots above your list and select Export Passwords. The file produced is a raw list of your credentials, so secure it immediately after importing it into your new manager, then delete the file from your computer.
For more information watch our class on How those Passwords got in your Browser!
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