Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows
Home > Mobile > Windows Phone > Windows Phone 8 App Pick: LastPass

Windows Phone 8 App Pick: LastPass

If you use LastPass and Windows Phone, this one is a no-brainer
Jan. 16, 2013 Paul Thurrott

App: LastPass
Category: Tools & Productivity
Publisher: LastPass
Price: FREE (but requires LastPass Premium subscription)

I’ve long recommended the LastPass cloud-based password management solution and this week the LastPass Windows Phone app received a major upgrade with support for Windows Phone 8. If you’re using Microsoft’s latest smart phone platform, as I am, you’re going to want this app.

Note: While the LastPass app is free, it requires that you subscribe to LastPass Premium, which costs just $12 per year. I do use and recommend LastPass Premium. But if you’re not sure, you can use LastPass for Windows Phone 8 for free for 14 days to experience the Premium functionality.

As noted by LastPass, the new version of the LastPass app doesn’t just add support for Windows Phone 8 (a version is still available for Windows Phone 7.5 as well), it also comes with a nice makeover, with as red/black LastPass color scheme and a more friendly, Windows Phone-centric UI. (And if you use the white “light” background as part of your theme, LastPass now respects that and presents an even cleaner-looking white UI.)

This update to the app adds support for LastPass identities, alphabetical sorting, new Secure Notes and Favorites panels (and standard Windows Phone app bar icons, finally), site pinnng, and a ton of other new features. But the big one here, to my mind, and this cuts to the heart of what makes LastPass so valuable, is that the app now supports the creation of secure passwords.

See, I use and recommend LastPass specifically because it’s much more than just a secure place to store passwords. It also helps you generate secure new passwords for sites you’re signing up for, and with this addition, you can now do so on the go too.

Good stuff.

You can download LastPass for Windows Phone 8 from the Windows Phone Store.

Discuss this Article 12

Stefan
on Jan 16, 2013

I started using LastPass on win7 (and love it) and was wondering how you guys are using it in win8 IE metro with no browser addons (I guess this also applies to win phone 8).

pthurrott
on Jan 16, 2013

The Windows 8 app is terrible, and I cannot recommend it. Hopefully this gets fixed next.

But you can use that the same way you do on phone, multitask to get password, tap site, choose copy password, then paste in browser.

Stefan
on Jan 16, 2013

Can the win8 app be used in snap mode?

pthurrott
on Jan 16, 2013

Yes

trhopk
on Jan 16, 2013

Paul I am curious if you use Lastpass for just yourself or if all of your family members are using it. I looked around on their website to see if they had some sort of shared/family plan setup but I didn't see any information.

pthurrott
on Jan 16, 2013

My wife and I use it independently.

cgroves
on Jan 16, 2013

I don't believe there is any limit to having a single account used by multiple people or even a family. It may not hurt to ask their forums, http://forums.lastpass.com/. You may get a better response.

LastPass is a great product that works on just about every platform you can think of (some better then others).

Victek
on Jan 17, 2013

I use LastPass Premium on my desktops and android phone and consider it essential. One of its strengths is two factor authentication (TFA). Be aware though that TFA is not practical on a phone - at least I can't switch fast enough between Google Authenticator and LastPass to make it work. It would be nice if this could be done with a USB device.

Note that in the Android version there's an option for automatic timed log-off. There is also a timed PIN re-prompt option which I set to 1 minute so that the PIN must be entered every time (much easier than retyping the master password). The problem is these options are not enabled by default - if they're not set then LastPass will remain logged in indefinitely, which is a security risk.

johnwbaxter
on Jan 22, 2013

Victek, it probably makes more sense to use the LastPass Grid method of two-factor authentication with your phone, since as you say using the key from Authenticator is too fiddly to finish in time.

But...I said "probably" there for a reason: I haven't gotten around to setting up my personal LastPass account completely enough to try the Win Phone 7.x app, so I haven't had the Grid experience yet.

retroXgamer
on Jan 17, 2013

I started using LastPass for PC after I saw it mentioned here in a different article. I've probably recreated dozens of passwords on accounts I already had with the built-in password generator. Getting the app for your phone is just the next logical step to have easy access to your vault.

It's a great app pick. Thanks for sharing this service with us!

Mac_Ha
on Jan 18, 2013

Paul, you are reviewing and recommending the LastPass app, but what's about the LastPass Wallet app for iPhone? It has less features, but doesn't require Premium subscription, and if just as a secure storage of personal /private information on the iPhone, how would you rate it?

pthurrott
on Jan 18, 2013

I don't use the iPhone, I use Windows Phone.

Please or Register to post comments.

Related Articles

IT/Dev Connections

Las Vegas
September 30th - October 4th

Paul ThurottYou'll have the opportunity to experience:
• 120 Technical
Sessions
• Networking with Peers
• Expert Speakers


Come See Paul Thurrott & Mary Jo Foley in Person!

Register Now

Office 365 InfoCenter

Get the latest insight and info from Paul

Read Now!

What I Use
Apr. 18, 2013
Article

What I Use: On the Road 21

Every so often, I publish an updated version of my “What I Use” document, which details the technology products and services I actually use day-to-day. Since I’m currently on my third business trip in five weeks, this is perhaps an ideal time to discuss the technology products I rely on when I travel and a few related points....More
Mar. 6, 2013
Article

What I Use: March 2013 33

Lots of changes since November, including a new PC-based home server running Windows 8, several new smart phones, new PCs and tablets, new cloud backup, Office 365 Home Premium and a nice doubling of my Internet speeds courtesy of Verizon FIOS....More
WinSuperSite.com
Related Penton Sites
Copyright © 2013 Penton Media, Inc