LastPass password manager

Purdue University has made LastPass Business available to all Purdue faculty, staff, and students. This page provides information about LastPass, the benefits it brings to users, how to request access, and frequently asked question

What is LastPass?

LastPass is a password manager which allows users to securely store, generate, and manage their passwords. You have a vault that stores passwords, secure notes, and other information.

To learn more about LastPass and what it can do, visit https://www.lastpass.com/password-manager

Why do I need a password manager?

Password managers are crucial to maintaining a secure online presence. You only need to memorize one master password, in this case your Purdue career account password, to access LastPass. Password managers, like LastPass, allow you to have unique and stronger passwords for your other accounts with the built-in password generator. With unique passwords, if one account is compromised, your other accounts will be safe.

How do I request access to LastPass?

 LastPass is an opt-in service and can be requested by filling out the form based on your affiliated campus:

Note: LastPass must be pinned to your browser after installation for easy ongoing access. See How do I set up LastPass on my computer (including how to pin to browser)? in the FAQ below for instructions for how to pin.

Please allow up to 2 hours for the system to process your request. Once processed, you will receive an email from LastPass inviting you to the LastPass Purdue business account. Note: The email invite may be delivered to your Junk folder. If you do not receive this email after 2 hours, please open a support ticket with the Purdue IT Service Desk. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I already have a LastPass account associated with my Purdue email?
Users with existing accounts will be migrated to the Purdue LastPass system. You will receive an email during the migration. If you have not received this email, please contact Purdue IT Service Desk. Once merged, your password vault will stay intact, and you will need to use your Purdue career account to log in. The login is protected by Microsoft's Multi-Factor Authentication, and you will be prompted to approve the login on your device
How do I set up LastPass on my computer (including how to pin to browser)?

Within two hours of completing the LastPass request form, you should receive an email from LastPass with your career account email address and activation code. Your career account email (not your alias) is what you must use to sign-in to LastPass.

If you have a personal LastPass account, please log out of it before proceeding. When you receive the email, it should look like: 

lp-picture1.png

Click on “Activate LastPass” and the following screen should appear in your browser: 

lp-picture2.png

Click on “Install LastPass”. The next screen will ask you to install the LastPass browser extension. Each of these are different based on which browser you use. Click on “Add to Chrome”, “Get”, or whatever the button is for your browser. Some may have an additional window to click “add” or “continue.”

After installing the extension, you will need to pin it to your browser. If you are installing the extension in FireFox, it will ask if you want to add it to your browser. For Chrome and Edge users, click on the symbol that looks like: lp-picture3.png  or lp-picture4.png  in the upper right-hand corner of your browser.

Detailed instructions can be found at the following link including instructions for Safari users (which is significantly different than the other browsers): https://support.lastpass.com/help/how-do-i-install-and-log-in-to-the-lastpass-web-browser-extension.

To login, click on the LastPass icon in your browser: lp-picture5.png . To learn how to stop your browser or device from auto-filling passwords, please reference the video in the above link.

Can I store personal passwords in my LastPass Business account?
It is recommended that personal passwords are not stored in the Purdue LastPass Business account. Instead, you can setup and link a LastPass personal account to your business account. With the Purdue LastPass account, you get a LastPass Families account, which is a personal account that includes 5 additional licenses to setup premium personal accounts at no additional cost while affiliated with Purdue. Linking your personal account allows you to see both vaults in one interface, but the vaults remain separate and isolated from one another. Information on how to claim the Families benefit and link a personal account can be found here: https://support.lastpass.com/help/how-do-i-activate-my-lastpass-families-as-a-benefit-account
Why am I prompted to unlock my LastPass account?
This will happen if your account credentials were found on the dark web due to a data breach resulting in your credentials being compromised. LastPass provides dark web monitoring for all accounts to ensure accounts are not compromised.
Why do I need to verify my login from a new device?
Since your LastPass vault contains all your passwords, extra security measures are put in place to protect you from threat actors. If a threat actor was able to obtain your Purdue credentials and tries to login from an unfamiliar location, LastPass will detect this and require further proof to proceed with authentication.
Can I import my passwords from a different vault or provider?

Yes, LastPass can import from either another LastPass vault or most other popular password managers. Follow their guide here to import the passwords based on the old provider: https://support.lastpass.com/help/import-passwords-from-other-sources-lp040003

When am I able to have access to LastPass?
 When you are actively affiliated with the university as a student, faculty, staff, or retiree.
When do I lose access to LastPass?
Access to LastPass is lost upon separation of the university. If you would like to retain access, you can export your vault by following the instructions here: https://support.lastpass.com/help/export-your-passwords-and-secure-notes-lp040004. Alternatively, you can link a personal account and move your vault contents to the linked account. Personal accounts have no affiliation to Purdue, and you will retain access even after separation.
How do I securely share passwords and notes?

Sharing items in LastPass requires the use of a shared folder. Follow these steps below to create a shared folder:

  1. Navigate to the "Sharing Center" on the left side of your vault.
  2. Click the + in the bottom right to create a new shared folder.
  3. Once created, click "Manage recipients" to add another Purdue LastPass account.
    Note: The recipient account must already exist in the Purdue LastPass tenant in order to add them.
  4. The recipients will receive an email that the folder was shared with them.
  5. You can add new or existing items to the shared folder by updating the "Folder" field when editing an item. The new folder will be an option in the drop down or when typing in "Shared-<name>".
    Note: Items can be added to the shared folder before or after adding recipients, so this step can be performed right after creating the shared folder if you'd like.
Can I have a department or group LastPass account?
No, sharing a LastPass account is not permitted. You have the ability to share passwords and notes between other Purdue LastPass users by the use of "Shared Folders". See "How do I securely share passwords and notes?" on how to do this.
Questions?

Anyone with questions or concerns regarding use of this service can contact security@purdue.edu.