Dinopass: Is It Safe for Kids?

Creating strong passwords is the number one way to prevent personal information from being abused online. With schools and online activities like Roblox requiring digital accounts, kids are becoming easier targets for bad actors. Everyone should be asking, “How do I keep my kids safe?” Luckily, there are tools available to kids and their loved ones to help. At Kanary, we help people react when things go wrong. But we are equally invested in helping people prevent bad stuff from happening in the first place. We took a look at the password manager Dinopass to understand whether it is safe and effective for kids and adults.

Setting Passwords with Dinopass

Dinopass generates two types of passwords: Simple Passwords and Strong Passwords. The simple passwords are made up of a combination of words and numbers, such as "dino1234" or "purple99." These passwords are designed to be easy to remember but the trade-off is they are also easier to crack. Strong passwords are more complex and secure because they include special characters, but these are harder to remember. When you’re using Dinopass, you can make a decision about whether security or memorability is more important. We would recommend always using the strong option if it is also easy to remember. The tool does not require any personal information to get started or have any limits. If you generate several passwords that aren’t easy for you to remember, you can keep generating new ones until something sticks. The passwords it generates are not stored on its servers. This means that there is no risk of Dinopass being hacked and the passwords being stolen. Perhaps the best part is you get to look at this friendly dino every time you generate a new password.

Dinopass: For Kids… and IT Folks?

Kids may find the dinosaur-inspired passwords amusing and easy to remember, but it turns out techy adults agree. Dinopass has a small but enthusiastic developer community who are building on top of the service to make it easier to use. For example, this github repo is an external API for the use of Dinopass by other developers in other applications. The documentation describes Dinopass as, “an awesome password generator for kids and apparently middle-aged IT guys.” The creators of Dinopass are a group called Codemoji - they build tech and coding educational resources for teachers and students. The company doesn’t share much information about its founders or operations, but it has several positive reviews from organizations like Commonsense.

What are the Risks of Using Dinopass?

The main risk of using Dinopass is that the passwords generated are not as strong as those created using a random password generator. This is because Dinopass only uses a limited number of words and numbers to create passwords. The other risk might be kids generating one simple password, then reusing it across all of their accounts. This is a serious risk. Parents, teachers, and community members can help kids avoid reusing passwords by making sure it’s easy and accessible to generate new ones whenever signing up for a new account. The Dinopass plugin (available on Chrome and Firefox) is a great way to remind kids that new passwords are much better than reusing old ones.

How Can Dinopass Help Prevent Data Leaks?

The fastest growing cause of data leaks is social engineering. The next most common is password cracking. If kids use weak passwords, they put themselves, their families, and their school systems at risk for breach and sensitive data leaks. The most important quality of any security tool is usability. Dinopass can help prevent leaks by generating unique and easy-to-remember passwords for each account. Dinopass is easy to use and is most effective when kids use it to generate complex passwords and store them with a password manager.

Balancing Practicality and Security

Dinopass is a useful tool for creating unique and easy-to-remember passwords. While it may not be as secure as some random password generators, it is far easier to use which is important when thinking practically about your kid’s safety. By using different passwords for each account and avoiding common words or phrases, the risks of using Dinopass can be minimized. Overall, Dinopass is a safe and practical tool for kids and adults alike to use for creating secure passwords.

Now that you know about Dinopass, you can help your entire family stay on top of their public online accounts and information with Kanary: Start a 14 free trial to see your digital footprint.