Store your master password securely

We touched on this in the Getting Started article, Set up a new account, but it is imperative that you never forget or lose access to your master password. Your entire vault is encrypted with your master password, which means forgetting this password irreversibly locks you out of your vault. Administrators do not have the ability to restore access to your vault in this situation. Importantly, this is not a permission issue or a policy or procedure - rather, it is a technical limitation due to the security of the vault.

Think of the situation where the inverse was true - if an administrator was able to restore access to your vault, then they would be able to do that at any time without your consent and view all of your passwords - not very secure, right?

Choose a secure location

You might choose to store your master password on a piece of paper in an envelope in a safe in the corner of your closet. You might also choose to secure it in a locked drawer in your desk, one that you don't frequently access. In any event, a physical copy of your master password stored in a safe environment is a vital part of maintaining access to your vault.

You may choose to additionally store a digital copy of the password such that it is more easily accessible to you, but avoid these pitfalls:

1. Don't only store the password digitally: computers crash, phones break and get replaced. Relying solely on a digital backup of your master password might leave you stranded.
2. Don't store it in plain text: A text file, Word Document, or Excel spreadsheet with passwords in it is one of the first things an attacker would look for if your system was compromised.
3. Avoid the cloud, unless there's encryption involved: Storing the password as an iCloud note, for example, is almost as easily accessible as a plain text file on your desktop.