How To Set A Master Password In Firefox

During your travels on the Internet by logging Into various websites, the built-In Password Manager In Firefox, will prompt to save your user credentials so the next time you visit, there's no need to physically enter them- the Password Manager does It for you. Did you know that anyone with physical access to your PC, can view your login details? As such, In this tutorial, I will show you how to set a Master Password In Firefox, thus prevent unauthorized access.


When you allow the Firefox Password Manager to save your login details, by default, It will do so without the need to configure a Master Password. Essentially, your Information can easily be viewed In plain text by navigating to Menu > Options > Privacy & Security > Logins and Passwords, and then hitting the Saved Logins button. You'll then see something similar to my example below. Obviously I've masked my usernames & passwords.

Given that you can do this, so too can anyone who has physical access to your computer. It's of the utmost Importance to set a Master Password In Firefox at your very earliest convenience, and I will demonstrate exactly how, In a few simple steps. Ultimately, your user credentials cannot be viewed without the Master Password. So without further ado, let's get this tutorial started.

Step One:

Firstly, In Firefox, click on the Menu Icon and then hit Options as Illustrated below.

Step Two:

Next, scroll down to Privacy & Security, and to the right of that, click the Use a master password checkbox.

Step Three:

Now simply enter & re-enter your password, and hit OK as shown below.

Step Four:

A message will be displayed, confirming that the password has taken effect, so hit OK and OK again to finalize the process.

Step Five:

From this point onward, the Master Password Is required to view the login details In Firefox. Let's test It out by clicking on Privacy & Security, and then Saved Logins.

Step Six:

As expected, a dialog box has opened, requesting a password to authorize the task. Perfect! The Master Password has been set. Hit OK to exit the window.

Final Thoughts:

Clearly, you can see just how easy It Is to grab your login details, by anyone who has physical access to your PC. As such, If you're allowing Firefox to save your user credentials In It's built-In password manager, the very first thing you should do Is create a Master Password. It only takes a few minutes, so there's no reason not to.