Do you use your gaming password just to start playing your favorite game? How convenient it is, isn't it? Just copy it, get rid of the text file with the data and think that the password is now secure. Unfortunately, you may be in danger here because your computer remembers everything that you copy and creates a serious security risk. Clipboard is the place where all the data remains before you copy the next thing.
For example, imagine you just copied your password from your Netflix account to send it to your sibling in the chat. You sent it and it is now visible to him, but it is still there in the memory. One hour later, you downloaded a free game mod from the website that has a script that can read your clipboard without your knowledge. As a result, your Netflix account is stolen by that script. This is how hackers steal passwords and accounts.
Clipboard is the feature that is present in almost all operating systems. For Windows 10/11, you can check the clipboard history. You can access it by pressing the Windows key plus V. The window will show you all texts, links and images you copied days ago. It is very useful if you are doing your homework. It is very convenient but it is also very terrible for your security. You may copy your sensitive address or personal messages. It will stay in the memory until you copy something else or will restart your computer. In case you left your laptop unattended in the library, any stranger will be able to press two keys and will be able to see the history of your clipboard.
Malware developers know the importance of the clipboard and develop programs that monitor your clipboard in real-time. They are searching for specific patterns, such as addresses of cryptocurrency wallets and swap them. Your funds will be transferred to their account. The malware is also searching for passwords and credit card numbers. This is an easy but high-value target for hackers. However, you do not have to be a hacker to protect yourself. You just need to change some settings.
Let's see which options we have. For Windows, you can control your clipboard history in Settings. You should go to System, then Clipboard. There you will see the Clipboard History switcher. You can turn it off because you never use this multi-paste feature, but you need to pay attention to the "Clear" button. You can delete all the saved information directly from the settings. It is like shredding the document you no longer need.
MacOS does not have a built-in clipboard history viewer, but it still stores your last copied object in the memory. It will remain there until you copy something else and you can delete the saved information by using a terminal command. However, this is not a convenient solution. You need to choose some specific tool to control the clipboard.
Here is the place where the third-party applications can help you. There are some free solutions to your problem. If you use Windows, you can try the application called "Clipboard History Master". You can set a timer and tell it to clear the clipboard history in 30 seconds or a minute. It is enough time to paste the password into the required field. After the time will pass, the password will be gone from the memory. No one will be able to steal it because it will not exist anymore.
If you use Mac, you should try the application "Maccy". It is a clipboard manager and it is a secure solution. You can configure it to filter the information you do not want to keep and you can tell it to clear clipboard when you close the application or your Mac. Another good clipboard security tool is "Pastebot". It has many filters and you can make it delete automatically all objects that seem to be a password.
You can install the application in just several minutes. Download it from the official website or Microsoft Store and open settings. You will see the
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