Tools We Actually Recommend

Honest recommendations for UK residents, including what each tool is bad at. Several of these are free and we say so.

Affiliate disclosure — read this first

Some links on this page may earn Silent Erase a commission if you sign up. That creates an obvious conflict of interest, so here is how we handle it:

- We only list tools we would recommend regardless of commission
- Where a free option is genuinely good enough, we say so and tell you not to pay
- We list the downsides of every tool, including ones that pay us
- Commission never affects the order or the recommendation

If you would rather not use our links, search for the tool directly — you will get exactly the same product. We would genuinely rather you were protected than that we earned £20.

Password managers

Reusing passwords is the single most common reason a breach on one site turns into a problem everywhere else. A password manager fixes that permanently.

Bitwarden
Our first recommendation for most people
Free FREE TIER IS ENOUGH
Free tier covers unlimited passwords across unlimited devices — most people never need to pay
Open source and independently audited
Works on every platform and browser
Interface is more functional than polished
Family sharing requires the paid tier (around £10/year)

Our honest view: start with the free version. Genuinely do not pay unless you need family sharing.

1Password
Better experience, but you pay for it
~£2.99/mo
Noticeably easier for less confident users
Excellent family plan for sharing with elderly relatives
Strong breach monitoring built in
No free tier at all
Does the same core job as Bitwarden's free version

Our honest view: worth it if you are setting this up for a parent or grandparent, where ease of use matters more than cost.

Read our full password manager guide →

Credit monitoring

Checking your credit file is how you catch identity fraud early. In the UK you genuinely do not need to pay for this.

ClearScore, Credit Karma & MSE Credit Club
Covering all three UK credit agencies between them
Free DO NOT PAY
ClearScore covers Equifax, Credit Karma covers TransUnion, MSE Credit Club covers Experian
Genuinely free forever, not a trial
Alerts when something changes on your file
Each shows you offers and adverts — that is how they fund it

Our honest view: sign up to all three and never pay for credit monitoring. Anyone charging you for this is selling something you can get free.

How to check your credit report →

Two-factor authentication

Google Authenticator / Microsoft Authenticator / Authy
Any of these will do
Free DO NOT PAY
All free, all effective, no meaningful difference for most people
Far safer than SMS codes, which are vulnerable to SIM swap fraud
Authy backs up to the cloud if you are worried about losing your phone
Losing your phone without backup codes is genuinely painful — save them somewhere safe

Our honest view: pick any one and use it. There is no premium version worth buying.

Our 2FA setup guide →

VPNs

A note on VPNs
Read before buying one
Varies

VPNs are the most aggressively marketed product in this space, largely because they pay the highest affiliate commissions. That has produced a lot of overstated claims.

A VPN does hide your browsing from your internet provider and protect you on untrusted public wifi
A VPN does not stop scam calls, remove your data from broker sites, prevent phishing or make you anonymous
A VPN does not protect you from the fraud this website is mostly about

Our honest view: useful for public wifi and privacy from your ISP. If you are buying one to stop scam calls, it will not help and you should spend the money elsewhere. We would rather say that than take the commission.

Public wifi risks explained →

Identity protection registration

CIFAS Protective Registration
Not a product we earn from — just worth knowing about
£25 / 2 years
Flags your credit file so lenders carry out extra checks before opening accounts
Run by the UK fraud prevention service, not a commercial monitoring company
Genuinely useful after a breach or identity theft
Can slow down your own legitimate credit applications

Our honest view: worth it if your details have been exposed in a breach. Available directly at cifas.org.uk — we earn nothing from this.

And our own free tools

No signup, no cost, no catch.

🔍 Scam Checker 📱 Number Checker ✉️ Letter Generator

Prices correct as of August 2026 and may change. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of any company listed. Silent Erase · ICO Registration C1971457