Password Manager Reviews and Buying Guide:

It used to be that maybe you had a PIN # to remember with your bank ATM card, but now that the Internet exists, you have dozens of passwords and usernames to keep track of as you login to various websites. You could probably get away with one common password and username you use on the vast majority of websites you log into, but security experts don't advise that practice. Therefore, you end up with too many names and numbers and possibly forget your login information. Password manager programs have evolved over the years and I remember one of the first ones on the market was Roboform. I used RoboForm as a form filler years ago and eventually I replaced it with the Google toolbar that has an "autofill" button which allows me to store my information so that I can fill in forms as I go online. Some sites are setup with online password managers so you can securely get into areas of their website or 3rd party websites that store important data or financial information.

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Many people use the desktop password managers that reside on your computer and store passwords on your hard drive. The big problem with those types of password management applications is what happens if your computer is lost or stolen and a thief is now in control of accessing specific online accounts that are private to you. The concept of "phishing" is a new term to most of us, but it essentially means that someone is trying to get you to reveal your passwords or usernames to websites or accounts where vital data is stored. You often hear that crooks are sending out fake emails with links to bogus bank websites so that they can track the usernames and passwords that people enter and then they take that information and go to the real site to get access. Many fake websites can be made to look and feel like the real thing. Some software programs are getting smarter at detecting the differences, but not all things are perfect and you may end up falling for one of these scams. I have always found that filling in online forms is more of a hassle than keeping track of my passwords and so I like the form filling software that lets me automatically fill in things like name, address, mailing address, credit card info, etc. Lots of shopping websites like Amazon.com, once you login, have all that information stored on their computers so you can quickly checkout after purchasing something. Southwest Airlines offers the same type of things, you can store your pertinent information in their system, so once you login to their website, they recognize you and speed up the process of buying an airline ticket or renting a car. The one drawback to password managers and form filler software has been that they are not as portable as they need to be. Say you are traveling on business or using a friends computer, you may not have your password manager program installed on the computer you are using to access the Internet. At this point you need to remember all your passwords or you are out of luck. There are password systems that run from a USB key and are portable, like the RoboForm2Go. No install is needed and you can access your passwords no matter which computer you use (don't lose it). A new program called Billeo is a combination bill pay tool and form filler. You can do bill pay online, use it as a shopping assistant, or it auto-fills all passwords for online accounts. Their website with details can be found at Billeo.com. Identity theft and fraud are a growing concern online and there literally are dozens of threats out there if you are not careful. The Internet Security software from Norton is the type of software that goes well with password managers since the Norton software will not only protect your identity, but it will track down bogus websites and protects you from "phishing scams". Norton is constantly updated with websites in their database that are considered suspicious in nature, so when you get to a "bad" website, they will alert you. We have tried to list the most popular and best selling password management software programs down below. You can usually download a trial verson right off the website if you want to try before you buy.

Best Password Manager:

RoboForm is the best know password manager software and they've been around a long time. There is a FREE version and the PRO version. The Pro version gives you unlimited passcards, identities, profiles, and you can use it with businesses or for government use. The FREE version has lots of limitations that may hinder your online browsing. Keep in mind you can download a trial version at Roboform.com and use it for 30 days before buying the full version for $34.95. Roboform does an excellent job of storing your passwords and letting you login automatically to your favorite websites. If you come to those long registration and checkout forms, RoboForm is there to help you out with 1 click All passwords are encryted to ensure your security. If a site requires a new password or username, Roboform will generate random passwords for your convenience and store them. Keyloggers can't get your information as the keyboard is not used to type the passwords. You can also synchronize your passwords between computers using GoodSync. The feature I like the best is the Robofrom2Go which runs from a USB key and lets you take your password to any other computer. Great for vacations or travel when you are using a general access PC at a hotel. The software is PDA friendly and will work with your Palm or Pocket PC. It also works fine with Internet Explorer, AOL/MSN, and Firefox. Vista and IE 7 are supported as well. It doesn't hurt to download the program and give it try. Another popular program is called Password Manager XP offered at CP-Lab.com. You can download the trial version as well for free and use the software risk free for 30 days. It sells for $29.95 like RoboForm does. It eliminates issues associated with "lost passwords, forgotten access codes" and much more. Store PIN codes, credit card numbers and expiration dates, and other confidential information.

Free Password Manager:

KeePass Password Safe (FREE) is a great way to manage your passwords and usernames. The database holds all your login information to online banks, email accounts, etc. In order to access all those pertinent passwords, you need to just remember one that opens up the Password Safe software. This open source password manager keeps your information secure by using encryption algorithms called AES and Twofish. You can check out the program online and download it at http://keepass.info/. The drawbacks with open source software is that perhaps the program will not get updated as often as it needs to be compared to versions that cost money. The vast majority of reviews for Password Safe are very positive including those on Download.com (CNET) and Fileforum.betanews.com.

Choosing the best passwords and usernames:

The one thing that gets people into trouble is that they choose passwords and usernames that are almost identical on every site that requires one. IF a thief ever gets ahold of one password, then immediately they have access to almost all your personal data on websites. There are password generator programs on the web and some of the software mentioned above offers that as a feature. If you are going to have a password management system handle your online logins, then don't worry that the passwords and usernames don't make sense to you because you don't have to remember them. The worst thing to do is things like your birthday, maiden name, husbands name, or even pet names. Those can be too obvious for a thief to figure out.

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