Password Management

One Password to Rule Them ALL!!!!

If a website that you use is compromise by an attacker and they get access to your login information for that website, will they be able to access other website with that information?

One of the best security practices that anyone can follow beside creating a secure password is not using that same secure password on multiple websites. This will greatly reduce the damage that can be done to you by an attacker that has compromised a website that contains your information. If you are using a secure password, it may become a challenge to manage multiple passwords for multiple resources. This is when a password management application can be very helpful.

Password management applications are application designed to securely store your passwords for multiple resources. The password management application is usually protected by a master password that allow you access to view all the other password stored within the application – One Password to Rule Them All!!!

Password management application may have the ability to be installed on your desktop, mobile device or accessible via the web. Many password management application use some from of encryption to store the password securely in a database, have the ability to generate password for you, integrate with your local web browser and can be synced between multiple installed installations. There are many of these password management application you can choose from but there is nothing like the ones below that are FREE. :)

The following application are listed in no particular order of preference.

Lastpass

https://lastpass.com/

Probably the most OS supported application on the market, Lastpass is available for Windows, Mac OS, Iphone/Ipad, Linux, WebOS, Andriod, Symbian, and BlackBerry OS systems. Lastpass also include browser integration with all major web browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera) and is accessible from the web so you never will be without access to your password when you need it. Some of the major feature of Lastpass consist of:

• Synchronization between multiple browsers and computer that you may have installed Lastpass, so if you make a change on one system all other installations will be updated with the latest information.
• Ability to generate strong random passwords
• Ability to share login information securely with others
• Export your data
• Import data from other application
• Accessible from the Internet
• Backup and Restore features

Cons – Some installations of Lastpass (non-Desktop installations) require you to subscribe to the premium version of Lastpass but for some that is a small price to pay to have your password synced across multiple devices.

KeePass

http://keepass.info/

As an open source application that is supported by the Internet community, KeePass is totally 100% free, all features and installation versions are free. KeePass support Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Iphone/Ipad, Android, J2ME mobile phone and PalmOS. KeePass also support some unique installation options such as PortableApps Suite, U3 Devices, Preinstalled Environments (PE), Parted Magic and Spoon.

Some of the major features of KeePass consist of:

• Portable and No Installation Required - Accessibility
• Multi-Language Support
• Strong Random Password Generator
• Export your data
• Import your data from multiple formats
• Open Source – source code available for you to compile yourself

Cons – Does not sync passwords across multiple installation but you may be able to use a file sync services like Dropbox to sync the database file.Have to manually backup database file.

Password Safe

http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/

As another open source application that supported by the Internet community, Password Safe is also free for desktop use but also support an Disk-on-Key and U3 version. Currently it only officially supports Windows but has a Linux beta. Some of the major features of Password Safe consist of:

• Multi-Language Support
• Export your data

Cons – Disk-on-Key and U3 version not free but all purchases include free upgrades for one year from date of purchases. Does not support Mac OS.