Writings

So many passwords!

Well, I just finished updating all my passwords. It's something I like to do every so often for a few reasons, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with whomever might happen upon my site about a nice tool that I use to help manage the passwords that I need to use on web sites across the internet. Today we use passwords for all sorts of things, from the ATM to online banking, and to access our e-mail. They are keys that unlock our online lives, giving access to all kinds of personal information and more. It is important to take care in choosing passwords, and just as importantly to remember them. Remembering passwords can be quite difficult. In a world where mischevious types will try to guess people's passwords, we are encouraged to use complicated passwords and even different passwords for different sites. If you forget the password, you have a problem. Well, I have found a solution that I've used for a long time. It's a simple and free program which stores all your passwords for you, called Any Password

Any Password allows you to store any number of passwords and organize them in a tree-like folder structure. It also allows you to store the URL and comments for each password. All passwords are stored in a file which is itself password protected. Whenever I signup for a new online account, I add a new password to this program in the appropriate category I've created. I then use the included function to generate a password. You can create passwords with any number of characters including any of alphanumeric characters and/or special characters such as *,%#@. I like to make my passwords as complex as possible and use a different one for every site. I don't need to remember it, so long as I can access my list of passwords stored in Any Password. You of course don't need to use a different password for each site, but sometimes you might use a different password and this will help you remember which password you used where. Also, there are some times where you have to user different login names for different sites (for example if the one you want is taken); this will help you remember also what your login name or ID is. When I return to a web site and need to login, all I need to do is restore the Any Password window, find the appropriate password, click the "copy" button, and paste the password into the login form.

There are some nice benefits to using such a program. One of these as I've mentioned is to help you remember which passwords you used for which site. Another benefit is that this helps you to track all the web sites where you've created an account and submitted some type of personal information such as an e-mail address. I have entries in my password file for sites that don't exist any more or for sites I'm not active in anymore, but I move them to a folder I've named "Attic."

In addition to choosing passwords that cannot be easily guessed, it is also important to change your passwords regularly. This will help keep your online accounts more secure should one of your passwords be somehow compromised. It's a good security measure at any rate and doesn't take so long. Any Password helps you remember all the sites where you have logins, and if you want you can add a comment letting you know when you've last changed a password. If you notice when visiting a web site that the comment you've made was a long time ago, you can take a few moments to make a new password.

I recommend this product; it's small and very easy to use. It serves its purpose well and can be hidden in the system tray when you're not using it. For me, it's invaluable as I have a lot of passwords to keep track of. Also, the program is small enough that you can put it, along with your passwords, on a floppy disk or flash media.

http://www.romanlab.com/apw/