Keep forgetting your login name and password?

[Steve Appleton]

We regularly get requests from forgetful Forum members to re-supply their registered user-names or to reset their forgotten passwords (we cannot recover forgotten passwords - merely reset them to something new). This is invariably because the users have not organised or recorded those details properly. Well... we suggest that you harnass the power of your computer to provide a highly organised and very secure, yet simple, solution.

The problem of remembering user names and passwords can be solved using one of several nifty utilities available out there on the 'net for free. I personally have several hundred different logins and passwords, for too many to remember so I need all the help I can get. It never fails to amaze me that many people do not harnass the power of their computers to do so.

It should be common sense but, since it is not, I also advise that users a) definately not to use a single password for more than one web site and b) to use "strong passwords" (a mixture of at least 6 random letters and numbers) especially for critical web sites like banking and email). This a) makes your passwords difficult to crack and b) prevents someone who does manage to crack one of your passwords from accessing more than that one site (and probably from emptying your bank account). The down-side is that this makes your passwords difficult, nay, impossible to remember.

So, use a password safe. I use and can highly recommend a program actually called "Password Safe" that has a properly encrypted database (not a "hashed" one) that is only opened on provision of a master password -- the only password I need to remember -- ever. For security against loss, the database can be copied and backed up anywhere you choose, including an internet repository if you wish. The program allows you to organise and categorise sites (finance, FOTR, computing, music, etc) and with each entry, store the site's URL, the login name you registered and a password -- one that is randomly generated by the program (highly secure) or one that you have provided. It backs-up a site's old password if you decide to allocate a new one. It allows you to type notes for each site -- I use this to store the email address I registered with, customer account numbers or whatever. So, I never forget a user name or password. Double clicking an entry copies the stored password for that entry to the clipboard which you simply paste into the relevant logon form. For security, the clipboard entry is automatically cleared whenever you minimise or close the program or the program minimises after a set period -- which you define.

I trust this application so much that I use it to store and access all my passwords, including on-line banking!

Go to: http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/.

Best of all, it's free. Unfortuntely this version is only for Windows -- Linux users will probably have to look elsewhere for something similar -- if you are a raw Linux buff, you'll know where and how.