<p>I’d be interested in hearing about the Password Managers people use. I have so many different log-ins and passwords that I really need something automatic and protected, that holds passwords and other login info (personal data, credit cards, etc.) For the last few years I’ve used the Norton one, but I’m not sure I’m going to continue using Norton, plus the vault just got corrupted on one machine and is now not opening (not a security issue, just an internal confusion.)</p>
<p>So I’ve been researching. LastPass is free and recommended by PC World. It looks very useful. Has anyone had any experiences with it you’d be willing to share? Or else, what other ways do you manage your passwords? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I do use LastPass and it works reasonably well. Not as perfect as I would like… but hey, it’s free. The drawback is that I think that if you ever forget the main password to your vault you probably will not be able to recover the data – see <a href=“Customer”>Customer; - that’s actually a security feature, not a bug… but it does mean that you need to come up a master password that is both impossible to guess and easy for you to remember. (I use a pass phrase-- the security is in the length). </p>
<p>I also have a second system I also use, which is a simple freeware password manager - but that’s because I also need to track many passwords that are not tied to web sites, so LastPass won’t work for them. I don’t recommend the freeware software I have-- it’s old and it works well for me, but the only reason I am still using it is that there is no easy way to export the data to any different program. </p>
<p>You could get the same result as my freeware program by using an Excel worksheet and simply password protecting that. Same issue as LastPass in the event that you forget your password-- and it won’t enter the info automatically for you in your browser. On the other hand, its simpler overall and has the advantage of NOT being available to a hacker online. The two ways in which your LastPass account could be compromised would be if (a) you choose an easy-to-remember password that is insecure, either because it is too simple or because it is the same as the password you are using on other accounts, or (b) your computer gets infected with keylogging software. There’s a workaround for the keylogging issue - <a href=“Customer”>Customer; - but I find the onscreen keyboard very difficult to use. </p>
<p>I use PasswordSafe. (sourceforge dot net) It is free open source software. Works great for me and I seem to have a zillion passwords. You can set up categories so that makes managing a lot of passwords very easy. There is an area for notes which is great for storing those challenge questions and answers. Just in case you forget your favorite 5th grade teacher’s name!</p>
<p>I would caution against using an excel spreadsheet because there are password hacking tools for excel easily available on the web.</p>
<p>I use 1Password. It synchs across my devices. It generates passwords, retains logins, etc. On iOS, it comes with its own browser because Apple doesn’t currently let a password app access mobile Safari - which is probably a good security move overall. </p>
<p>I’m in the beta program. They update almost every day. </p>
<p>LOL, firefly. I do have that. I just get tired of digging it out and manually inputting. </p>
<p>For whatever reason, my Norton manager worked out its issues and is working again. For now. But I’m going to use all the input when I consider security issues after this subscription runs out. Thanks, all!</p>