Today's advancement in Internet technology helps make many of our day-to-day
tasks easier. With the vast array of available websites from which to choose,
one can do just about anything from a computer. Such everyday tasks as banking
and shopping can now be done from the comfort of your own home. Corresponding
with friends and family has never been easier! While the Internet lessens the
burden of such things as waiting in lines and driving to the bank, chances are
you probably find yourself with quite a few online accounts and a number of
usernames and passwords to go with them. A Password Manager presents an easy
and affordable solution to remembering and organizing all online accounts.
Password Managers come in two forms: as a software program or as a web-based
application. Web-based Password Managers store your information on the hosting
website's server, which can prove to be a security risk, leaving passwords in
the control of the hosting website. The safer bet is to use a stand-alone
software program installed on your own personal computer, which allows for
greater control over your passwords. These applications store all of your
information on your local hard drive using encryption algorithms for added
security.
There are many Password Managers on the market today. Some are better than
others, making it important to take a close look at what features the program
has to offer. A top-quality Password Manager program should contain an
Auto-fill feature, which automatically fills in your username and password for
all of your online accounts. It should also offer an Internet Explorer Toolbar
feature that can be used to populate account information fields on any website
with one click of a button. The program should be a multi-user environment,
allowing multiple users to enter account information separately, preventing one
user from seeing another user's sensitive data.
Not all Password Managers offer these above features, thus, you should be
careful in choosing a password management program. The Password Manager that
tops my list is "Secure Store" from cowbellies.com. This
Password Manager not only includes all of the above features, it also
includes added bonus features that one may find helpful such as the storing of
credit card and contact information. The program also offers an alphanumeric
password generator to help you create a unique password, which is also
offered for free. Along with the added features, the price is right at only
$14.99.
Above all, the program should be user friendly- After all, the underlying idea
of a Password Manager is to make our lives a little more organized and a little
easier to manage!
