One chapter in the book I am writing covers safety on the Internet. Turns out my previous password picking methodology (find a long one that I can remember and use it everywhere) isn't the way to go. Hackers (I prefer "evil miscreants") have figured out that many people utilize this strategy (glad I wasn't alone). They hack smaller social and informational sites (typically less secure) and take that user database info to Ecommerce and banking sites. How many of us haven't used the same login and password combo at least once?
In researching solutions, I came across the coolest password manager software called Roboform. It doesn't just manage your passwords, it protects your logins, passwords, personal info and even your favorites, from prying eyes. I have been trying it for over two weeks now and have been very pleased.
Roboform's basic version is free. There is RoboForm Pro for heavier users. I am going to purchase RoboForm2Go soon. It runs completely off a USB drive, so no info resides on my PC or laptop. This is great when I am working at a client's office. I can use it when I am working at a client site without having to fire up my laptop and it won't leave any trace on their computer.
It has an IE toolbar add-on which I find very useful. Whenever I login to a site for the first time, it prompts me to create a new passcode (their jargon) by copying the id and password into a pop-up. I can even password protect my passcodes (individually or with a master password). It recognizes the sign-in page next time I visit that site and I can use the pop-up box or a pull-down from the toolbar to fill or fill and submit.
I am evaluating it on the fly, so I haven't discovered/tested every feature yet. I have stored a couple of favorites. Mine are pretty vanilla, so nothing really to hide (that I'll keep a record of). :) I have used the forms fill feature a few times for my personal info. Worked perfectly, but I have an fear of knowingly storing my info like this, so I don't think I'll probably turn it off soon. Yes, I realize my computer is teeming with my personal info, so the whole fill thing is probably minor, but it feels very big brother-ish when all my info populates the screen automatically.
I know RoboForm has a lot of other features too (I know because their website says so). Check it out. The basic one is free. I will probably mention it in my book, so if you use it and have any issues with it, please leave me a comment. I would really like to know!
