Free Secure Password Managers and Password Savers

Store and organize passwords, fill in forms automatically

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Free Secure Password Managers and Password Savers

These free password managers or password safe software lets you organize the (probably) large number of passwords and usernames that you have in a single, convenient location. You can usually sort them in categories, search for a particular user name or website or category, and even have the software fill in your web forms automatically or when you hit a hot-key. The file, or database, where the software stores your passwords is typically encrypted, that is, encoded in such a way so that a cursory examination of the file with a text editor won't reveal your secrets. You can then use a master password to access that database. This lets you to remember a single password instead of multiple. Some of the tools also let you use key files, which you can place on a portable USB flash drive and plug into the computer, before the main database is usable. In addition, some of the utilities can be installed onto a thumb drive and be carried around for use on other computers.

Note that this page does not list commercial password managers like Steganos Password Manager (other than to mention it here).

Disclaimer

The information provided on this page comes without any warranty whatsoever. Use it at your own risk. Just because a program, book, document or service is listed here or has a good review does not mean that I endorse or approve of the program or of any of its contents. All the other standard disclaimers also apply.

Free Secure Password Managers and Password Organizers

Steganos LockNote (Windows)

This program lets you store your serial numbers, passwords, and other types of text notes in an encrypted form (AES 256). It's extremely portable in that it's just a single file that does not have to be installed, and can be placed on a portable media like a USB flash drive. The data you store is saved into the program file itself meaning that all you need to do to move your data to another location is to copy the program there. You can also save to a different file, which merely recreates a copy of the program, together with your data, in a new file. The password for your encrypted notes can be set by selecting the "File" menu followed by the "Change password..." menu item. To get the software at their site, look for the "For free" section in the side column, and click the "LockNote" link. (This gets you the latest version. The program is open source, released under the GNU General Public License, but the source code release appears to lag behind the current version. Or at least it did when I last checked the site and program.) Note also that this program is primarily designed to be a portable notepad, and so, unlike the other software on this page, does not automatically complete your web forms for you.

KeePass Password Safe (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, PocketPC, Smartphone, etc)

This is an free, open source password manager that allows you to store all the passwords you need to use in a single database. You only need to remember the master password for the database instead of all the passwords for the various websites, network logins, etc. If you prefer, you can also use key files instead of a master password. The database (ie, file) that stores your passwords is encrypted (using the AES, Rijndael and Twofish algorithms, with SHA-256 as the password hash). If you want additional security, you can also lock the database to your current Windows user account, so that it can only be opened when you are logged into that particular account. The software is portable, and can be placed on a USB stick. (It doesn't have to be installed to run, nor does it create any registry keys or store anything on the system.)

Other features include the ability to import your passwords from a variety of file formats, including CSV, ASCII text, etc; the ability to export to TXT, HTML, XML and CSV files; easy backup and tranferability of the database file (it's a single file that can be easily copied anywhere); support for categories and groups for organising your passwords; support for hotkeys; secure Windows clipboard handling (with timed clipboard clearing); searching and sorting; multi-language support; strong random password generator; etc. It also has a plugin architecture, so that if you want additional features, you can look for an appropriate plugin to do the job. For example, at the time I checked their site, a plugin that lets you synchronize using online storage providers was added (or perhaps it's just a new version of the plugin). Versions are available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Blackberry, PalmOS, U3 devices, BartPE Windows bootable CDs, etc. The Windows version requires the NET framework to be installed.

Any Password: Store Passwords, UserIDs (Windows)

This tool stores your user ids, passwords and related information in an encrypted file (encrypted using the IDEA/MD5 algorithms) which you can access only with a master password. It is also able to generate random passwords. You can search for any stored information using an incremental search function. The information is presented in a tree form. The program is free for individuals and not-for-profit charities, otherwise, you will need to get a paid licence (or "license" if you use US English). It has a multilingual interface, and supports a number of languages including Bulgarian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. This is a Windows XP program. It does not work with Vista. The program does not appear to be maintained.

Password Safe: Simple and Secure Password Management (Windows)

This open source/free software lets you generate passwords, store/save, organize and retrieve your passwords. You can sort them by your user ID, a category, a website, or a location. Your passwords can be encrypted in a single database or multiple databases, which you may want if you want to separate, say, your work and home passwords. They can then be acccessed only with a master password.

Password Dragon: Free Easy and Secure Password Manager (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)

This program is able to run even from a USB thumb (flash) drive. It stores information like your user ID, password and the URL it is associated with. It is also able to generate random passwords, so that you don't have to crack your head to create a new one for every site you use. The files where it saves the passwords are encrypted using the Blowfishj algorithm, and you only have to remember the master password. Other features include the ability to launch a URL from within the program, application inactive timeout (where it locks the program if it is not used for a certain amount of time), support for categories, the ability to copy userids and passwords to the clipboard, a password strength indicator, multi-language support, the ability to export all or selected records to HTML and XML, the ability to import your passwords from existing text files, and so on. Since the program is written in Java, it is able to run on any machine that has a Java Runtime Environment or its clones installed, including Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

Cute Password Manager: Secure Password Manager and Auto Fill Software (Windows with IE)

This is a form filling software that stores the userID and password of the sites you visit and automatically fills in those fields for you, allowing you a "one click login" (to use their phrase). Your web login data is stored in an encrypted file (with 256-bit AES encryption), and you access them using a master password. The program only works on Windows with Internet Explorer.

Free Secure Password Managers and Password Savers

Store and organize passwords, fill in forms automatically

Free Secure Password Managers and Password Savers

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Free Secure Password Managers and Password Organizers

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