Make Cash Before You Die!!: May 2010

I have to admit, the one thing that I dislike about the explosion of the Internet, and the multitude of websites and online tools that we now use throughout our daily lives, is the fact that there are just so many passwords to remember. Some of you may experience this worse than others, depending how many tools you use that require a secure login, whether it’s an Internet site or a desktop application.

Here at MakeUseOf, we’ve covered a number of password management apps and offered a number of secure password storage software reviews. Stefan covered Mitto, a fairly simple and efficient password manager application, and we also reviewed PassPack, an online password management tool. In the first case, the application is a little bit too simple for my needs, because I really want to be able to organize the many websites where a password is needed, and with Mitto it’s not easy to do that. I also am a bit wary about sites like PassPack – do you really want all of your sensitive passwords stored online? After a bit of searching, I found the perfect secure password storage software called MobileWitch.

Secure Password Storage Software to Automate All Your Logins

MobileWitch answers each of my concerns when it comes to storing and managing my many passwords. It’s a local application with encryption and an excellent level of security built into it, so I know my passwords are safe. It allows for the export of password data to a database.kdb file which you can store on your flash drive and bring with you anywhere. Install MobileWitch on any of the computers that you use often, and as long as you have your database.kdb file with you, then you know you have your latest list of passwords.

When you first install and launch the application, you’ll be asked to configure your master password. For extra security, you can also enable the use of a “key file” and select the location of your key file. This requires that a unique key file is present on the PC or the application won’t launch, even with the right password. This option will make mobility a little more difficult, but if your goal is utmost security, then you should enable this option.

The key file is encrypted with random values, generated by your mouse motion inside the “static box” as well as random keys you press on the keyboard. These completely random values, not generated by the software but by unpredictable human input, generates an ultra secure and virtually unhackable key file. Just seeing this level of security upon initial startup immediately put my mind at ease regarding whether this software would be secure enough to protect all of my sensitive passwords.

Once you’re through the initial setup, adding your websites and password login data is as simple as clicking on Edit -> Add Entry, or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Y.

Each entry asks for a Title – which you can use to easily identify the account in a way that you’ll immediately recognize. Then, type in your user name and password for that account, and also insert the URL for the login page. If your account password expires every 30 days or so, make sure to include that on this screen so that the software will prompt you for the new password when the time is right.

What I love about this software is that all of your login details are organized into groups. There are password records for your Windows and Network apps, email accounts, bank accounts, and of course Internet sites. Of course, some of these are very generic – just imagine how many entries would go under “Internet.” Luckily, the software lets you right-click and add subgroups so that you can organize even further.

To do so, just right-click on the group and select “Add Password Subgroup.” Keep in mind that when your password list gets very long, there are search features integrated throughout – you can search by group or through the entire collection if you can’t quite remember where you put a password. One other note on adding login information – you may notice that sometimes the auto logon feature doesn’t work quite right. To make sure the sequence of entries for the login form works correctly, click on Tools and then select “Auto-Type: Customize Sequence.”

The standard UserName->Tab->Password sequence should be appropriate, but if you encounter a strange login screen somewhere, this feature lets you customize the sequence script to match that exact screen.

When you’re ready to start using the application to log into your accounts, just right-click on the site that you want to log into and select “Open URL(s).” This will launch the website that you defined in the URL field. This saves even more time, because you don’t have to remember how to get to the login screen – you just click and you’re there.

Then, right click on the entry and select “Perform Auto-Type” and the application will automatically log into the account using the credentials you’ve supplied. Remember that the keyboard shortcuts are always available if you want to save even more time – Control-V will perform the auto-logon for you.

I really wanted to mention one more little security feature I discovered while I was exploring this software, and that is the clipboard auto-clear. In the settings section, you’ll find that you can configure the application to automatically clear the clipboard whenever you use copy-paste to copy your passwords. The creators of this software really tried to cover all of the bases to protect your passwords and provide the best security possible. In the end, I decided to use this software to cut down on the time that I waste either trying to find login URLs or trying to remember my passwords.

What do you think of MobileWitch? Do you use your own password management tools or tricks? Share your own techniques for remembering your passwords in the comments section below.