Tuesday, March 09, 2010; website updated 3 days ago.
There are so many Password Manager options available to you on Macintosh it can take weeks to decide what is best for your needs! This guide will get you up-and-running quickly so you can make an informed decision about this very important technology.
Here are the topics we'll be covering:
Password managers provide you with a safe and secure place to keep all your confidential information. The password manager application typically stores all your information in an encrypted file or database, which can then only be opened if you know the master password.
The explosion in websites requiring user ids and passwords — for everything from email, contest registrations, bills and banking information — has created a need for a password manager. The password manager application is typically used to store these website passwords, making access quicker and safer.
However, most password managers also provide the functionality to store many types of information, including credit card numbers, PIN numbers, financial statements, or, perhaps those love letters to your mistress! Just think, everything nicely tucked away so that only the person with the master password can access them.
As there are about a zillion websites that require you to have a password, it can get awfully confusing remembering which id and password go where. The easiest way to solve this is to use the same password everywhere..... Except that when a criminal gets hold of it, they get hold of all your information — not good! People need a secure way to keep track of all their passwords (something more secure than a sticky piece of paper next to the computer!)
By relying on bad practices, such as the above example, or using weak passwords (i.e. birthday, names, etc), people leave themselves vulnerable to internet crime and identity theft.
There are many ways to solve this problem. You could create super hard passwords and use a special ink to write them down (of course, you have the only decoder ring that works with that ink, right?). You could have your dog type something in for you (only troublesome when returning to that site and Fido is busy fetching a ball). Or you could take advantage of a password manager, which can store all this information in one place, so you only have to remember one single password — Genius!
It is about time something actually made life easier while also increasing your security.
The password you use to unlock your password manager is normally referred to as a 'Master Password'. If you use a password manager, this will be the only password you will ever have to remember, ever again!
Having a single master password is not only convenient but it improves your security also. Since you only have one password that you have to remember, you can make it a strong one, something that is long, contains multiple uPpErcaSe leTTers, numb3r5, and symb*ls.
Knowing the master password is the only way to unlock the information that is in the encrypted password database. Therefore it is very important that you never forget this password, otherwise your information will be lost forever and it is back to square one.
Steve Jobs knew the importance of a password manager, so Mac OS X comes with its very own password manager built-in — the Keychain.
This Keychain Access program is available to all applications running on Mac OS X. Most applications will store user ids and passwords into the default keychain. This saves you time because you don't need to re-enter passwords and it keeps you secure because the keychain is strongly encrypted. Best of all, it keeps all your passwords organized in one place.
Safari, and some other web browsers, will store your website user ids and passwords into the keychain. This allows Safari to fill website logins for you on many sites (this technique is called AutoFill). Sadly, Safari's AutoFill doesn't work on all websites, especially the financial websites where it is needed the most. This problem is caused by the notorious autocomplete=off feature of Safari. Also, life is not easy if you have more than one account (i.e. 2 Yahoo! ids) at a website, where the autofill becomes more of a pain than a help.
To access and manage your keychain entries, you need to use the Keychain Access program. This can be launched from the /Applications/Utilities folder, and the main UI is shown here:
As you can see, it is a fairly straight forward program to use. You can search, edit, and even create new 'Web form passwords' and 'Secure Notes':
While the technology behind Keychain is top notch, after using the Keychain Access program for a few days, you will quickly realize that it is not your typical Apple application. It was designed for, and primarily used by programmers and developers.
Most people with Mac OS X use the keychain everyday, without really knowing they do. The average user never really gets the full potential use, nor does the program give an everyday user what they really need.
Personally, I never use the Keychain Access program directly, unless there is some maintenance required.
Since there are many issues for both the functionality and practical use of the Keychain and AutoFill, many independent Macintosh developers created their own password managers to improve the situation.
There are over 40 password managers for Mac OS X that provide a secure storage area for passwords, serial numbers, credit cards, and so on. Here is a sampling of the available stand alone password managers from MacUpdate:
I spent weeks trying each of these password managers. All of them do what they are supposed to: they provide you a secure place to store your information.
One thing that I really didn't like was how they exclusively focused on storing your confidential information, as opposed to making it easy to use this confidential information in a secure way.
Since none of these were exactly what I was looking for I needed to write my own…
Most of the time, you need passwords while browsing the web. This means that most password managers need you to work for them, not the other way. When you visit a website, you need to manually signup, and then copy your user id and password AND web site url into the password manager. Then, every time you return to the website you need to manually copy-n-paste the information into the site.
Imagine instead if the password manager integrated directly into your web browser to save you time, while also making you more secure. This is exactly what I created 1Password to do.
1Password really works for you — you don't even have to make up passwords any more — it can automatically generate super strong passwords for you, with just a click of the mouse. That's right, one click and you have a strong password you never had to type (take that keyloggers!) and have automatically saved for the next time you visit the site.
There is a demonstration video that shows how 1Password does things much differently than your typical password managers and browser AutoFill tools. By extending the keychain and being accessible from within your browser, 1Password is truly a unique product.
1Password is the only product I use for managing my passwords and other confidential information. Being secure is nice, but saving my time is the true 'killer' feature.
A really good password manager can not only keep your information secure, but they can save you time as well. The best ones can even thwart keyloggers, avoid phishing websites and also automatically generate (and remember!) passwords. This makes them unique and much stronger, making you much safer.
I wrote 1Password so don't take my word for this; instead, download the free trial of 1Password to see for yourself that it is the only product available on Mac that fits all these criteria. Again, you really should watch this video, and after that I am sure you will want to give it a try. There is a free version available too, so you can get your feet wet before taking the dive into password freedom.
Historically a longtime Windows user and consultant at several large enterprises, Dave Teare converted to Mac OS X and co-founded Agile Web Solutions that focuses on making using Macs even more enjoyable.
Dave can be found blogging at his home, Mac Security Book, and the Switchers' blog.
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