KeePass

Most password managers integrate with your browser and aim to fully automate the process of capturing and replaying credentials for secure websites. KeePass (free), an open source tool, takes a rather different approach. While it doesn't automate capture of secure credentials, it can log in to websites using any browser and can also handle application passwords. It's also absolutely loaded with configuration options; a tinkerer's dream!

KeePass's wealth of options is noticeable right from the start. When you first create your database, you can choose to define a strong master password for encryption, use a file as the encryption key, or both. If the key file resides on a USB drive, you've just enabled two-factor authentication. In addition, if you never plan to use KeePass on a different PC you can lock the database to the currently active Windows account.

For extra security you can turn on the product's secure desktop option. With this setting active, when KeePass presents its master key entry dialog it suppresses other processes, to protect against keyloggers and other tracking tools.

KeePass can import from over 30 other password managers, including Kaspersky Password Manager 4 and RoboForm Desktop 7. The free LastPass 2.0 wasn't on the list, but I had no trouble exporting to CSV and importing that file to KeePass. Doing so did require that I match up the fields from my CSV file with field names in KeePass, but a preview window made it easy to see when I got the matchup right. Do note that any time you transfer passwords via a plain-text CSV file you should securely delete that file afterward.

By default your database is strictly local. You can move it to a USB drive for added security. Conversely, you can sync it to a URL online in order to use it across multiple PCs. Of course you must supply the online storage; it's a very do-it-yourself system.

Configurable Password Generation
Most password managers include a password generator. Most, like LastPass and RoboForm, let you choose which characters will be included. With next to no settings for password generation, Dashlane is an exception. KeePass's password generator deserves special attention for its flexibility.

With KeePass you can choose to include uppercase letters, lowercase letters or numbers. Where most password generators lump all the rest into "special characters," KeePass handles dash, underscore, and brackets separately from the rest. It can also optionally include the space character and "High ANSI" characters like ? and ?, if you find any applications that support them.

KeePass can generate hexadecimal keys of varying lengths, like those used for WEP and WPA authentication. It's even possible to define a pattern of character types that KeePass will match precisely. A preview tab displays a whole page of passwords matching the current pattern.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/y2ADPjpdhbs/0,2817,2408063,00.asp

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