Safety First - Then A Little Fun
By Cate Eales
Appeared July 9, 2009 on castanet.net
Last week I
explained why it's a good idea to have all your passwords handy. This
week, I will show you how to keep your passwords secure, and I'll help you
get started on identifying them. After that, have some fun with your
digital photos.
How to store your passwords
There are many computer programs that will let you store your passwords
securely and yet easily retrieve them when you need them. I mentioned
KeePass last week. That
is what I use, and no matter what else I've tried, I keep coming back to
it. There are two versions for Windows. If you are not sure which one you
need, stay with 1.6. Version 2.08 has more features, but requires .NET
framework to run.
KeePass will let you keep track of your computer-related passwords, and
your banking, credit card, and investment information. You can put your
insurance policy number, social insurance number, or pretty much anything
you want in this database. You only have to remember one password to
unlock and access that data. You can also print everything.
Password
Safe is an alternative to KeePass, and looks very much the same. Both
programs will give you an idea about what passwords and other information
you should be storing, because the both suggest groups of items. Both
programs will generate and save extremely strong passwords that you do not
need to remember, because the programs will remember them for you. And,
both programs are free.
(click for larger, original comic)
If you want a password manager that lives in your Internet Explorer or
Firefox browser, and does more for you than the built-in managers, the
industry standard is
RoboForm. RoboForm will AutoSave passwords for websites, and it will
AutoFill your logon and password fields to sites and click the Login
button for you. It will fill out complex forms and save offline passwords,
like ATM card information and lock combinations. Like KeePass and Password
Safe, RoboForm will generate and remember strong passwords. RoboForm is
available in free and (more robust) pay versions.
Nipping at RoboForms heels, is
LastPass. This program
is recommended by many former RoboForm users, and has received great
reviews from people I really trust. That said, I tried it and I hated it.
It stumbled during installation, and when I did manage to coax it into
installing correctly, I found it very cumbersome to use. Your mileage may
vary - It's completely free, so you can always give it a try. Do make sure
you know how to go back to whatever was managing things before, though, in
case you want to uninstall LastPass.
Next week, more about how to identify, organize, and store your passwords.
But now, on to the fun stuff!
Foto-Mosaik-Edda
Have you got about 2,000 digital pictures kicking around, and you don't
know what to do with them? Well, you could try
Shape Collage,
as I mentioned awhile ago. Or, you could try
Foto-Mosaik-Edda to create a mosaic from your own photos. The effect
is stunning, but in fact a wizard guides you through the process, so it's
much easier than it looks.
Do you need help with your computer? With your printer/camera/music
player? Do you need help with your passwords? Do you have a virus or
a spyware problem? Do you need more RAM? Do you need a backup
plan? Do you have a new computer and now you're wondering how to get the
files from the old one over to the new one? I'm here to help you and your
home or business computer get along! To ask a question, make a comment or
suggestion, or schedule a visit, email
help@computercarekelowna.com.
You can read previous columns
here. If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email,
please visit this link. It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the
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Links
The Most Common Password Is...
http://rlis.com/columns/column203.htm
Security Question
http://xkcd.com/565/
KeePass Password Safe
http://keepass.info/
Password Safe
http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/
RoboForm
http://www.roboform.com/
LastPass
https://lastpass.com/
Shape Collage
http://www.shapecollage.com/
Foto-Mosaik-Edda
http://www.sixdots.de/mosaik/en/
Computer Care Kelowna
http://computercarekelowna.com/
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives
http://rlis.com/column.htm
Get Cate's column by email
http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618
RSS Feed:
http://rlis.com/rlis.xml
---
Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible
and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric,
and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in
Computer Care
Kelowna, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware
and malware eradication; personal computer training and management;
digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and
management. Email Cate at
help@computercarekelowna.com with your comments, suggestions, or
questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet
Solutions website at www.rlis.com.
©
Cate Eales 2009 – All Rights Reserved
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