WebPasskey: A password passport for Net travelers
By Lim Tri Santosa
BANDUNG (JP): I am only guessing at the requirements to initiate a nuclear holocaust, but after seeing most of the classic apocalypse movies, I figure that the guys in the missile room and the president have passwords. Everyone else sits around and sweats.
Just about anywhere you go on the Web these days, you need a user ID and a password. Secure shopping sites, Web-based e-mail services, online brokerages, and even The Jakarta Post's news archives. One of the annoying facets of modern life is that it generally takes more passwords to get through a day than it does to launch a nuclear strike. Yes, the Net has already evolved, powered by the emergence of virtual commerce, which has begun to change for the virtual world as much as it did the real world when the first traders journeyed across river and mountains to do business with others.
Most Net people have many passwords strewn around the world. There are millions of forgotten words rotting in servers across the globe. Decades from now, they will probably still be there, obediently waiting for their long-deceased masters to return. Is your desk littered with notes jotted with log-on and password combinations to applications and favorite web sites?
In the space of just a few years, most online people have gone from password-free lives to password overload. I now have ATM passwords, Internet access passwords, calling card passwords, voice-mail passwords, a Windows 98 password; the list goes on and on. The list has become so cumbersome that I have been driven backward into old technology to deal with it. On my wall are two printed pages of log-ins, usernames and passwords.
Password suggestions
There are some good suggestions on ways to remember the growing problem of passwords. One solution is to use the same ID and password combination at every site. But that's not very secure; if a password thief is on to you, they'll grab all your eggs in no time. Besides, you'll have to change your log-on at every site if you change your password on a regular basis.
Here is a variation on that theme. Think of a person or pet in your life and use it to create slightly unique passwords everywhere. Say your dog's is named Brino. Your password to log on to your computer could be "brinocomp001". To check your e- mail, the password could be "brinoemail002" and so forth. Not a bad idea.
One of my friends said he put all his passwords in a computer file and gave the file a mysterious name. That way he can open the file any time he is online and needs a password quickly. Interesting, but not very secure. Other users who use the same computer might know the file name and may try to break the code. There are many code-password breakers from hackers' software on the Internet.
A colleague proposed creating passwords based on your favorite things -- your favorite fruit, sports team, etc. Use the first letter from each to make up the password. This might work for some people, but there's got to be something better you can do. Another Internet friend said he maintains a free e-mail account and uses it only to keep e-mails he sends himself that contain passwords and other account information for accounts he sets up.
"Risky?" he asked. "Sure, but what isn't?"
Here's a good one, my brother suggested thinking up a sentence that has a personal meaning. Then, use the first letter from each word to create the password. Example: "My father was born on 3/7/42" would create the password "mfwbo3742." An idea with some merit.
'WebPasskey' passwords
I have seen, but not used, password-type programming that promise that you will never forget a password or login name again. Most of these types of programs seem to be a simple database that gives you the option of setting your login name and password into a column that you are later able to go to and look up which ones you have forgotten. Most of them also offer the same protection for your password program by also listing it in the database. Anything out there that could help you more effectively manage all your passwords?
Micro System Designs (http://www.maxlock.com) makes a program called WebPassKey. It watches where you browse the Net and remembers passwords and login names automatically. On your next visit, it automatically enters the information for you.
WebPasskey requires Windows and works with Netscape or Explorer browsers. The software also can be used to store passwords for other applications.
You have to admit that a program like this could prove invaluable, or you could always sign up again on each site you like and try to remember each name and password. Naturally, a program of this stature is going to cost, but it is shareware. You can use it for 30 days and continue to use it after the 30 days are past. But then, you cannot enter any more information into the program and it will be worth what you paid for it.
WebPasskey automatically captures and stores usernames and passwords. Then the next time you come to a location requiring you to log in, WebPasskey automatically fills in the blanks for a smooth entry experience. WebPasskey accomplishes this by actively monitoring your Web browsing for passwords. When you return, WebPasskey enters everything automatically. The program is so simple to use that even you are not even aware of its existence.
So how does WebPasskey protect all your passwords? You need a password. WebPasskey encrypts all your passwords and access to them requires a master password, which is like a master key to unlock all the doors in one house. Hey, at least now you only have to remember one. If you want a printout of all your passwords, they can be scrambled so only the owner can decipher them. WebPasskey's tiny text option lets you print out a matchbook-sized password list just in case you need a password away from your computer system. If you tire of trying to come up with a password, WebPasskey will even create them randomly for you.
So, if entering login information is part of your daily Internet routine, give WebPasskey a try, you won't know how you got along without it.