Password management methods: what do you use?

1password

Last night I received a general question from jkOTR reader Steve about security and password management. Good timing because I was actually reading WebWorkerDaily’s "7 Ways to Manage Passwords" article when Steve’s note came in. First and foremost, I think security and password management approaches will vary by individual: we all have different risk-factors and likely prefer different methods. As I’ve said before, I’m willing to provide some personal data in order to gain from more personalized services; of course, I expect my personal data to be handled professionally and securely. Others may not want to share personal data of any type and that’s fine too.

In terms of password management, I’m still working my way towards the best solution for me. I have high hopes for Mozilla’s Weave project: a prototype we’ve covered here before. Essentially, I’ll store all of my passwords right in Firefox and Weave would sync them, as well as bookmarks, cookies and more, to other mobile devices I use Firefox on. James is a huge fan of Roboform on the PC side and I swear by 1Password for Macs. Since I use an iPhone, I appreciate how 1Password now has a free client for my handset ; it even syncs the passwords from my Mac, which reduces the amount of redundant data entry. From a Windows Mobile standpoint, I’ve used eWallet in the past: it’s great for keeping important account numbers safe and handy, but works fine to remember passwords as well.

These days I’m generally using a single computing device for my web-only challenge, so I’m still considering what strategy is best. A single device owner can probably get by with basic password management included in a browser (at least for web passwords) and/or a simple text file. I’d probably password it though. ;) Multiple device owners face more of a challenge however, and if your devices run on different platforms, things can get complicated. Since the web is pretty ubiquitous across platforms, I’d again gravitate towards a web-based method. I haven’t yet seen an application that will offer password management across Mac, PC and all of the various mobile platforms like Windows Mobile, iPhone and S60, but that would be ideal.

How about it: what are you using for password management and why?

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