PC Help Request

This is a great question because it hits on two major innovations of the twenty-first century: the increasing need for security online; and the expansion of web based (web 2.0) services. (Web 2.0 is just a buzzword for the various technology innovations that have allowed word processors, spreadsheets, and various other traditional software packages to move to a web based format.) The rise in accessibility of personal information online leads to an equal rise in password based security. Unfortunately, we all have so many passwords now that they’re very easy to forget. Writing down passwords is risky, but it’s also fairly inconvenient. For example, if you access a site at both work and at home, do you write it down twice? Do you trust the people in your office enough to have your written passwords laying around? A portable and secure solution is to remember a single password to an encrypted online password storage site. Enter Agatra.

Agatra is a web based password storage solution that encrypts your data for storage, and also encrypts your connection when accessing your account. It’s incredibly easy to use and it’s 100% free. The website is laid out in a plain, easy to read format. After signing up, using Agatra is very easy. Adding passwords and accounts is a two step process. After adding a bunch of passwords, you can arrange them any way you’d like using drag and drop or an alphabetical sort.

The web based stuff might concern some people, and that’s OK. The company has attempted to allay some of these fears by outlining the cryptography algorithm that they use. Still, I personally wouldn’t recommend using this website for the storage of financial service passwords. The fears might be un-needed, but err on the side of caution. A home computer based storage solution is better suited for highly sensitive passwords such as banking, investment, or credit card accounts.
For home based service, KeePass has received very good reviews. It was featured on Lifehacker just over two years ago. In the Lifehacker post, some pretty important points are made:

• ONLY install KeePass on a computer you control and own. In other words, don’t set up your password database on the office computer.
• In general, the best place to keep passwords is in your head. But, it’s a good idea to have a different password for each service you log into, so if Someone Bad knows one of your passwords, they can’t log in as you into everything else. So KeePass is a good way to keep track of the different passwords, HOWEVER, it’s not a great idea to rely on software (or monitor sticky notes) for important high-security passwords.
• Never, ever give away your KeePass master database password. Yes, if you’re suddenly struck with amnesia, you’re screwed, but if you were trying to remember all your passwords instead of just the one master, you’d be screwed anyway.

Keep the second bullet in mind when you make your decision about what passwords to store.