Secure passwords the easy way

One of the supervisors at work, not in IT, asked me for some help with securing his passwords. He wanted to create better, more secure passwords but he didn’t want something hard to remember. I suggested using KeePass. There are four versions available:

Windows Installer
Zip package for portable drives
PortableApps.com suite install
U3 installer

He decided to install the zip package so that he could take it with him (USB drive). I first showed him how easy it was to create entries to hold his login info (username/password). I then showed him how easy it was to create secure passwords using KeePass. To do that, all he has to do is go to Tools â†’ Password Generator or click the Gen button when creating a new entry.

The part that impressed him the most was the fact that KeePass will autotype the username and password for him. He can just pull up the login page, click in the username field, right-click the entry in KeePass and choose Perform Auto-Type. KeePass will also copy the password to the clipboard for copy/paste use. By default, it clears the clipboard after 10 seconds but that time can be changed or disabled and set to clear after the paste command.

I did remind him that he needs to keep a backup of the KeePass database. It would take a while to reset all his passwords if the database became corrupted, accidentally deleted or the USB drive was lost or stopped working.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
- Chinese Proverb

19.Jul.07 Security, Software