Secure Password Storage

There are a many simple methods to securely store numerous passwords. Each of the methods below have their benefits and their shortcomings. Below are a few good solutions, their recommended uses and some info to get you started:

NOTE: ANY of these methods are better than storing your passwords in a notebook, on a sticky note on your monitor, under your keyboard, or in plain text on your computer.

Password protected Excel file

• Slightly secure

A password protected Excel file is the quickest and easiest way to digitally store your passwords.

1. Open Excel and create a new excel file.
2. Make 3 columns: service, username, and password
3. Fill out the service (ex. Gmail), username, and password in a few rows and save as follows:
   
   1. Click File > Save As...
   2. Click the Options... button in the Save as dialog.
   3. Enter a password in the "Password to open" field, then click OK.

      

   4. Click the Save button.

Last Pass:

• Moderately secure

Lastpass is a web browser add-on and is great for storing passwords for websites and web services. You can also use it to store passwords for just about anything else. This method is slightly more secure than the Excel file.

You can download LastPass from here: https://lastpass.com/misc_download2.php

Once you've completed the simple Lastpass install and account set up, there are a couple settings that will improve usability and security:

• Click the Lastpass icon in your browser's toolbar.
• Click Preferences > Account Settings > Launch Account settings > Show Advanced settings.
• Under Alerts, check the following boxes:
  • Access an Identity
  • Access a Site's password
• Click the Update button to update your settings.

More recommendations for making your LastPass account more secure are available here:
http://www.howtogeek.com/121267/11-ways ... re-secure/

KeePass and KeePassX

• Very secure

KeePass is one of the more secure and robust free password managers available.
If you are at all concerned about security, I recommend giving KeePass a try.

You can download KeePass from here:

• Windows - KeePass: http://keepass.info/download.html
• Mac OS X - KeePassX: https://www.keepassx.org/downloads

Once you've installed KeePass and created a password database, there are a couple settings that will improve the security of your password database:

1. Configure your KeePass application to automatically save changes upon quit or lock.
   
   • KeePass > Preferences > General (2)

     

2. Configure KeePass to automatically lock the database after a minute or 2.
   
   • KeePass > Preferences > Security