15-Minute Reviews :: Password Manager Deluxe v3.4

Hello all and welcome to another 15-Minute Review! Today’s title is Password Manager Deluxe version 3.4 by Kristanix Software – A password-managing application for those looking to simplify their password management.

Software Description

As Giveaway of the Day states:

“Don’t worry about forgetting passwords anymore! Let Password Manager Deluxe manage your passwords securely! What Password Manager Deluxe can do for you: remembers your usernames and passwords, easily locate the desired login, automatically login to webpages using Drag-Drop, and securely encrypt your password entries and files. Securely Store: passwords, usernames, webpage links, registration details for games and programs, notes, information, files.”

Quick Pros

• Ability to save and use database from a USB drive
• Drag and drop functionality could be used on non-browser windows
• Various auto-locking functionalities and other options
• Password strength indicator handy to ensure length
• Ability to attach files to password entry handy
• Can set an expiration on a password entry

Quick Cons

• USB support does not include a portable version of application
• Process of adding new passwords too lengthy – No password detection for browsers
• Drag and drop functionality is too many steps and awkward – No auto-fill for browsers
• Unsure of any protection scheme from preventing clipboard sniffers

Expansion

With this age of data theft becoming more and more common, the ability to create and maintain a series of unique passwords without having to write them down or document it is becoming more and more important. While there are potential pitfalls of maintaining all your passwords in a single file managed by a single password could be hazardous and needs to be weighed against keeping in your own memory a series of secure passwords, it is still an option nonetheless.

There is a lot of functionality in this application besides the typical password-manager featureset. First off, the ability to backup your entire database onto a USB drive right in the application is very handy to be able to let you keep a backup of your database in case of a system issue. This feature can also be used to allow you to take your database with you on the go; Just remember to bring the application installer with you; There is not a portable version it installs when copying to USB and doesn’t place your installer for you.

The drag and drop functionality is handy for non-browser windows which may have harder-to-detect login boxes than a descriptive browser. Not only does it show the username and password, but also give you a button to open the web link, and also provides you with the ‘Other’ field, ‘Notes’ field and ‘Title’ as well, all able to be dragged and dropped into various fields.

When setting up a new entry, there are a lot of options and features here as well; The password strength indicator when setting up a new entry shows you the bit length of your password; In itself is pretty handy, but should only be used as a guideline. Passwords should not only be longer, but also contain symbols and numbers and not be a dictionary word or conjunction of two dictionary words to ensure a brute-force attempt to get the password will be significantly harder; This password strength meter should reflect this as well.

As with the password strength indicator as noted above, there are some other entry functionality that are uncommon to password managers. The ability to attach a file is very handy for including a password-secured RAR or ZIP file for example. There is also the ability to have an entry to expire; The uses may be limited, but could be helpful to those who may want that extra level of security, or to track passwords that normally expire.

There are a lot of options available as well, including database auto-locking, database auto-saving, backup functionality and more to help customize your experience.

However, this application is missing some of the more common functionality; Specifically browser integration. There is no browser integration at all, forcing you to manually create each and every entry by hand, cut and pasting in login pages and so forth, which in itself is a lengthy process when other titles can manage most of this aspect automatically. As well, there is no auto-login functionality which detects login boxes and attempts to fill them in. Instead, every time you log in, you need to open the drag and drop box and drag in a minimum of two items typically (username and password) then close the drag and drop window and login to the page, or worse yet trying to use the copy username/copy password functionality. This is awkward at best and I found the process very time-consuming not only entering new entries, but also logging into a website. I feel like I’d rather just rely on cookies to keep me logged in at this point or manually entering my password, defeating the purpose of a password manager.

I also tested out the copy functionality, and thought of something; I do not know if there is any protection against clipboard sniffers, nor is there any reinforcement that the method used by dragging and dropping is secure from sniffers. It is a concern indeed; Besides a keyboard logger, it could be another way of losing a password with this application.

Final Verdict

While this application may well be very powerful for the ability to store extended information on each entry and attach a file, as well as the ability to use the drag and drop functionality on windows that normally wouldn’t be auto-fill friendly, the lack of browser integration and the lack of auto-fill makes this application a little more awkward; In my opinion I found that the process for during web browsing was awkward at best. While for free, you can give this application and see if it fits your needs; There is no show-stopping issues, it is just a bit more awkward than other titles out there to use and may be useful to those who may use the database outside web browsing as well. This application needs a bit more maturing to become a viable option. As for paying $19.95, I’d likely not recommend this title unless you truly find it is what you need and you don’t find it time-consuming using the system for entry and drag and drop.

There are alternatives out there such as Sticky Password ( $24.95, previously reviewed ) and a quick search for free password managers result in many; RoboForm (Free) and KeePass (Open-Source) are a few I came upon quickly.

Posted by BladedThoth on Saturday, July 21, 2007