Being basically lazy, I have become one of the minions to seek out shortcuts to make my computing life easier, including having to type in (and remember) sign-ons and passwords for all the Web sites I visit and to fill in those tedious forms that are used to register for those sites and to order goods online.

But many of these methods have an evil consequence --- they generate pop-up ads that become so annoying that I would eventually go back to the tried-and-true method of writing them down and typing them in. Plus there was always the risk that some cyber pervert would use spyware to steal the information from my PC.

Gator, a free application from Gain Publishing, is probably the best-known of the lot. Or, if you want to avoid those annoying pop-up ads, Symantec has included a password manager in SystemWorks 2004. Both of these programs do an excellent job, but "free" became synonymous with "annoying" and you many not want to spend the bucks for SystemWorks just to get a password manager.

Enter RoboForm Pro ($29.95) from Siber Systems.

This was the answer to my prayers. It fully encrypts all of my personal and log-on data and doesn't generate any of those nasty ads. It also hides behind my firewall and can only be activated after I enter a password, to keep it from prying eyes on my side of the computer.

There's also a free version of the program, but its usefulness is limited and really not worth the time. Plus, the company has developed Pass2Go, which allows you to store your RoboForm data on a memory key or other portable device and transport it to another computer.

Key features of RoboForm include:

• The ability to submit forms and identities with a single click of a mouse.
• You can use the Passcard Editor to change your vital information.
• You can print a list of passwords and identities.
• You can save forms to reuse them later. For example you can store a magazine subscription form and then call it up to renew the subscription.
• You can add notes to your passcards.
• Unlike many other programs of this type, it can fill out forms that it has never seen before.
• You can store multiple identities.
• SafeNotes can be used to securely store valuable information, such as ATM passwords, software registration keys and lock combinations.

On the Net: www.roboform.com.

---

 

To comment on this article, contact me here.