Because it's independent of the browser, you can access the same passwords as you switch between Firefox and Internet Explorer. It also stores your address, credit card number and other personal data, so you don't have to type them in when you shop online. It fills out the login forms on a Web page automatically. Like a browser, it stores passwords on your computer, encrypting them so that they're revealed only when you type in a master password. I've used one called Roboform for more than four years. Online storage does raise some questions about security, but it also makes these little-known programs worth another look. A couple of them have recently taken a big step forward in ease of use, by storing your login information online so that you can access them from multiple computers. The rescue comes from password-management programs.

So if one site gets compromised, or an employee there is dishonest, someone could start trying out that password on other sites where you have accounts, like Amazon or PayPal, and you've got trouble.īrowsers help out a bit by offering to remember your passwords, but that does little good if you are on a different computer or want to try a different browser. Worse, we use the same ones for lots of Web sites.