Security: Password Vault 6.0

[ScottW]

Managing passwords between work and home can be a challenge for those looking for a multi-platform solution. This was my dilemma three years ago. I want something that worked on Windows, Linux and Mac, it needed to be portable (run off a USB thumb drive) and somehow sync my home and work systems together easily without much hassle.

Few applications at the time fit the criteria, and the one that passed through my own usage tests was an application called PCMacPassword. The application, has since been renamed to Password Vault.

PasswordVault is a Windows application compiled to run on Mac. It is not a slick interface you have come to expect when running applications on your Mac, but more what you'd expect on your Windows computer. While this has been a major down fall of the application itself for Mac users, but it does run as advertised and has been my password storage facility ever since.

Why organized your passwords? Even if you use the same password everywhere you go, you may not always be able to use the same login username. This password approach is not secure, and is not recommended but it doesn't stop people from taking the "easy" approach. But, what happens when your employer hands you login and passwords to 20 different systems, and none of the login or passwords matching the password system you have chosen, and you are not at liberty to change those passwords? You have to write all that information down and store it in a safe place. Best of all, verify that it is stored encrypted.

PasswordVault includes Desktop applications of Mac, Windows and Linux, along with a portable application that runs off a USB thumb drive. The portable application is packaged so you have access to all three versions of the application, so no matter where you stick your thumb drive, you will have instant access to your login and passwords. If you lose your thumb drive, no worries, as all the information is stored encrypted.

The portable application provides the means to sync the application between multiple systems. If your running the desktop version at work on Windows and the desktop version at home on your Mac, you can use the portable drive version to sync between the two. This has been the method up until the latest release of Password Vault, which now includes an online facility to sync, making it even more attractive.

Besides, online syncing between systems, if you share login/password information with multiple users, such as co-workers at work or family members, you can publish/share selected password groups with others, making changing passwords a snap as everyone always has the latest password change. It can be published to an FTP location or a drive share.

While I haven't had the need to run a cross-platform password management utility for a year now, and could easily settle on a more Mac friendly application, the portability, and the chance occasion I might need to use it on another operating system, along with continued development, and feature enhancements, keep me using this Window'ish password manager.

PasswordVault 6.0 ($14.95 Standard version) and ($39.00 Pro 5-User License)