What are password managers?

Password managers are software programs designed to keep and organize all the passwords and pin codes of users. Usually, in middle to large scale companies that are holding a minimum of 500 employees, keeping track of passwords and identifications is very crucial. A password is the personal information of a user, and someone who is keeping it will be held liable if information has been stolen or data have leaked. Thus, an application is created to keep the private information electronically and securely.

In general, a password manager has storage (database or file) where all the usernames and passwords are encrypted and kept. This will assist the network or application administrations in managing secured logins to web sites, networks, computers, and other applications.

A password manager can also auto-generate usernames and passwords. In a typical scenario, a new user will receive a username and password via email. This user will be asked to login using the provided account information, then he or she will be asked to change the provided password.

Password managers are also useful in auto-filling a form in applications or web pages. For an instance, when you see a “remember me” check box at the bottom of a login facility, try to tick it on before logging in. The next time you open the application or visit the same page, and then you typed in your username, the password section will automatically be filled in. The application or the web page will communicate with the password manager to harvest the passcode based on the username that you keyed in.

There are many features that this software has, and below are the most important characteristics that you must take into consideration:

·         Secured storage. Since a password manager has a storage component, it is important to determine how the data is kept in a computer. The application should be designed in such a way that the database or the storage file cannot be easily detected by a malicious security hacker. When deleted, stored data should be destroyed permanently so that it cannot be pulled out by any data recovery software.

• Encryption. 

The password manager should have a strong encrypting and decrypting algorithm that cannot be easily cracked. Usernames and password should be encrypted prior to storing in the database or any file storage.

• Usability. 

The software should have a simple and user-friendly facility so that all its features can be fully utilized.

Other features may be desirable in order to fulfil the organization’s work flow. For a start, this short list is worth considering.