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Illegal Operation! Fatal Exception!
Error, Error Will Robinson!
Accent on Computers to the rescue! 203-625-7575.
March 21, 2008
What Was That Password Again?
Dear Larry,
I’m going stark raving mad trying to keep track of all the Login and Password
information I’m using for the various websites I visit. Can’t my computer
remember all this for me?
V. N.
Dear V. N.,
Of course it can; it’s just a matter of having the right software. And the
absolute best software for this job is a program called RoboForm. You can
download a free version at www.roboform.com,
but if you’re a serious web surfer, I recommend you spring for the $30 paid
version, RoboForm Pro.
Memorizing login information is child’s play for RoboForm. Where this program
really shines is in the completion of online forms, such as the sort you have to
fill out when you’re making a purchase over the Internet.
When you first install RoboForm, it will ask you to create a new identity and
supply all the data it needs to complete online forms for you—data such as your
first and last name, your company name (if you have one), your shipping address,
city, state, and zip, assorted telephone numbers, e-mail address, and credit
card information (which you can password protect). Don’t worry—all of this
personal information is stored on your computer only. If you wish, in the event
that others use your computer in addition to you, all your RoboForm information
can be protected with a single RoboForm password in order to keep prying eyes
out.
One additional benefit of RoboForm is that you can use it to save all the other
snippets of information you’re constantly forgetting. You store this
information—lock combinations, secrets, ATM passwords, you name it—in what are
called RoboForm “safenotes.”
The free version lets you store up to ten different login/password combinations
for various websites and also has some additional limitations. If you purchase
the Pro version of RoboForm, you’ll be able to create an unlimited number of
website logins, assign multiple credit cards to your profile, and even create an
unlimited number of profiles.
Once you’ve provided RoboForm with all your personal information, you’ll be
ready to go. The first time you visit a particular website and enter login
information, RoboForm will automatically prompt you to save a “passcard,” just
for that website. (The passcard stores the username and password associated with
logging into the website.) The next time you visit the site, simply click the
login button on the RoboForm toolbar, and it will fill in all the appropriate
boxes for you. You can even create multiple sets of login information for a
single website. And, alternatively, you can click the passcard anytime on the
RoboForm toolbar, and if you haven’t yet navigated to the corresponding website,
RoboForm will take you there, fill in your login info, and even submit it for
you and take you to the subsequent web page.
When you’re making a purchase, you’ll click a different button on the toolbar in
which case RoboForm will attempt to fill in each box it finds on the current web
page. It will even enter your credit card information including your expiration
date, security code, and other related data.
It really doesn’t get any easier than that! This is Larry Schneider, logging
off.
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