Password Retriever

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Password Retriever allows you to secure your logins, passwords, credit card numbers, receipts, and other information in a customizable secure database with up to 448-bits of Blowfish password encryption.

I have used eWallet on a Palm and iPAQ, and eZCase on a BlackBerry, and whilst Password Retriever is without doubt more flexible and powerful, it is nowhere as easy to use. I recommend that you read the instructions, at least twice!!

The trick is to plan ahead. Not only do you need to know what information you want to store, you also need to know how you want to store it, and where you want to store it. Understanding their terminology really helps as well. A database is a folder, for example Credit Cards, Memberships, Web Sites. A Service is the item that you want to hold the information about, for example Gym Membership. A Category is a  group of Services (items) that you want to group together. For example I have a Database for personal information, and within that I want to differentiate between my membership information and that of my wife, so I have a Category for each of us.

One you have that sorted out you get into the area of defining fields. I found this particularly difficult at first. It is possible to define fields from within the main page of the database, from within a new service page, and also from within the Preferences page. As far as the preferences went I found it easier to delete all the fields that they had set as a default, so that when I set up a new database I started with a blank set of fields.

I also found it easier to define the fields from within the databases main page, as this gave me two options – For New Services In New Categories or For New Services In This Category. I selected the first option, and within that new field page I selected to Add For All Services In This Category, on the basis that I had already decided to group my services my similar type, so most of the services where going to have most if not all of the information fields.

Finally I had to go into View/Show View Options, and select which of the fields I had just entered I wanted to show. Again I selected to Apply To All Categories within the database.

On the negative side, I couldn’t import my data from eWallet. I wasn’t suprised, and I did manage to get 168 records across but not in any useable format. If I had my information in a spreadsheet I would have been able to import as a CSV file, amongst other options, but I hadn’t. In my experience it is a rare event when applications like this do import effectively and first time, and I have tended to take the view that as I probably have information that is out of date stored in my existing application then a change is a good opportunity to go through and update and delete. Second negative, and a much bigger one personally, is the inability to synchronise with any kind of handheld, especially an iPod. I tend to want access to my data more when I am away from my PC (for example when I can’t remember a PIN number for a Credit Card), than I do when I am at my PC, so this is a pretty big negative for me.

So in summary, a great piece of software. It takes some getting used to but once you work it out it is simple to use. I will use it, but I will also keep an eye out for a product that will synchronise with my iPod.

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