Create, store and protect passwords with Keepass Professional Edition

The problem with passwords that keep your accounts safe is that they are also incredibly hard to remember. Keepass solves that problem by storing passwords using a master password

After installation you will need to create a new file for storing passwords. This can be protected in three different ways. You can set up a password, use a key file or associate the password file with the Windows user account. The key file does allow you to use a properly random key rather than trying to remember them, or using words, which is less secure. You can even use a combination of these methods, although there is a warning that forgetting or losing any one of them will render the passwords inaccessible.

The passwords are even kept protected when they are in the memory of the computer so they cannot be stolen by a program accessing this.

Passwords are arranged in groups so it is easier to find them.

One of the main reasons for using software such as Keepass is to store passwords that are difficult to guess as that usually means that they are also hard to remember. Keepass includes a password generator that can be told the length to use as well as what characters to include.

This should be as broad a range as possible but not all websites or programs accept non alpha-numeric characters such as !,",£ and &.

There is also space to include information such as the username and the website requiring the password.

This is the Professional version of Keepass, also known as Keepass 2. It has more features than the previous version but has slightly higher system requirements. This requirement is the Microsoft .NET Framework or Mono (for Linux systems). Download Keepass 1 here. There is also a portable version for use on USB memory keys.

The latest version, 2.16, has better search and a variety  of other improvements. Full details can be fould on the Keepass 2.16 release blog post here.