Keep track of your passwords

The first screen will ask you to choose a language; pick one then work through the rest of the wizard. The final screen gives the option to launch the program; either choose this or run it from the Start menu.

Once the program is running create a Keepass database by choosing New from the File menu. A dialogue box will prompt you for a master password. This is the password you will use to access Keepass, and so to the rest of your passwords. This has two implications.

First, it should be as strong a password as possible: use numbers, letters and symbols and avoid obvious words, phrases or family names. Hackers use software that attempts to ‘guess’ passwords by speedily submitting every word in the dictionary to the site. As you type your password a meter indicates how safe it is. orange is weak (which means it could be guessed), while green indicates a strong password.

The best passwords use a mixture of symbols, letters and numbers to represent a familiar word, such as ‘Pa$$woRd’. Second, it’s vital that you are able to remember this password, as if you forget it all the others will be lost.

Once you have entered your password, click the OK box. Re-enter it when asked and click OK again. Once this is done, Keepass will generate a blank database ready to hold all your passwords. Before going any further, click the Save button and save this file somewhere memorable on your computer.

Adding passwords
With the database created and saved you can start using it to store passwords. On the left side of the window you’ll see a list of predefined password groups including Windows, network, internet and home banking. To add a password in one of these groups click it with the mouse, then click the Add Entry button – ­ this has a picture of a small yellow key and is directly to the right of the Save button.

A dialogue box will open. Start by giving the site a title – ­ Computeractive Forums, say ­ – and then put the web address for the site in question in the URL box. Next enter the username used to access the site, and the password, which must be entered twice. Click OK to save the password.