Roboform Everywhere password storage software

Roboform is a clever program that stores your internet passwords securely so you don't have to remember them.

The Everywhere version of the software takes them online so they can be accessed from anywhere.

There is still a ‘desktop' version of the program that allows you to store passwords on a single computer (and it's free if you wish to store 10 or fewer passwords), but if you have more than one device the Everywhere service is the better choice.

With high-profile hacking going on all the time, it's more important than ever to use highly secure passwords and choose different passwords for every site (so if your password for one site is leaked, hackers can't use it to access your other accounts). Roboform can generate these passwords to any required length and specification (choice of letters, numbers and so on). It will also store personal and credit card details for several addresses, and fill these in when required.

It was easy enough to install the main Roboform program on our test computers, and once that's done you need to sign up for an online account which is linked to the Roboform installation on your computer. When it's installed on other computers the user is prompted to link the installation to the online account.

After that, synchronisation is automatic – to a point. Generally, the program worked well. It puts an icon in the Notification Area, which can be clicked to reveal user names and passwords. When they are changed, they are copied to the online account. A couple of times, the program refused to synchronise without giving a good reason, but it worked again afterwards.

More usefully, the program puts a toolbar into each of the web browsers on the PC (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Chrome). The Internet Explorer and Firefox toolbars worked well – when you visit a site for which there's a saved password, a single button click logs you in. Alternatively the user can select a site from a dropdown list and the program will go to it and log in.

However, the Chrome plug-in was poor: it sat on top of the bottom of the window so we couldn't see the status bar, it crashed now and again, and it consistently refused to correctly fill in forms.

There are also apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, which worked well and also linked to the online account. Passwords are saved onto the device and protected by another Pin. All passwords can be protected by a master password, required the first time Roboform is used after the computer or device is started.

Obviously, handing your passwords to an unknown company online can be scary. But Roboform itself can't access any users' passwords, and the users themselves can only access them with the master password (so it's vital to remember the master password). Whether you trust the company is of course a personal matter, but your reviewer has stored all of his passwords – including those for email and banks – with Roboform for several months.

There are free alternatives such as Lastpass and Keepass but these won't synchronise passwords online unless the user pays. Although it's annoying to have to pay a subscription, Roboform's £8 a year is worthwhile.

Despite its flaws Roboform is a superb password program that's extremely useful in all sorts of ways.