PasswordMaker, a very clever password system

I’ve tried a couple of different password managers over the years. They all have their shortcomings… these days, since I’m cross platform, my choices are even more limited. Recently, I’ve started using the Java-based Password Manager by Ramesh N. It’s not entirely pleasant, but it does the job fine and is cross-platform.

Lifehacker mentioned a few password managers, including the intriguing PasswordMaker. One Password To Rule Them All.â„¢. PasswordMaker is neat because it’s totally cross-platform (and even has a JavaScript version that you can run in whatever browser you’re using at the time). But, what makes it really cool is the fact that it doesn’t store anything. You use a master password, and it usually a cryptographically secure hashing algorithm against your master password and the URL to determine a password for the site. All you ever need to remember is your master password, and the options you used for the password generation.

This is a most excellent use of the technology. Of course, this will force me to actually change my password everywhere, but that’s not an entirely bad thing.