Password Managers
A Brief, Biased Survey Of Password Management Utilities
Basic requirements:- got to run on my FC3 without gratuitous OS surgery (which means no k-apps as I've stripped out KDE)
- be able to store usernames and passwords, ideally password-protected themselves, and ideally encrypted somehow
| Application | Version | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| pms | 0.94 | C- | Ugly and self-distorting on my system, both in mgt and on the Linux console. This is possibly due to this odd ncurses-dependant library it insists you install. The impression is that it requires a lot of keystrokes to get at what you want, making it feel as clunky as it looks. The user interface could use a serious tune-up. |
| gpass | 0.4.4 | F | Best UI of the lot, but still useless. I don't like the big Url field, but I can use it OK for comments instead. However, after carefully entering all my passwords, saving, exiting, and immediately restarting, gpass complained my password database was corrupted. |
| TkPasMan | 2.2a | C | Slow to start up. Didn't ask to set master password, and the menu option to set the master password doesn't seem to do anything. Doesn't prompt you or lead you at all. Basically gpasman without the UI polish and database corruption. |
| gpasman | 1.9.2 | F | Wouldn't build; requires gtk 2 or better. FC3 "only" has 1.2, and there's no way I'm getting into library dependancy hell just for some password manager. |
| fpm | 0.53 | F | Wouldn't build; complained about a missing Makefile.in. |
| fpm | 0.60 | C+ | Builds, looks OK. It is a bit of a pain to see the password -- you have to either define a generic launcher (that presumably copies the password into the clip-board buffer) or __E__dit the entry, then __S__how the password. |
| fpwdman | 1.0.1 | F | Bizarre packaging: the .tgz file has a .tar file and a .sig file. Depends on fltk (which isn't a bad thing by itself); however the make process isn't very straight forward (a far cry from ./configure; ./make). I was unable to get it to build. |
| revelation | 0.3.4 | F | Python. Depends on Crypto.Cypher python module, which isn't installed on my FC3 system. Would be nice if the builder/installer detected that before installing something on my system I can't use. And, being new(ish) to python, there's no help as to where one might find this module. |
| MyPasswordSafe | 20041004 | B- | Finally, something approximating usable! Build looks scary, but everything worked properly for "make; make install". Not sure about the extra fields on the display for Modified, Created, Accessed, Lifetime -- just add clutter, especially since the fields are rediculously small by default. But this is the one I'm currently using. |
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This is a collection of techical information, much of it learned the hard way. Consider it a lab book or a /info directory. I doubt much of it will be of use to anyone else.