Compelson App Guards Passwords

As password policies become more stringent and require more frequent changes, it can seem nearly impossible to maintain a set of easily remembered passwords.

One potential solution to this problem is Compelson Laboratories Password Officer Deluxe 5.0, an application that lets users securely store and access passwords. Using the Windows-based application, I could gather and securely store all the passwords for the Windows applications and secure Web sites I access.

Password Officer Deluxe can also work in conjunction with a smart card and smart-card reader. This will allow users to securely store password information in a portable format, although using such a smart card on multiple systems will require that each has a smart-card reader and a copy of Password Officer Deluxe.

Password Officer Deluxe can capture and store information for Web forms, although this capability worked only with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

During tests, I liked Password Officer Deluxes ability to launch and sign in to Web sites and applications using a single hot key, and I also appreciated its integrated password creation tool.

Password Officer Deluxe 5.0 is priced at $59. While this price is relatively low, the product does compete with similar capabilities available for free in some browsers and utilities and with free products such as IDKeeper from American Express Blue, which also includes smart-card capabilities. For more information, go to www.compelson.com.