There are at least two scenarios where the password manager becomes impracticable to use. Some websites disable password saving in the browser which means that the site profile is incomplete, and since there is no option to add the password manually afterwards Firefox cannot provide its full functionality on the site.

It may also happen that website login information change and that the browser does not pick them up automatically. It is again not possible to edit the data to correct the issue.

Saved Password Editor for Firefox adds options to edit login information in the Firefox web browser. It improves the password manager by adding options to edit all login information, create new login profiles and to clone a profile.

The options are added to the saved passwords manager. The information presented have been extended as well so that not only the website, username and password are displayed but also login related information.

The add-on supports web form, HTTP authentication and misc logins which offer different editing options. Web forms for instance record the submit prefix, username and password field name in addition to the host, username and password. These information are needed to submit the login information to the server. Firefox usually fills them out automatically when the password is saved though, and the guess from current page button can be used to retrieve the values from the page as well which is helpful when new login profiles are created.

All parameters can be edited in the password editor which means that it is possible to add a password if it was blocked by the website during creation.

Saved Password Editor is a handy tool for Firefox – and Thunderbird users by the way – who do not use a third party password manager like Last Pass for their password management.

Password managers have been created to provide computer users with tools to generate and store passwords, so that in the end only one master password needs to be remembered.

So called graphical passwords, that is passwords that are created by clicking on positions in images, are an alternative to convention text based passwords. Most browsers, programs and operating systems on the other hand do not support these by default.

graphical password

The Firefox add-on GPEX, is a first try to bring graphical passwords to the browser. The system used has been streamlined for ease of use. The add-on supports custom images and icon sets. Passwords are created or entered, by clicking on specific locations in the image or icon set.

gpex

A password strength meter indicates the strength of the password to the user. The general idea is that graphical passwords provide better security and memorability at the same time. The add-on itself converts the graphical password into a character based password, as the services on the Internet only support these kinds of passwords.

The extension can be an asset for users who do not use password managers. It is however a nice demonstration. Users who want to try the graphical password manager can install it from the official Firefox add-on repository.

Update: The Firefox add-on has been discontinued, and there is unfortunately no comparable add-on available in the Mozilla Firefox add-on repository.

RoboForm is available for Microsoft Windows operating systems and can be installed directly, on a USB device or on mobile devices such as Windows Mobile, Symbian or Blackberry. The software integrates nicely with web browsers like Firefox, Internet Explorer or AOL / MSN and displays a toolbar that provides access to all the application’s functions and there is also a System Tray icon providing the same.

The password manager will automatically catch data that is entered in password forms and provides the means to store those passwords in the application so that it can be used to automatically log into the website or service.

Information are stored in so called passcards which do not only contain information like the username or password but additional parameters like cookie length or emails. The information can be protected with a master password which is similar to the feature of the same name in Firefox. The data is therefor protected and save from prying eyes until the master password is provided.

Keyboard shortcuts speed up the process further by providing access to some of the functions and menus. The password manager is only one of the features of RoboForm. It will also aid the user during registration.

It is not a problem to use very long and secure passwords since all passwords are stored in the application. The password generator helps the user by generating a secure password for the website or service.

It provides options to select the length of the password, the allowed characters and the minimum amount of numbers. The password generator will also display the bit strength of the password to give the user an indication of the strength.

Passwords are only one type of information that have to be provided during registration. RoboForm makes use of so called identities that can be used to fill in the other information automatically as well. Identities are data sets that contain information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers and any other type of data the user likes to add.

These information can then be used to automatically fill a registration form which can be a huge time saver for users who regularly sign up for new services on the Internet. Different identities are available to distinguish different users or different environments such as work and home.

Another useful feature of RoboForm is the note taking module. It can be used to store notes securely on the computer. Notes can also be protected by the master password so that no one can access them without providing the master password first. Notes are simple text documents that contain information saved by the user.

RoboForm is an interesting application for users who spend a lot of time on the Internet. If you ever had to register to 20+ services on a day you know how much time it takes to fill out all the information over and over again. Using RoboForm this could have been done in a fraction of the time since the data would have to be entered only once by the user.

We got five RoboForm Pro licenses. If you want one leave a comment below.

Tools have been created that can generate and store unique strong passwords so that the user does not have to remember anything anymore. These tools are unfortunately not used by many Internet users. (Last Pass is one alternative).

The problem with having the same account data for multiple websites is that one breach is enough to put all accounts in jeopardy.

Mass Password Reset is a Firefox add-on that can change the password of multiple accounts in Firefox in one go. This is useful if you decided to change the password for a username that you are using on multiple websites.

The tool can change the password based on a the domain, username or password. You could use the tool to change passwords of all accounts associated with the domain ghacks.net, with the username ghacks or the password ghacks1. (No that is not the admin pass here .P)

The main benefit of using Mass Password Reset is that it can quickly change a lot of passwords in one go. It is however advised to use a password manager or a system of unique username and password combinations for every account instead.

Firefox is preventing access to the add-on if a Master Password has been set in the web browser. The Master Password has to be entered before any passwords can be changed.