Managing passwords with MyPasswords

From a long time, I was looking for a tool in order to handle all my passwords, and by trying out different options, I came across MyPasswords, an easy and handy application which allows you to store your credentials within a Derby database.

What can I highlight from this tool? First of all, it is really fast and does not require any installation, that is, we are talking about a java application that can be run on Linux, Unix, Solaris, Mac, Windows, etc. Secondly, you can easily export the repository to a XML file, so as to bring it back later. And finally, MyPasswords works with tags, that is to say, a tag can be added to each element stored in the database, and in this way, it is straightforward to locate an item at any given time.

For this article, I am going to use the latest version available on the website: 2.92. After grabbing and unpacking it, you can execute it by running the shell script called MyPasswords.sh (a simple script which launches the java file). Then, you will be able to see a screen as follows.

Don't forget to take a look at the readme.txt file, since it is wrote down the default password used to start MyPasswords.

As you can appreciate in the previous image, the main window allows you to create a new entry, by fulfilling the fields that you want to store for your item, such as the username and password. Pay attention to the Strength field, as MyPasswords is able to warn you about the strength of the password introduced.

I recommend you to use the password generator utility provided by MyPasswords, and turn out passwords with at least 16 alphanumeric characters (much better if you add symbols as well).

The Tags field is very practical, since it allows you later to look up your items by browsing a tag tree. In addition, you have the Search option, used to find elements by using titles and tags. Also point out that it is a good idea to export your encrypted repository to a XML file from time to time, as a backup. If so, you will have to supply a password in order to preserve the generated file.

Lastly, remember to change the default password used by MyPasswords. It is necessary that this password is really strong, as it will be the key to access all your passwords.