Passwords were created to protect something, to restrict the access to something considered not to be of public interest. In computers they generally protect the access to mail accounts, servers, applications etc. I for one have several mail accounts and, to be frank, I use a password manager that stores all the information regarding the accounts (username and password). This way, I do not have to deal with memorizing all the countersigns and usernames. All I need to remember is the password of my password manager and that is it.

Finding a password manager able to match your needs is not too hard as there are tens if not hundreds of solutions to be tried on the Internet. Basically, a password manager should be able to store all kind of sensitive data like bank accounts for online banking, credit cards PINs or mail accounts. Also, a vast majority of these softwares are equipped with auto fill feature that helps you fill all the data automatically in all the fields. The option is extremely valuable if you regularly delete the cookies.

Secure Password Manager is a nifty looking application designed specially for the above mentioned purposes. The looks are a bit out of the ordinary, but do not affect the working with the application in a negative way. The toolbar is as user-friendly as can be and the main application window is divided into three sections: current user details, passwords database tree and the password details view window.

Secure Password Manager supports more than one user and each can have his/her own password collection. Switching the users without restarting the application is possible and can be done from the current user details window by making the appropriate selection in User List.

The software does not contain out of the ordinary features and options, but there are some of them that make it stand out from all the other similar applications on the market. The password generator for instance can produce a 128-character password that includes both cases (upper and lower) and numbers. The only thing missing here are the special characters that cannot be included in the generated countersign.

The three tabs available for configuring the software include options like auto-loading the last file, backing up the password collection when exiting, loading the application at system startup or clearing the clipboard at exit. Also, the working folders can be changed. The default locations are in Secure Password Manager installation directory.

One drawback of the application is the fact that once there are multiple accounts created every user has administrator rights and can change the options of the software or add some new users. I think setting up an administrator account that was the only one that could add users would have been a much better idea. Some of the users may be negligent enough and change the password collection backup directory to an encrypted disk or a virtual drive.

The maximum number of users that can benefit from the protection of Secure Password Manager is 10, so everybody can do whatever s/he likes with configuring the application.

One feature that is absolutely necessary when it comes to password managers is the search option that allows the user to find fast the necessary information. This option is especially useful when the user has created several folders each of them containing a large number of passwords. Also, the auto fill feature is equally important as it allows automatically complete the required fields for getting access to an account. During the testing this feature did not do so well and it got me scared a little bit.

As soon as I started the procedure in the web browser everything went beserk and applications started loading, my sound went mute and ended with shutting down of the web browser and the display of Windows User Log Off box. I repeated the operation with a different web browser and happened exactly the same thing in the same order. Finally, I decided to test the feature in Notepad (I thought it would be safer). The result was not the same, but the password overwrote the user, so it did not work properly either.

The Good

Nice looking application and I would give it a 5/5 if it were to take into consideration only the design of the interface.

The Bad

Auto fill feature is acting crazy in both Maxthon (based on IE engine) and Mozilla Firefox. Also, the user can only add a preset type of data, mainly username and password. Similar application (a bit more expensive, but not by much) allow you to store bank accounts, credit cards numbers or PINs.

The Truth

Looking very good but functionality is not what I expected. Try it for the 35 days trial period and then decide if it is worth the $18.95.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: