pwclip

Nowadays, you have plenty of choices when it comes to password managers, as there are numerous options at your disposal, both cloud-based and local. However, if you prefer not to use a complex application for this purpose, a simpler alternative may interest you.

pwclip is a local password manager that stands out through its simplicity. It only runs in the system tray and allows you to store your credentials in one or more vaults, which can then be accessed easily from the tray context menu.

While there is no need to create more than one vault, the application offers you this possibility. Each vault is protected with a unique password, which is stored in the memory until the program is closed.

When adding accounts, you can organize them into separate sub-menus using colons. For instance, entering Softpedia:Test in the name field will cause the program to create a new entry called Test in the Softpedia sub-menu. However, it is not possible to sort the entries, which is a pretty big downside.

Once you have added your accounts, you can copy any password by just accessing the Recall Entry sub-menu and clicking the right entry. It will be stored in the clipboard for 10 seconds, a duration that is customizable.

What’s more, you can quickly copy a password to the clipboard using the Quick Recall feature. To use it, just click the tray icon and type the entry’s exact name.

The program comes equipped with a password generator, but it has to be said that it is quite basic, as it offers few customization options, and you need to access the preferences in order to change any options.

The password database is stored in an SQLite file, and passwords are encrypted using AES-128 and a 256-bit key derived from the vault password using salted PBKDF2-SHA256. Entries are encrypted with a random IV, and the entry names are not encrypted.

Overall, pwclip is a relatively simple application that provides you with an easy way to store passwords and access them. It doesn’t offer a lot of features, but it is lightweight, unobtrusive and fairly easy to use.