One thing that is still missing from the internet is a centralized login or passport system where we can log in and authenticate online just once and that account or passport will be accepted credentials to sign up for services, memberships etc. anywhere on the internet. Until this happens, every time we want to log on to the Internet, we must provide another username and password combination.

Many of us have accumulated dozens of these usernames/passwords, making it simply impossible to keep track of them in our heads. This article will show you how to securely set up a password manager and access your password list on your phone or mobile device wherever you need it most.

While you can enter your passwords in an Excel file and apply a master password to the file, this is not a very secure technique. It is much better to use a dedicated password manager that uses industry standard encryption technology.

One of the most popular password managers is KeePass. This is a free open source program and has builds for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. There are also ports available for iPad, iPhone, Android devices and Windows Phone 7. Your database files are stored with very strong encryption (256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES/Rijndael)).

KeePass setup on your desktop

1. In order for your password list to be accessible on your mobile device, you’ll need to have a sync service like Dropbox setup on your desktop and mobile device. Sitting at your desktop, sign in, download and set up your sync service like Dropbox. Also set up the synchronization service application on your mobile device.

2. Do a Google search for KeePass ( http://keepass.info/ ) and download and install KeePass on your desktop computer. Make sure you download the latest version (V2 at the time of writing) and the appropriate build for your operating system.

3. When starting for the first time, you will need to create a new database. Create this database inside your Dropbox or sync folder so that it syncs with your mobile devices. Also, use a strong master password that is a minimum of 8 characters and contains upper and lower case characters with numbers and special characters.

4. You can now define your groups and account username/password entries.

KeePass setup on your mobile device

1. On your mobile device, you will first need to install the correct KeePass app for your device.

– iPad or iPhone users: Go to “Apple Store” and install MiniKeePass.

– Android device users: Go to “Play Store” and install KeepassDroid.

2. Open your Dropbox folder on your mobile device. Browse to your database file (something.kdbx) and open it. It should ask you to open it with Minikeepass or KeepassDroid depending on which app you have installed.

3. Enter your Keepass Master Password and you should be able to access your password list.

Don’t want to have your password database stored online?

KeePass stores your password database on your computer in a fully encrypted state. Even if you lost your computer, your password list is protected through very strong encryption. However, if you’re not comfortable having your password list stored online or even on your computer, KeePass also has a portable version that you can install on a USB flash drive.

The portable version is a different download from the desktop version. Just download it directly to a USB flash drive that you carry with you. It runs entirely from the flash drive. When you disconnect it from the computer, the program and its database are completely removed from the computer. There is no trace left on the computer.