Freeware to Secure and Manage Your Account Passwords

Like what I wrote in the previous post about tips to choose secure passwords, this post is for sharing several freeware to manage or secure your account password. Just select some you like and implement it to enhance your passwords.

#1     Password Strength Checker

This program is designed to assess the strength of your password strings. The instantaneous visual feedback enables to improve the strength of the passwords, with a hard focus on breaking the typical bad habits of faulty password formulation. The application does not utilize the typical "days-to-crack" approach for strength determination. Learn more from its official site here.

#2     KeePass Password Safe

With KeePass Password Safe, you don’t have to remember many passwords (Windows network, your e-mail account, ftp pass word etc). This program is a free password manager which helps you to manage your pass word in a secured way. You can put all your pass words in one database which is locked with a pass word or in a key disk. The databases have been given numbers with the best encoding algorithms currently known (AES Twofish). Learn more from this Wikipedia Page.

#3     Hushkey

It is a simple password manager for Windows that securely stores your passwords on your computer. It uses a secure encryption algorithm developed by Inniosoft and is computer dependent. That means that you can use the application executable on any computer, but you cannot view a password database on a computer other than the one on which it was created. Download the app from freewarefiles.com

#4     Efficient Password Manager

Like the name indicates, this program allows you to manage your different passwords really efficitently. It can help you remember generic passwords, software registration codes, e-mail account passwords, etc. All your password information is protected and encrypted. Though the program doesn't actually log users in automatically, right-clicking on any items allows users to easily copy their username and password, which can then be pasted into the desired location. The program also includes a customizable password generator that lets users specify the desired length and character types of the password. Learn more or download the program from its official site.

During my testing, I also found several other non-freeware very nice and some really have a good word of mouth. Though shareware, the quality and powerfulness are definitely reliable and seems price very affordable. What impressed me include Phaedra Password Manager, Password Keeper Expert etc. All in all, no matter what programs users choose, the key points won't change: the password security and your account information safety.

If more related freeware comes up, information will be updated here. Also is my blog readers have some good and trusted recommendations, I’d be happy to add them :-)

6 Tips to Choose Secure Passwords

Still annoyed about choosing the right password for a specific account, or worried about the security of chosen password? Nowadays cellphones, e-mails, social networks sites, online banking, forums etc are all equipped with such account information which contains user-name or password to get verified or authorized. Needless to say among them the password is most important.

The time I came up with this post idea, I found myself having been making a big mistake – almost set several passwords for most of my accounts which kind of shocked me now! I hope after reading these two articles (this post is for the tips to choose a good password while the next will be freeware to secure passwords), you can reap some benefits and make your passwords more secure. I am going to start with tips to choose a secure password, then a couple of freeware to test and manage the password in my next post.

Well, I guess you probably have already known some knowledge about what is a good or bad combination. But still here some tips are offered because some clever hackers may right hit the shot and guess it.

Specific password for specific account
This point means a lot. Just be a little patient and make full use of your mind power and imagination to create unique password for your high-confidential accounts such as credit card, emails, social site accounts etc.

Password length
Choose a password with a minimum length of 8 characters: ideally, it should be composed of at least 14 characters. The length of password is paramount if you opt for a string of the same type such as letters or numbers.

Take a look at of your keyboard
Combining the types of characters: letters, numbers, and symbols (^,¨,$,!,#/, etc..) Optionally use uppercase letters if the service (eg email address) is case sensitive.

Make Use of Mnemonic
A complex string may be difficult to remember, especially if it is not very meaningful. A simple way to have a complex and lengthy password is to start with a phrase or a word that makes sense. E.g If your passion is "passwordsecurity". You can change the order of letters and insert symbols and numbers:"pass%3%word%3%security".

Change passwords regularly
A frequent password change is a good trick to avoid online fishing (identity theft), don’t let your password be the fish. :-)

Things you should avoid
Avoid using password that is contains too obvious-identification data for example date of birth, place of birth, telephone number etc. Avoid-disclosing personal or professional information on social networks because hackers can use these data to guess passwords (note: there are indeed some ‘clever’ men who do the business according to reports). Avoid the use of linear strings: abcdefg, 123456 etc. Also do not write passwords on paper or documents on your computer.

Hope it helps those who in need come up with more ideas. Also please wait to check my next post about several freeware for testing and managing your passwords.

Windows 7 Blue Screen (BSOD) Fixes

Well, I have never expected this kind blue screen or blue screen of death (BSOD) to my computer. BUT 3 days ago that did happen which shocked me to some extent. Just all of a sudden, my HP laptop (Windows 7, 32 bits) went to blue screen without any pre-notice. This is definitely a random blue screen error. 

After carefully read the error codes indicated on the blue screen, I figured out the problem maker: too much third-party software installed on my computer! Wow, I never expected this to be the reason. But after spending about an hour' time to uninstall those unnecessary programs and plug-ins, the blue screen never occurs during the past days. Now I have to be careful with every installed software program. Because during the past months in order to give a test to certain programs, I have downloaded so many apps. There might be a chance some programs (especially those competitors I guess) may fight with each other, thus the platform Windows 7 has to end the fight because MS won’t allow the others to fight in his place. J

Okay, long story! Back to the topic, What if such blue screen hits your Windows 7, how to fix it? I’ll combine my own experience and techniques to give some solutions. Note: there are so many reasons that might lead to Windows 7 blue screen or BSOD, or be free to say some are even the operation system’s bugs. As a result, it is unable for me to cover every case. I just share some common fix solutions.

Blue Screen Fix 1 – Restart Windows 7
Sometimes, when blue screen occurs (particularly for the first time), Windows will indicate you to restart your computer and the problem will never happen again.

Blue Screen Fix 2 – Re-plug RAM chip
This fix solution is suitable for the case when blue screen occurs and when you attempt to restart but with boot failure. In this case shut down your computer. Open it and plug out the RAM (Random Access Memory, is a hardware that is permanently installed inside the computer's motherboard) and use an eraser or so to clean the dust and then re-plug it in. Then restart your Windows 7.

Blue Screen Fix 3 – Uninstall third-party software programs
This is the problem I met as described above, clean those unnecessary apps and plug-ins can make the blue screen disappear.

Blue Screen Fix 4 – Fix Registry Errors 
Sometimes blue screen on HP is caused simply by s few registry errors (source). Using a registry cleaner (I'll highly recommend CCleaner of course) to fix the errors.

More fix solutions from Microsoft: Resolving stop (blue screen) errors in Windows 7

Like what I said, blue screen causes vary a lot. If you accidentally meet blue screen with your computer running Windows 7 or other OS, and those fix tips won't help, feel free to post the specifics of your situation. I'll try to help

Pandora Recovery Freeware Review

File recovery has been much more easier when Pandora Recovery -- a free file recover utility for Windows. The step by step wizard makes it more attractive even compared with Recuva. The three scanning modes (Browse, Search, Surface Scan) make it really convenient for users of all levels to perform do it yourself data recovery.

Here's more:

• Interface: Pretty clean and easy to use. With image toolbar listed on the top, you can easily find functions or links you want to achieve. Moreover, the unique User Manual make the program more like a data recovery knowledge book than a tutorial. 
• Commercial Use: unknown 
• Download Size: 3.12 MB (version 2.1.1)
• Supported Languages on Interface: currently 4 (English, Spanish, Serbian, and Russian) 
• Official site: http://www.pandorarecovery.com 
• Tutorial: see here

Pros: Very user friendly as have said. 3 scanning modes make the app more complete. Able to recover deleted files from NTFS and FAT-formatted volumes, regardless of their type - you can recover pictures, songs, movies or documents and emails (MS Outlook). Preview functions are more powerful than Recuva. It can preview image files far beyond JPEG (also support preview PNG, GIF, TIF etc), and text files such as txt and word documents (shown as text only).

Cons: The files Surface(Deep) Scan mode supported are limited, such as media files can only find .mp3 format. Can’t preview video or audio files. Also it left files that had to be manually deleted during un-installation. Overall Rating: I give 8.5/10 for Pandora Recovery. Kind of surprising considering this is just its second version. See below with detailed comparison.

Recovery Capability Part

Rating: Excellent

Recovered all my test files with no problem at all. Scanning process is very quick generally (unless you choose Surface Scan, it may take quite a while). It claims able to recover images & photos, Archived Files, Music & Sounds and documents. Also MS Outlook .pst files. Should meet basic needs for most users.


Preview Effectiveness Part

Rating: Excellent

Capable of previewing photos with almost existing formats, and text files. Should be satisfactory for a data recovery freeware.


Ease of Use Part

Rating: Excellent

I don’t want to repeat its easy-to-use character, give it excellent option directly.


Help/Wizard/Documentation Part

Rating: Excellent

With very detailed start Wizard and User Manual.

TestDisk & PhotoRec Review 2016: The Most Powerful yet Free Data Recovery Tool (for PC & Mac)

TestDisk as the name indicates was primarily designed to fix system partition and file system problems. So it's the best choice to recover data from disks with partition problems.  

PhotoRec is the little brother of TestDisk. It can be used to recover those deleted or formatted files. 

You can download both of them or learn more from its official site here: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download

Here's my review:
 

• Interface: The command line tool is without graphic interface. You have to rely on your keyboard to finish the whole recovery process. But there are corresponding texts showing you what to do next. Quite intuitive.
• Commercial Use: Allowed. the issue is not addressed on their site, therefore it is safe to assume that commercial use is ok. 
• Download Size: 1.7 MB (version 7.0)
• Supported Languages on Interface: English

What I like: Solid recovery capabilities to deal with different data lose scenaries. Supported multi-platforms from Windows, Macintosh to Linux etc. From technical errors to humar errors that caused files lost, it can recover files with almost existing formats. Also TestDisk can fix file system and partition errors. PhotoRec allows you to select certain types of file formats to scan like Recuva does. It should be a perfect tool for those advanced users. 

What I don't like: Not suitable to those general who don't like command line as there is no GUI. Not applicable to recover RAW disk or files. Also you have to scan the whole disk for the lost files instead of a folder, making it quite time intensive. Sometimes you may need to wait several hours to see the results. One more shortcoming, it automatically reocvered all the found files to its assigned folder. You can’t choose what to recover and what need not. 

Recovery Capability Part:

It succeeded in recovering my deleted test files without problem though cost me nearly 2 hours to see the end (I used PhotoRec to do this). I have to use "Super Powerful" to describe its recovery capability as it also recovered so many files (beyond your imagination) that were deleted several months ago.

Preview Effectiveness Part:
It’s a command line tool, so without preview functions definitely.

Ease of Use Part:
More suitable for advanced tech users. For those general computer users who are also comfortable with command line, the guide text should be enough and easy to get things done. But I can’t give it an Excellent praise.

Help/Wizard/Documentation Part:
No, I didn’t see such information while testing. 

Note: this post was last updated on May 29, 2016