Mostly, it is just a password that protects your valuable data from criminals and hobby hackers. Therefore, you should make your passwords really secure – just like the string qF5E # TF # 20.9LU $ L. No one can type this or remember, the objection comes. Not correct! Because exactly for this there is the password manager in our comparison test. They take away all the trouble of password management. They generate and store hard passwords, and even automatically insert them into websites and input masks. Some of the test candidates are also suitable as a data store for notes, web favorites, bank data and even contacts (Roboform). Thus, password managers are not just an annoying security duty such as antivirus scanners, but useful tools.
Kaspersky Password Manager
The password manager from Kaspersky impresses first with its import functions. It can transfer passwords directly from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer. This is not possible in any other program. Also the browser plugins work perfectly. At a second glance, however, there are weaknesses. Why, for example, you can not set the time to the automatic deletion of the clipboard? Why is there no version of the program that works without installation?
KeePass
But these are nuances. If you simply want to manage your passwords comfortably, you get a solid program. This is also due to the good Android version of the Kaspersky Password Manager, which looks really the same as on the PC.
Password Depot 9
But two things turned out to be disturbing. On the one hand the close connection to the MyKaspersky-Cloud. Without an account there is no further. All data is also exchanged via this cloud. If you prefer another provider or do not want to put your passwords online at all, is in the rain. The license for the program is very cheap, but runs for a year. If you do not pay, you will be downgraded to the free version of the product.
PasswordSafe and Repository V7
Our test winner KeePass is a free open source program. Its source code is open and can be checked by everyone. This gives him a security advantage over programs with secret source code. You can be relatively certain that there are no secret accesses or monitoring modules, as they will be discovered by the programmers community sooner or later.
KeePass has long been on the market, which is why the community has developed a large number of plugins - plus some KeePass versions for Android and iOS. Therefore the great variety of functions. An example of an Android KeePass is KeePass2Android by Philipp Crocoll. The program bypasses the unsafe clipboard and inserts passwords via its own keyboard. Functions missing from the Android ports in the test field.
KeePass's strength is also its weakness. If you want to use the many plugins, not only KeePass programmer Dominik Reichl has to trust (no problem), but also to all plugin programmers and their occasionally quite improvised hosting sites. If you do not have that confidence, you must use KeePass without plugins or switch to a commercial vendor.
Password Depot 9 already makes a good impression at the start of the program. On the one hand, the program warns the user clearly when he chooses a too weak master password. On the other hand, it offers the user as the only program in the test field to create a password for a Merksatz following the pattern "This is my long Merksatz: Da1sm3l @ M3s @ or DaismelaMesa". The Merksatz generator is incomprehensible only for the master password.
A further strength of the program are the import functions, it can directly from Kaspersky Password Manager, KeePass, PasswordSafe, All my passwords, Sticky Passwords and 1Password password entries. Unfortunately this does not work with the popular browsers Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.
If you buy up to three licenses from Password Depot, you can use the associated password server free of charge. For example, in the family or in the office communities, you can manage your passwords centrally and use usage statistics.
PasswordSafe from Mateso is aimed primarily at professional users in offices and companies. But also private individuals benefit from the range of functions of the program, if they have the time and will to incorporate. This is not the surface, but the amount of features. The user can, for example, define his own input masks for his / her entries. Conceivable are special notes, TAN numbers directories and much more. Automatic password input can also be programmed.
PasswordSafe is the only program in our test, which is quite emphatic on a strong master password. If the password does not have a certain length and a certain complexity, one does not go further. The Android client is spartan, but functional. For example, it offers a direct connection to Google Drive and Dropbox. Weakly solved is the password protection under Android: Although one can secure the passwords on his mobile phone with a strong password or a pattern. If you choose a PIN, you are limited to ridiculous four numbers.
The open source PasswordSafe program, which goes back to security expert Bruce Schneier, impresses with its simplicity. If you are looking for business functions such as the central storage of passwords or comfortable browser plugins, PasswordSafe is at the wrong address. The Auto-Type function, for example, only worked occasionally. Better went with drag-and-drop, and in some cases helped only the clipboard. There is also no PIN / TAN number management and similar features. This program saves your passwords in a well encrypted safe and basta. This can be very good - as one of the few programs in the test, it backs up the password database with a token (Yubikey).
PasswordSafe
The missing functions can even be seen as security. The automatic insertion of passwords can also go wrong, especially if you have several browser windows open. The password then ends up in a wrong input mask. Sometimes it is better not to use this feature at all.
Roboform takes a certain special position in our test. The program can also manage passwords, but is also intended as information storage for important data, Web favorites and contacts, as well as a tool for automating forms. We have not evaluated these special features in our test. If you want the features, you should try the demo of the program. However, Roboform did not perform so well in the functions evaluated in our test. The browser plugins let us down again and again in our test pages. Poor it looked also with the import functions. Browser: Malformed. Roboform can also read only Comma Separated Value (CSV) data. If you want to carry your passwords on a USB stick, you need your own 2Go version, which is to be set soon.
Roboform Desktop 7
Roboform relies on online synchronization through its own Roboform Everywhere offer. The program has to be credited positively that it supports authentication via smartcards. The Android version is a solid houseman cost, but it is only useful with the online connection to Roboform Everywhere.
Steganos Password Manager 18 is the only program in this test, in which the user can lock his password database with an image sequence. If you want to open it, you must select the correct one from a series of displayed pictures in the correct order. This is a good help for users who are having trouble developing and memorizing a strong master password. The Steganos product also made a good impression with its other features in our test, such as the password import directly from Firefox and the connection to cloud providers from Google Drive to the MagentaCLOUD of Deutsche Telekom. The solid feature palette, together with the price of 19.95 for five PC licenses, makes Stegano's password manager the best-value-winner of this test.
The Android version of the program also has a serious disadvantage in the new version: You have to download your password file from the cloud and can not edit or create passwords with the mobile app itself. Also the transmission directly from the PC without the cloud is not quite easy. Since the app can not open files, you have to copy the respective password database from the PC into the correct Android directory (device \ Internal storage \ Documents \ Steganos \).
Steganos Password Manager 18
Test Conclusion
The winners in our test are the open source tool KeePass and PasswordSafe from Mateso GmbH. Both are characterized by a good support of the popular browsers and a variety of functions for password management. KeePass, in particular, offers broad support from tokens to two-factor authentication, thanks to many plug-ins. Mateso Password Safe is especially useful for companies, with its password management, central password management and passable passwords. Home users should consider an integration time because of the many features.
Password Depot and Steganos Password Managers, on the other hand, are good managers for private users. They provide good connectivity to cloud storage such as Dropbox, Onedrive, or Google Drive so you can manage your passwords easily through the web. In addition, you can create useful functions for password generation and management.
Roboform is a chapter in itself because the program does not understand itself as a pure password manager, but rather as a central information manager for web favorites, contacts and the like. The open-source PasswordSafe program is minimal, but it can be used with good features such as token support. Anyone who just wants to manage passwords can access here. The Kaspersky Password Manager is a test winner when it comes to browser support. As the only product in the test, it can import passwords from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer. However, there are some functions for managing the password, as opposed to the leading programs. However, we do not consider the annual licensing of the Kaspersky product as a good idea. Thus the manager is quite costly after three or more years of use compared to the manager's competition.
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