Store and encrypt all of your passwords
PasswordBox is a web browser extension that saves your passwords into one program. PasswordBox has versions for Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Chrome; the app uses a single login and account, allowing access across all browsers it is installed on. By default PasswordBox is compatible with popular websites such as Facebook and Twitter, but can be further modified for other web pages. This free beta version of PasswordBox will allow you to easily login to many websites without having to memorize countless passwords.
Features
PasswordBox allows you to store Passwords for many different websites. The Chrome and FireFox versions automatically allow you to enter passwords for sites such as Facebook, Hulu, LinkedIn and Amazon; the Internet Explore expands the list with financial sites such as Bank of America and J.P. Morgan. If these selections aren’t enough you can add your own favorite sites and store the corresponding passwords.
These passwords become encrypted on your own PC before they are sent to your PasswordBox account. When you visit a site registered with PasswordBox, you enter your Master Key (PasswordBox account password) to decrypt your password and log into a site. This is both convenient and a good means of preventing theft. On the downside, there is no way to recover your Master Key if lost, meaning that if you forget it you’ll be stuck out of your accounts.
Usability
PasswordBox has a somewhat counter-intuitive installation process. You will first download and install the PasswordBox program to your computer. This won’t actually add any extensions to your browsers. Instead, this will grant you access to features on its website and the ability to create an account. You must then go to the download page and install the extension for the browser you are currently using (Internet Explorer, FireFox, or Chrome). If you use all three browsers you'll have to download and install these individually. It would be much easier if accessing PasswordBox required just one app.
PasswordBox’s layout is slightly different depending on the browser. On FireFox and Chrome PasswordBox first opens up a new page with various tabs to insert passwords, change settings, or watch video tutorials. In Internet Explorer the extension is presented as a popup, but the buttons and functionality remain the same. After inserting your passwords it may be easy to forget that PasswordBox is even activated. The only small inclination you will notice is that applicable websites will now have a green “Box” icon within the password box.
Quality
PasswordBox’s appearance is very minimalistic and mundane. The FireFox and Chrome versions take up entire webpages which either contain unused space or unnecessarily large text. The Internet Explorer version is much more compact and easier to navigate, making it superior to the other two versions. Passwords appear as soon as you enter a website and logins activate smoothly without confirmations (You can set optional prompts via the settings menu). If you are ever confused by the interface, PasswordBox has a detailed help section and a gallery of in-depth tutorial videos.
Conclusion
PasswordBox is an excellent means of keeping all of your passwords in one place. Because your passwords are encrypted you won’t have to worry about online theft. Just be sure to remember your Master Key or you could be permanently locked out. Though the installation process is odd and confusing, once PasswordBox is set up it is easily accessible from Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Chrome. If you have too many passwords to keep track of PasswordBox is a great extension to have.
