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By Fred Langa Just as in 2006, one of 2007's top themes is likely to be online security. So, let's begin the New Year with some very useful password security tips and tools, and then look at an "update aggregator" service — and more!

• "I've been using a free, very small, but effective program called Acerose Password Vault for over two years. The program includes a very strong password generator and it stores all password entries in one file that is also password protected and encrypted. I've had no problems with it whatsoever. If one is traveling, this program is small enough to fit on a memory stick, so it could be used on any computer, since nothing has to be installed in order to use it.

Thanks, Eldin. That password article also generated some good debate right here among the Windows Secrets staff, too. Different people have different methods of producing relatively secure, hard-to-crack but easy-to-remember passwords.

Editorial director Brian Livingston, for example, pointed out the technique recommended in Perfect Passwords, a book by Mark Burnett, our former contributing editor and a friend of well-known hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Brian says, "Mark spent years studying millions of passwords that ordinary people had created and analyzing the latest cracker tools that try thousands of passwords a second. He concludes in his book that the best passwords are 15 or 16 characters long, ideally 3 words separated by punctuation, with one or more of the words misspelled. The presence of meaningful word-like strings makes such passwords memorable without people having to write them on stickies pasted to their monitors. Both the length and the lack of dictionary words are what makes the password strong."

That's great advice, and indeed it may be the very best way to remember passwords without external aid. But my problem is password proliferation: I currently have separate passwords for over 450 Web sites and services.

While some of those sites (discussion boards, for example) are extremely low-risk and thus don't require ultra-high security passwords, others (banks, PayPal, credit-card sites, my business-related sites, etc.) do need very safe passwords. I prefer not to use the same password over and over on different sites, and there are simply too many separate sites for me to remember all the passwords without assistance.

For me, the solution is RoboForm. This program is available in a free version that stores a limited number of logons/passwords, and a $29.95 "Pro" version without that limitation.

Figure 1. RoboForm not only generates high-security passwords, but also automatically fills in Web forms after you've entered them once.

RoboForm works with your browser (including IE 7 and Firefox 2.0) to recognize Web-based forms (such as logon boxes).

If you've previously visited a site, and RoboForm was active, the software will automatically fill in the form with your correct user name and password (and any other information the site may require). If it's your first visit to the site, RoboForm will automatically memorize whatever login, password and other information you provide to that site, and will automatically enter that information as needed on future visits.

RoboForm then deep-encrypts and stores your logins, passwords and related info on your hard drive (or on a thumb drive for portable use).

RoboForm also has an excellent, built-in password generator that can produce random passwords — letters, numbers and punctuation — of any specified length up to an incredible 512 characters.

At each day's first use of RoboForm, you have to enter one master password to enable the software. It then takes over the task of managing all your logins and passwords from there. Thus, you only have to remember one high-security password (or passphrase, using Brian's excellent method) to have access to all your other passwords, no matter how many you have.

Maybe I just need more ginkgo biloba. But barring a better memory, a tool like RoboForm is the only way I can keep all my passwords straight!

Are third-party update tools safe?

Reader and frequent contributor Steve Groginsky recently discovered AutoPatcher, an interesting free tool. But it's of a class of tools that raises a yellow "caution" flag:

• "Have you seen AutoPatcher yet? I came across it in the MajorGeeks RSS just now. The program is apparently a compilation of Windows updates and a way to automatedly install the selected updates off-line without user input.
  
  "I read all about it on the AutoPatcher site, and it looks good. It's freeware, although unfortunately, adding all the new patches and components added to the size. For the full release of AutoPatcher XP, this means 330 megabytes and requires a high-speed connection to download. Another option is to order a CD or DVD on the site.
  
  "The author emphasizes the efficacy of using AutoPatcher to install updates on several computers, but I think that it makes a perfect companion to a slipstreamed install disk [as I describe in an InformationWeek column —Fred] in case it is needed after reinstalling Windows. There are 'Full' and 'Lite' updates issued periodically, so you only need to get a bigger one once, and there are separate versions for different versions of Windows."
  

• "An easier way is to simply press the power button after unplugging the computer or turning the power supply switch off.
  
  "This will cause the capacitors to drain almost immediately, eliminating the wait."

• "I recently spend an hour on the phone with my mother trying to explain how to copy a couple of files from a CD-ROM to her computer. I wished I'd taped the conversation. It was like all the funny help desk stories you hear.
  
  "I first had to explain that the mouse was not a something that would bite her, and that the cup holder had another purpose.
  
  "Anyway, my question is what is the best, easiest, and cheapest way to setup remote access to her PC, so I don't have to go through this again."
  

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You're in a fantastical series of worlds that seem to be floating in space, populated by strange creatures. You're in Samorost 2! Samorost 1, which was created in 2003 by game developer Jakub Dvorsky while he was a college student in Prague, was good. But Samorost 2 is even more surreal and wonderful. It's such a change of pace from most online games that it's in the running for three prizes, including Best Game, in the prestigious GameShadow Innovation in Gaming Awards. The object of the Flash game is to direct a little, white-clad character to rescue his kidnapped doggie from bug-eyed aliens. But you'll spend a lot of your time simply admiring the stunning scenes that Samorost 2 provides as a backdrop. If the game feels a bit obscure when you first click "Play," read up on a few Somorost secrets divulged by IndyGamer founder Tim W. in his Blogspot fan page. (Warning: it gives away a lot of tricks!) Play the game

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