Web Browser Wednesday
A Web browser is a powerful tool, but it can also be dangerous due to the number of online services that we use each day. We type in passwords probably dozens of times day in and day out with little thought about the security of those passwords. And as we’ve previously uncovered, it can take someone just a few minutes to retrieve passwords stored in the browser if you’re not using a master password.
Heck, a survey a few years back polled 272 people, of which two-thirds said that they would trade their electronic password for a $3 Starbucks coupon. To the surprise of no one, 79 percent also said that they used the same password to access multiple services. That survey was done more than 2-years ago, but I would guess that there would be similar results if it were done today.
Clipperz is looking to solve the password problem by providing an online storage solution for all of your personal information, including passwords. I know, I was skeptical about the service at first as well but I eventually mustered up the courage to give it a go. You don’t even need an email address when signing up, but there is also no way to recover your password should you forget it.
–The Bookmarklet–
The first thing I went and did was grab the bookmarklet, which is needed for Clipperz to store your passwords. Using the bookmarklet is probably the most painful thing about Clipperz, but it is designed with security in mind.
When you click the bookmarklet it opens a popup window where you need to copy the code it provides. This code is for the username/password form on the site, and you’ll need to copy it and go to the Clipperz site to create a new “Card.”
It would be a lot better if they automatically took you to the site, but I have a feeling there is an additional level of security by making the user do it themselves.
–Cards–
A Card is what stores your personal information, whether it be a password for a website or account information for your bank. Here are the different templates they have for storing information:
Using the code from the bookmarklet you’ll go ahead and paste it into the box below the “Direct Login” option. It will then create a card for that site and all you’ll need to do is enter in your username/password into the fields:
–Direct Logins–
Direct Logins is where Clipperz shines, and this is where all work of setting up accounts using the bookmarklet pays off. You’ll see the Direct Logins section on your Cards page, or you can also place them in the sidebar if your using Opera or Firefox. Immediately after clicking a Direct Login site Clipperz will automatically log you in without having to type a thing.
–Overview–
With Clipperz you are able to store your passwords online without the hassle of remembering each one. Now you can create a seemingly random password for your accounts and all you’ll need to know is the password for your Clipperz account. Of course, this is all if you’re willing to trust the Clipperz service with your sensitive data.
Clipperz also offers an offline option so that you can still access your data even when you’re not connected to the Internet, and it still uses your browser to do it. I like the service because of features like this, and the fact that you have nothing to install, but I’m not quite sure if I would give it the information that makes up my entire life. I can see using it for those “meaningless” sites that you have to register for to download a file, or something along those lines. I have a lot of those accounts and will probably start transitioning some of them over to Clipperz, but my bank account information will be staying with me. 
This is just one of the hundreds of CyberNotes we have done. You can find more of them by visiting our CyberNotes category, or by subscribing to our CyberNotes feed. We also have a full feed available if you want to receive all of our articles in your reader!
Tags: CyberNotes, Web Sites
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Store passwords online and trust a website to keep them?
Is it April Fools already?!
Slasher, most people including me feel the same way. But, I have opened myself up to storing passwords online for non-essential services. I have linked to a post I wrote on the topic if you’d like to know my reasoning.
Ryan, nice writeup. I tried Clipperz and have been using it ever since. It is great even to store software keys, airline mileage numbers, etc.
Slasher - I agree! I have been very hesitant, but I’m slowly storing things online (with the exception of my online banking passwords and such).
Someone posted at Diigo.com forum about how he uses their Firefox toolbar to save passwords. Not too complicated is it? And it keeps them private. Just save them in a private sticky note.
Yeah, I was a little skeptical at first with storing passwords online. And I’m still cautious, but for some of those “one-time” sites I just create a random password and using a service like this makes it easy to get that password back if I ever need it again.
There is no way iam using this service to store my sensitive passwords. but yes, for those one time sites, this is a good idea.