Norton Identity Safe Beta, PC And Mobile Password Manager

Password managers are essential tools to stay safe on the Internet. Most offer a lot more than just saving passwords in a secure database. My personal favorite KeePass for instance can generate secure passwords, export or import some or all into various other formats, integrate with web browsers to make the login more comfortable or save form and other important information safely as well.

Symantec has recently launched Norton Identity Safe, a password manager for Windows PCs as well as Android and Apple iOS mobile devices. The program ships with browser extensions for all five popular browsers (Opera, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari).

Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 users may already know the program as it is integrated into their applications. Everyone else can download a free copy of the password manager from the Norton website.

The program stores password information in the cloud like Last Pass, another password management service, does. When you compare the two services you will notice that Last Pass has an edge over Norton’s tool, as it supports features like automatic form filling, a portable mode or 2-factor authentication. Some of those are on the other hand only available for Last Pass Premium account users who pay $12 per year for that service.

Norton’s Identity Safe on the other hand ships with Norton Safe Web which informs you about unsafe websites that you are about to visit. Norton Safe web Life then again is available for free.

Here is a short table comparing core features of both products:

All Norton Identity Safe logins, notes and cards are saved with a master password that you need to create during setup. Norton requires you to use at least one upper and lower character, one number and one special char for the master passwords.

Toolbars are installed in all supported browsers automatically during installation, with no option to block the installation in some browsers. The toolbar is unfortunately not compatible with all browser versions. It failed to install for instance in Firefox Aurora.

The toolbar displays a search form, Safe Web, Identity Safe and sharing options. The search links to a custom Norton search engine. The Identity Safe button in the toolbar appears to be the only option to control the password manager. I closed the toolbar in Chrome and could not get it to open up again as there were no options to do so.

The menu links to the Identity Safe homepage, settings, a log in list that is directly accessible from the menu and options to log out of the password manager.

The password manager interface displays the password strength of the selected password. Here it is also possible to define whether the password information should be filled out automatically when the page is visited, whether a prompt for the master password should be displayed before that’s happening, and whether the program should you log in automatically if you select the login from the list.

The password manager works as expected most of the time. I had troubles getting it to work in Internet Explorer 9 though. The toolbar displayed fine in the browser, but new passwords and log ins were not recognized by the program.

Norton Identity Safe is an alternative to Last Pass, especially for users who want mobile access to their log in information. Most users will have troubles getting their stored passwords into the program in first place, which will keep many from using it (unless they use Internet Explorer for that).

The lack of browser selection during installation, missing form filling support, lack of frontend on the desktop and several bugs should keep most users from using it as their main password manager.

The Norton Identity Beta website offers no information on the future of the product. Will the final version remain free, or will it be turned into a commercial software that users have to pay for?

Have you tried Norton Identity Safe? If so, what’s your impression?

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Norton Internet Security And Norton AntiVirus 2011 Beta Download About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Thursday February 2, 2012 -
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Securing Your Identity And Money In Online Gambling

With rapid growth in Internet usage, and the subsequent growth in Internet players, Internet-based casinos seem to be the greatest place on earth. Dozens of players play online each day, spending and earning tons of money. Due to the spread of the Internet worldwide, this has also popularized different casino games online, with more and more players taking to it like fish to water. Within this situation, there is a different group of people lurking in the dark throes of the online field; a set of people who can finish off your account in no time. This brings us to a very significant aspect of online transactions - security.

Online casinos have a number of software available on their sites from where users can download them on to their PCs and enjoy the gambling games. Apart from games that do not involve cash, the ones that do are almost constantly at risk. Since a gamer deposits money before starting the game, from that point onwards, if the funds are not carefully monitored, they may leak away without anyone's notice. Security in gambling, therefore, is the first concern of these days' gambling.

Due to this, users always have to do some study before signing up at any online gambling site. They have to make sure that the site provides a great level of security, like 128 bit SSL encryption. Sites conforming to these standards employ some of the highest levels of security, where users can confidently deposit and transact without having to worry about theft.

Encryption protocols such as SSL are currently used for safe cash and information exchange online. Online gambling also connects online bank accounts with the game. In this situation, if the website is not using the best security available, it could end up compromising the security of users that use it, and they have to make sure that their bank accounts don't turn up empty. This does not apply to the bank accounts alone, as some users use credit cards as well, for their transactions. If the card information leaks out, it can terribly affect the player. So, gamers have to sign up with authentic portals that offer high level security, if they want to play healthy and win heaps of cash.

Reliability of a casino is of key significance while selecting the appropriate website to play on. A player needs to verify the site's privacy policy and understand the pros and cons of signing up. Most portals however, are extremely concerned about upholding their name. Hence, they also take utmost care at their end to protect sensitive customer information, as they have a stake in the long run too. They need to maintain a quality gaming environment, so that they can exist among the competition, and make cash themselves. At the end of the day, they are also a business, with an intention to generate profit, which drives it in their interest to equip their site with the best security available.

Security loopholes need not be, specifically for financial transactions alone. Insecure sites can be attacked by the dozens of viruses floating around the Internet these days. These could possibly wreak havoc on your server, and take it down for days. Social hazards are another factor in the form of identity theft. In this case, players also need to be careful with regard to the amount of personal detains they share on the Internet. You can never know if you are interacting with genuine users or some fraud lurking in the shadows. All these characteristics prove that security in gambling is the first concern of today's online gaming. So, be cautious with all these aspects and you are sure to be safe.

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