Tech Perplexed

I know the subject of wallet/password software is highly subjective, but I'll still try to give a comparison of the four programs I talked about (I deliberately won't use the word "reviewed", because it was mostly based on my personal expectations and findings). Pricing eWallet SPB Wallet 1Password LastPass $19.95 for all versions and platforums, the iPhone app is an additional $9.99. $19.95 for the Windows version, up to $29.95 bundle price. $29.95 for the Windows version, up to $59.95 bundle price. Free, though Premium features and support is $12 per year. Wallet features eWallet SPB Wallet 1Password LastPass Wallet items are 100% flexible, can resemble just about any card, document or layout. Attachments are encrypted within the file. Is confusing at first though and has a distinct learning curve. Digital wallet, has thousands of (downloadable) templates available to match the card  in your real wallet. Works easy and intuitive. Has a few

LastPass was actually my last choice... I was extremely weary to try it, yet I find myself "stuck" with it for the moment. LastPass feels a bit like an odd duck, to me it seems more like a browser plugin than "proper" software. However, it means it does one thing really, really well, and that is integrate with my browser. I am a staunch Chrome user. I downloaded the LastPass installer, and basically all it did was let me create an account, and then offered to install the plugin for every browser I have installed. After that, it started my default Chrome browser, which, like most Google apps, became the main hub from then on. Being a browser app, it means the interface doesn't look as polished as 1Password, nor does it provide its velvety smooth interactions. It most certainly doesn't offer the pretty templates and graphics of eWallet or SPB Wallet. There is no indication where your local files are stored, and that is not an omission, because all your dat

Finally, I got a mad-on to find the Perfect Password Program, and bought not only 1Password, but installed LastPass as well. In this post I will discuss 1Password first, created by Agile Web Solutions. Originally intended for the Mac only, they now offer a MS Windows solution as well, which is what I purchased. When I bought the program, I was under the impression that I needed to purchase the family licence for my multiple computers and also, I thought my husband Murray would be tempted to use it as well. When I found out that neither was the case, I contacted Agile and promptly received $20 back, with a friendly and personal message. I can't emphasize enough how delightful it is to know there are human beings behind a company... 1Password has that down pat. Installation of the program was a breeze. I could not import my eWallet entries, the reason why was explained patiently in their forum. However, copying and pasting the information manually only took about an hour or less,

SPB Wallet Around 2009, mostly to see if my frustrations with eWallet were justified, I bought SPB Wallet. I really liked the clean layout, ease of use, and the application of templates. I thought I had found my (wallet) partner for life! However, soon I found that like eWallet, it worked well as a backup of my credit card information and passport numbers, but not in my day to day digital life. Although it did slightly better in automatically entering a username and password into a site, it still required to keep the program open all day. Also, as mentioned, early 2010 I had traded my iPod for a gorgeous Google Nexus One phone, and SPB made no promises whatsoever of Android support. In fact, repeated questions in the forums are always dismissed with "it's not our company policy to discuss our future plans". Truth be told, I am not at all too sure of those future plans. As far as I know there hasn't been an update to their software in years, and I am under the i

I'll start with a little history. Shortly after the turn of the Millennium, one of the first programs I bought for my brand new, shiny iPaq 2210 was eWallet by Ilium Software. It was more of a digital wallet than a password manager, and it came with a desktop companion. The version was 2.1, which was soon upgraded to v3.1. It synchronized using ActiveSync by Microsoft, magic! All I had to do was place the iPaq in the cradle, and hit Sync. However, after the novelty had worn off to fill it with my bank account number, credit card data, passport number, driver's licence and the one password I used for every site and knew by heart anyway, it was soon abandoned, together with the iPaq itself. I had gotten tired of having to reload all my software after the umpteenth time I forgot to charge it in time - but I digress. Fast forward to 2008. I found myself the owner of an iPod Touch, which made my once cute lill iPaq look like a washing machine all of a sudden. After some browsing i

A few months ago, the Google account of somebody I know rather well was hacked, hijacked and used for a phishing scam. It took him weeks to sort out the mess, get back his account and convince all his contacts (he is a newspaper editor) that he was, in fact, not stuck in London asking desperately for money. This prompted me to write an article about the importance of Internet security for this very newspaper, which will be published in one of the upcoming editions. So, in this blog series I shall not concentrate on the importance of keeping ourselves well protected... suffice it to say, I realized it was high time to change my own habits. Instead, I will elaborate on why, to the thousands of readers of that newspaper, I recommended LastPass as the password manager to use. I will split my musings into several blog posts, so read on...

I'm perplexed by tech! That is why I decided to create this site and hopefully share information that helped me make life easier. Stay tuned for more tips and tutorials!