Manage Passwords on PC, Android, and more

KeePass Password Safe

Many (most?) people make the serious mistake of using a single password for multiple online sites. The reason this is a bad idea is that when online sites get broken into, which happens all too often, passwords can be stolen that provide access to other sites, contributing to identity theft and serious losses; e.g., your compromised social networking site giving bad guys access to your online banking site.

The best way to protect against this risk is to use different (strong) passwords for different sites, so the compromise of any one site affects only that one site. Many (most?) people don't do that because it seems like so much hassle. But it really isn't -- software exists that easily generates and manages unique strong passwords -- all you have to do is remember one (strong) master password that you don't use for anything else. Your other passwords are stored in a secure encrypted database file.

A related problem if you use more than one networked device (computer, tablet, smartphone) is having your passwords available on all of them. Fortunately there is a very good, free, open, and secure password manager that runs on many different types of devices: KeePass. The port for Android is called KeePassDroid.

To share your password database between your networked devices you can use a "cloud" service like DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive. (And since your password database is securely encrypted, you don't need to worry about cloud security.)

For cloud sync to my Android devices, I use FolderSync.

Strongly recommended.     Do it.     Today.

Favorite Android Apps

Android apps I use and recommend (with links to Android Market):

• AContact (new!)
  Advanced Contact management
• Adobe Flash Player
  View website Flash content
• AndFTP
  Download and upload files by FTP
• Antennas
  Display nearby cellular towers and signal strength
• App Cache Cleaner
  Free up memory by clearing cached data
• BeyondPod
  Best podcatcher for Android (download or stream podcasts)
• B&H Photo Video Pro Audio (new!)
  Best online source of photo, video, audio, computers, and more
• Blogger
  Update your Google Blog from Android
• Chrome to Phone
  Send content to Android from Google Chrome browser on your PC
• ColorDict Dictionary Translate
  Excellent customizable dictionary, translations too
• ConvertPad - Unit Converter
  Wide range of unit conversions
• Craigslist Notification
  Automatic search for stuff on craigslist
• dMarks (new!)
  Best way to access and manage Browser Bookmarks
• Docs (new!)
  Google has finally made Docs relevant to Android
• Download All Files (new!)
  Makes it possible to download pretty much anything
• eBay (new!)
  The official app is now pretty good
• Equalizer
  Adjust frequencies and sound effects (Gingerbread and later)
• ES File Explorer
  Best file manager for Android
• exoScribe (new!)
  Save and edit notes as regular text files (unlike other apps)
• Fandango (new!)
  Buy movie tickets online
• GasBuddy
  Check gas station prices around you
• Gesture Search
  Great way to access your Apps, Bookmarks, Contacts, etc
• Go SMS Pro
  Messaging redefined, powerful and flexible
• Google Voice
  Voice telephony redefined, excellent
• GPS Test (new!)
  Detailed GPS information, including exact location and time
  
• Groundhog Newreader
  Best Usenet article reader for Android
• Groupon (new!)
  Must have for Groupon junkies
• IMDb
  Internet Movie Database, reference for movies
• KeePassDroid
  Securely manage and share passwords between Android and PC
• Log Collector
  Send Android System Log to developer after an app crashes
• MortPlayer Audio Book
  Best audio book player for Android
• Movies
  Flixster movie app, reviews, showtimes, and more
• Music (Google Beta) (new!)
  Stream your music from the cloud
• My Tracks
  Google app great for hiking, records your track
• NetCounter
  Keeps track of wireless data usage
• Newegg (new!)
  One of the best sellers of electronic gear on the Internet
• NoLED (new!)
  Display notifications over your lock screen
• OpenTable
  Find restaurants and make reservations
• Pandora
  Awesome free music streaming service
• Prey
  Protects your Android against theft or loss
• QuickMark (new!)
  Best QR code scanner and generator for Android
• QuickPic
  Image viewer that's elegant, efficient, and faster than stock Gallery app
• RepliGo Reader
  Best way to view PDF documents on Android (better than Adobe)
• SendContact (new!) Share your contacts in various ways
• Shaddapp (new!)
  Best app sharing for Android
• Shopper
  Google's nice shopping app, look up products by bar code
• SoundHound
  Amazing way to recognize and identify songs
• Speed Test
  Check your wireless data speed
• Starbucks
  Official way to pay and to manage your account
• Superpages
  Online yellow pages
• Swype
  Great keyboard alternative, tracing faster than typing
• TuneIn Radio
  Excellent Internet radio
• Widgetsoid
  Great way to control your Android from Notification Bar
• Wifi Analyzer
  Display nearby Wi-Fi access points and signal strength
• Yelp
  Local merchants with ratings

So which Android smartphone do I use?
Nexus S, pure Android, best smartphone for my needs.

Updated: October 23, 2011