As this is my first post on Rock Your Firefox, I wanted to start by talking about a personal favourite that has been steadily making my life easier on any and all of the Web sites I visit that require a password or personal information.
It’s funny how frustrating minor tasks can be when you’re browsing the Web. Go back 10 years, when e-commerce and social networking were in their relative infancy, and you’d think nothing of submitting your name and address, creating a password, and then storing it somewhere safe (normally on a post-it that would end up wedged in the back pages of a book you would then throw out). Then, a day later, you’d find yourself repeating the exact same process: creating a password, writing it on a post-it, losing it, etc.
Having to remember countless passwords and repeating the same sign-up process every time you made a purchase or logged in somewhere got old — very old, very fast.
While there are lots of Firefox Add-ons that manage passwords and auto-fill forms for you, I have a soft spot for LastPass thanks to its polished user interface and wealth of features. I’m happy to say that more than 2 million users seem to agree with me, making LastPass one of the most popular add-ons for Firefox.
LastPass is an all-in-one password and auto-fill manager that stores your private information, including your name, addresses, credit card numbers and other details — i.e. the things you’re bound to forget the second you actually need them. This way, you only need to enter your LastPass credentials once, instead of remembering multiple passwords and numbers, and you’re ready to visit your social network pages, check email, make purchases or enter delivery details — all without needing a photographic memory. Or a bunch of post-its hiding in discarded books.
I have several credit cards that I use to make purchases online; LastPass makes auto-filling with the correct card a breeze. For the extra safety-conscious, you can always leave out a field (such as your CVV number) and enter it manually when you make a payment.
And although there may be several user accounts on your computer, being able to auto-fill pages with your information rather than a family member’s or colleague’s is a real help. Simply sign into LastPass with your personal login and your passwords and auto-fill information are ready to be used.
Choose the account you would like to sign in with
Another feature I find particularly useful is LastPass’s ability to remember multiple username/password accounts. If you’re like me, you probably have multiple gmail accounts for personal and work use. LastPass lets you choose which you want to use when you log in.
So there you have it, the LastPass password manager. Download it here or from the add-ons manager in Firefox 4. Now if only it could tell me where my keys are. Maybe in version 2?
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