Many people these days have to deal with multiple passwords in their daily lives, whether it's for work or pleasure and keeping track of the different codes which give you access to essential services can be difficult. This is where Password Corral enters the fray, offering users the opportunity to store passwords in a more secure environment and then help you remember these virtual keys and notify you when they're coming to the end of their usable life. This is all available free of charge in the latest edition of this small but versatile piece of software.
Password Corral has been developed by Cygnus Productions and it allows you to save multiple passwords in an organised manner. The software itself comes with its own username and password which you will need to create when you first boot it up, so that you can log in and stop any third parties from viewing your precious details. First time setup is relatively painless and a folder is created to house your passwords. Entered passwords will appear on a spreadsheet-style interface, which couples them with salient pieces of information related to the website, email account or service to which they can be applied. You can also mark an expiration date next to passwords which are useable for a limited period and the whole thing is laid out in an unfussy, functional way that is easy to grasp.
Password Corral is suitably secure, with two types of encryption on offer to protect your passwords folder from being pilfered and exploited. If you leave the program running and leave your computer, you can set it to minimise to the system tray after a predetermined period and make sure that it can only be maximised and used if your own password is provided. This should keep it out of harm's way in a working environment where others may be passing by your unattended machine.
Because your passwords are important, you can use Password Corral to export and backup its files for transfer between machines and recovery after a crash. Making a backup is sensible and you can either choose to keep your backup files encrypted or export them unencrypted so that they are easy to access elsewhere. It' s good to have the choice in this instance, but if you choose to leave unencrypted backups lying around, you might end up accidentally exposing your passwords, so caution is advised.
The one issue with Password Corral is that for the time being, the included help file is incompatible with Windows 7 and Vista. This oversight has been acknowledged by the developer and while the software itself remains intact, it is a notable annoyance to be without help if an issue comes to light. There is an augmentation to the software available that will allow affected users to view the file, but it would make more sense for Cygnus Productions to simply post the contents online and save the hassle.