A couple weeks ago I was at the place again…  We have all been there, whether we admit it or not.  I was about to sign into a forum I haven’t visited in quite a while and when I arrived at the login prompt I just sat there staring at the screen, BOTH the username AND and password had run off into the night…  I use my name now, growing up I didn’t I used nicknames, number sequences, and screen names therefore this login coudl be just abotu anythign depending on what or who i was feeling like when I signed up for this forum years and years ago.  On top of that I used to go through email addresses like a kid goes through a bag of m&ms so I was totally lost.

That is when I forced myself to look for some type of username/password solution for myself.  I went looking and found plenty of options that I could pay for… keyword “could”.  Then I stumbled across keePass Password Safe.  I very lightweight and simple password manager, not to mention opensource and stable.  Now I could come up with a shortlist of improvements I would make however I find KeePass quite useful overall and figured I would share it with you for those like me who need something simple to manage complex passwords.

One of the biggest things about KeePass is that the entire password database in encrypted not just your passwords but your usernames and URLs etc..  very nice.

Biggest CON: I personally didn’t like how the URL field is displayed but more of a personal opinion than an actual con..  but hey I had to put something here!

Biggest Pro:  for ME the biggest Pro was the ability to easily share the password database on a network drive and access it from my desktop or laptop..  also the search feature was nice, it made it easy to find a login I forgot to categorize correctly.

For a list of Features KeePass has to offer and to download it for use just click below.

KeePass Features List

Penetration Testing, also called pentest, is a methodology of testing the vulnerability of a network or system infrastructure by simulating real time outside attacks.  These attacks are performed as thoroughly as possible to try to create a true sense of the security, or lack of, surrounding a system.  There are a variety of testing software, hardware, and mediums to which penetration testing can be performed.   Pen Testing should be routinely performed on all system regards of perceived security risks.  Obviously the financial, medical, and governmental agencies and corporations lay out the most intrusive penetration testing requirements as their data tends to be much more sensitive than most.  However in recent memory both e-commerce and educational sectors have done a great deal of catching up in terms of placing self-standards in the area of penetration testing and network security.

Backtrack Linux itself is a self-contained penetration testing tool encompassing tools for brute forcing, wifi cracking and much, much more.