Bitwarden (Windows / macOS / Linux)
Bitwarden is among the first programs to generate passwords that you can consider to create and store as many access keys as you want. In addition, it also allows you to save the data of your credit cards, identity documents and create notes to protect from prying eyes. It is available for free for Windows PC, macOS and Linux, as a browser extension (eg. Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera etc.) and also as an application for Android and iOS / iPadOS.
It should be emphasized that it is a password manager . and certified by external bodies, which uses very advanced encryption for the synchronization of data on the cloud (on independent servers, based on the Microsoft Azure platform) and with the possibility of hosting your own safe on a home server, therefore with an excellent degree of transparency and general flexibility. There are also paid plans available, to store files on the cloud and access other advanced functions, but the free version is fine for the generation and basic storage of passwords.
To download Bitwarden on your computer, connected to the official website of the program, click on the button Install now - It's free and press on the option of your interest between Windows, MacOS e Linux. A full download, if you have a PC Windows, double-click the file bitwarden-installer- [version] .exe, award-winning Yes, to allow the program to make changes to your computer, and click the button Install, to start the installation. Then wait for the progress bar to reach 100% and press the button Close, to close the window and start Bitwarden.
If, on the other hand, you have a Mac, april il dmg package just downloaded, drag Bitwarden to the folder Applications macOS and open the folder in question, then right-click on the Bitwarden icon and select the item apri twice in a row, to bypass macOS restrictions on applications from non-certified developers (this is only necessary at the first start).
Dopo aver avviato Bitwarden, click on the button Create account, insertion il tuo email address in the appropriate field and create a Password which you will need to use to access the Bitwarden safe containing all your stored passwords. Since it is not possible to recover the password in case of loss, I recommend that you write it down in a safe place.
Fatto ciò, click on your button Send, to create your account, enter the data you just created in the fields Email address e Main password and press on the item Login, to access Bitwarden.
You are now ready to generate as many passwords as you want. To do this, click on the button +, select the option Login process the menu to tendin Type, enter all the data of your interest in the fields Your name, Username e URI (if you are creating a login password for a website) and click on the icon two arrows, visible near the field Password, to generate your access key.
In the new screen displayed, you can view the generated password and, by clicking on the ✓ button, you can save the access key in question. If, on the other hand, you want to generate a custom password, select the item options and choose the options of your interest: Length to set the number of characters of the password; AZ to include uppercase letters; AZ to include lowercase letters, 0-9 to include the numbers and @#$%^&* to include special characters as well.
At this point, press the ✓ button, to save the changes, click on the item Regenerate password, to create a new password, and click the ✓ button again, to save it. Finally, click on the icon floppy disk, to save all login data in the Bitwarden safe.
You can also generate passwords directly from the browser extension, for even faster access to this feature.
1Password (Windows / macOS)
1Password is another good solution you can consider to create and keep your passwords. In fact, it is considered by many to be the best password manager on a commercial level, due to the many features offered, ease of use and guaranteed security. It is available for Windows PC and macOS and also accessible directly from the browser. In addition, it is also available as an application for Android and iPhone / iPad devices. Activation of a subscription is required for its use, but it is possible to test its functions for 30 days at no cost.
To activate the trial version of 1Password, connected to the official website of the service, click on the button Try 1Password for free, at the top right, select the option Personal & Family and press pulsating Try free for 30 days relating to the subscription of your interest.
- 1Password ($ 2,99 / month billed annually): Allows you to create and manage your passwords without any limitations and offers 1 GB of storage space for your documents.
- 1Password ($ 4,99 / month billed annually): offers all the features of the 1Password plan but allows access for up to 5 family members (with the ability to invite other people for $ 1 for each new user).
Once you have made your choice, enter yours name and yours email address in the appropriate fields, click on the button Following and type the verification code that was emailed to you in the field Enter your 6-digit code, useful for verifying your identity. At this point, choose the option Add card later, to avoid entering your credit card information, type one Password that you will need to use to log into your 1Password account and click on the button Create account, to complete the registration and activation of the free trial of the service.
Adesso, premium pulsating Download, to download yours secret key required to access from your other devices, then select the option Download the apps and click on the item of your interest (1Password via Windows o 1Password for Mac), to start the download of 1Password.
Now, if you have a PC Windows, double-click the file 1PasswordSetup- [version] .exe and wait for the installation to complete. If, on the other hand, you use a Mac, click on the file 1Password- [version] .pkg, sui pulsnti award Continue (three consecutive times) e Install, enter the password of your user account on macOS and press the button Install software. Alternatively, you can also download 1Password from the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 PCs and from the Mac App Store for macOS.
After launching 1Password on your computer, select the option Access to your account 1Password, inseerisci i tuoi dati nei campi Access address, Email address, secret key e General password (you can find all these data in the PDF file containing your secret key) and press the button Log in.
At this point, to generate a secure password, click on the button +, at the top, select the option Password from the menu that opens and press the icon of rotella d'ingranaggio visible near the field Password, to view the automatically generated password. If you wish, via the tabs Characters e passwords, you can set the lunghezza of the password, specify how many USEFULL, letters e Special characters must be contained in it and whether to use a separator (dash, comma, point etc.).
Once this is done, enter a name to be associated with the access key in the field Password (above), enter the data of your interest in the fields Website, Label e Notes and press pulsating Save, to keep the password you just created on 1Password. You can also access the same functionality directly from the 1Password browser extension.
If at the end of the free trial you want to continue using 1Password, click on the items Account e Manage subscription, award-winning Subscribe, select the type of billing you prefer (monthly o annual), enter your credit card details and press the button Subscribe, to activate your subscription.
KeePass (Windows / macOS / Linux)
KeePass is a free and open source program that allows you to create and save a password-protected database on your computer in which to store all your access keys. It has a built-in password generator that allows you to set the length of the passwords created and to choose which characters to use.
Before explaining how to download and use KeePass, you should know that the program in question is officially available only for Windows PCs. However, in the section Download of KeePass, unofficial projects are also available, including those for Mac, Linux and for the main mobile platforms: in the next few lines, however, I will limit myself to providing you with information on KeePass for Windows PCs.
To download KeePass on your computer, connected to the official website of the program, click on the item Download located in the sidebar on the left and, in the new open page, click on the button Download now for the latest version of the program available, to start downloading.
A complete download, fai doppio clic sul file keepass- [version] -setup.exe, select the language of your interest through the appropriate drop-down menu and press the button OK, then put the check mark required to accept the terms of the license agreement and click on the buttons NEXT (for four consecutive times) e Install, to install KeePass. Finally, tap on the item end, to close the window and start the program.
When starting KeePass for the first time, click the button Enable, to allow the program to access the Internet and check for new updates. At this point, if you want to change the language of KeePass, select the options View e Change languageclick on your button Get more languages and, in the new open page, locate the language of your interest, to start downloading the related files.
Once this is done, select the options again View e Change languageclick on your button Open folder and unzip the ZIP package you just downloaded. Finally, double-click the language previously chosen and click on the button Yes, to restart the program in cittàn.
You are now ready to generate your passwords with KeePass. To do this, select the options Fillet e Newclick on your button OK, to create a new database, indicate the folder on your computer in which to save the entire project containing your passwords and press the button Save. Then enter a master password (master key) to be used to access the passwords you are going to enter on KeePass and press the button OK, then enter the name and Description of the database and click on the button OK, to complete the database creation.
To generate your first password, select the category of your interest (General, Windows, Network, Internet, Email etc.), click on the icon key visible in the top menu and, in the new screen displayed, enter all the data relating to the password you are creating (eg. Title, Username, Notes, Expiration date etc.).
In the field Password, a password will be automatically generated which you can view by clicking on the icon three dots. If you want to customize the password in question, click on the button Generate password (l'icona della key) and choose the option Password generator which allows you to set the length of your passwords and choose which characters to use to compose it (lowercase letters, uppercase, USEFULL, symbols etc.).
Clicca, quindi, sul pulsating OK, to generate a new password, and press again on the item OK, to save the access key in question on KeePass.
Dashlane (Windows / macOS)
Dashlane is a program for Windows PC and macOS that allows you to both generate and store your passwords. In its free version it allows you to save up to 50 passwords and access your account from a single device. By activating a Premium subscription (3,33 euros / month with annual billing with 30-day free trial), however, you can create unlimited passwords and access from all your devices, including the app for Android and iOS / iPadOS.
To download the free version of Dashlane on your computer, connected to the official website of the software, click on the button Download Dashlane and, on the newly opened page, select the option Click here related to the item Looking for the desktop app?, to start the download.
Completed the download, if you have a PC Windows, double-click the file dashlaneInst.exe, award-winning Yes, to allow the program to make changes to your computer, and wait for the progress bar to reach 100%, to complete the installation. If, on the other hand, you use a Mac, double-click the file Install Dashlane, award-winning apri and, also in this case, wait for the progress bar to reach 100%.
When you first start Dashlane, click the button Start, insertion il tuo email address it's a Password to use to access Dashlane in the appropriate fields and press the button NEXT, then re-enter the Password, tick to accept the terms of service and click on the button I know, let's proceed, to create your account.
At this point, enter the login details you just created in the appropriate fields and click on the button Log in, to receive a security code by email. Then enter the code in question in the field Security code and press pulsating Log in, to verify your identity and log in.
Once this is done, click on the options Start, Not now e Salta, to access the Dashlane main screen, select the item Password visible in the sidebar on the left and press the button Add. Then enter the data relating to the password you are creating (Website, Login e Category) and click on your button Generates, to generate a new password.
If you wish, you can customize the lunghezza of the password (minimum 4 and maximum 40 characters), choose whether to include letters e symbols and whether to avoid using ambiguous characters.
Based on the changes you have made, you can also view the level of safety of the created password: I recommend that you generate passwords with a security level of 100. Finally, click on the button OK, to save all the data entered and share the password created in the section Password in Dashlane.
ICloud Keychain (macOS)
ICloud Keychain is an integrated "standard" tool on Apple devices (therefore Mac, iPhone and iPad) that not only allows you to store passwords on the cloud and synchronize them on all devices associated with your Apple ID but also to generate new ones during the procedure registration on any website. This functionality is available using Safari.
To activate iCloud Keychain on your Mac, click on the icon rotella d'ingranaggio located in the Dock bar, to access the System Preference macOS, click on the item Apple ID, at the top right, select the option iCloud and apponi il segno di spunta accanto alla voce Keychains.
By doing so, during the registration procedure on any website, by clicking on the button Use a secure password, a secure passkey will automatically be generated and saved in iCloud Keychain.
Also, it will be useful to know that you can also generate a password with Portachiavi access, a software developed by Apple and included as "standard" on macOS. To use it, click on the icon of magnifying glass, top right, write "Portachiavi access”In the field Spotlight Search and click on the program icon to start it.
Now, select the item Password, visible in the section Categoriesclick on your button +, top left, and enter the required data in the fields Keychain item name e Account name. Then press the icon of key, to generate a secure password by specifying its type (Letters and numbers, Just letters, Random etc.) and the length.
Once this is done, copy the generated password, enter it in the field Password and click on the button Add, to store the data in question in your Mac's keychain.
Other software to generate passwords
If, in addition to the programs that I have indicated in the previous paragraphs, you would like to know more solutions to create and manage your access keys, here it is other software to generate passwords che potrebbero fare al tuo case.
- Password G (Windows): is a free password generator that allows you to easily create access keys. It is sufficient to specify the length of the password to be generated and indicate which characters to include, to automatically create all the passwords of your interest.
- Keeper (Windows / macOS / Linux): is a program that allows you to generate and store your passwords without any limitation. For its use it is necessary to activate a Premium subscription at a cost of 2,49 euros / month or 29,99 euros / year. It is also accessible from a browser and available as an application for Android and iOS / iPadOS.
- Roboform (Online): is an online password generator. It is completely free and does not require registration. You can also download software for Windows and macOS PCs that allows you to keep your passwords.
