Trend Micro DirectPass hardens your passwords
Trend Micro has launched DirectPass 1.0, an online password management tool for Windows. Trend Micro DirectPass, which also comes as a free app for iPhone and iPad and Android, includes online password manager, automatic form filling, secure notes taker and built-in secure browser for accessing sensitive websites securely.
Trend Micro DirectPass enters a crowded market, with established tools like Lastpass and KeePass being joined by the likes of Norton Identity Safe Beta. While Symantec’s offering is free, DirectPass will require an annual subscription for unlimited password storage.
Like its rivals, Trend Micro DirectPass offers a secure, encrypted online storage location for all of a user’s online passwords. By protecting them with a single, master password, the user is encouraged to replace existing duplicate and weak passwords with unique, difficult to remember keys that can’t easily be hacked or guessed. DirectPass bundles an automatic password generator to aid the user in this quest.
The tool, which installs as a browser extension in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome, acts as a browser add-in. It triggers automatic password entry when the site’s details are present in the user database, and offers to save passwords when the user accesses a site for the first time. These details are encrypted and synchronised to a cloud-based server, allowing the user to access their login details from any computer or mobile device with DirectPass installed.
The app also offers its own standalone secure browser for accessing banking and financial websites, encrypted keystroke entry to tackle keylogging software and the ability to fill in forms securely, automatically and quickly. Secure notes are also accessible through the service, which is linked to the user’s Trend Micro account.
The software isn’t free to use, although users can store up to five passwords without charge as part of testing DirectPass. A single year’s license offering unlimited passwords costs $14.95, with a two-year plan coming in at $24.95.
DirectPass 1.0 is a free download for PCs running Windows XP SP3 or later, while free mobile apps are available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices.
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