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With all the stories making news these days about identity theft, it is more important than ever to use strong password. But what is a strong password? Without getting too technical, a strong password has an absolute minimum of 12 characters - and the more the better.

Also, there is a growing consensus that phassphrases are stronger than passwords. Read more about and generate your own passphrases here.

If you are required to use an old school password, use this Password Generator.

Okay, so now you are using strong passphrases. Is that all? You guessed it - Nope! You not only should be using strong passphrases, you should be using them on one site only. In other words, each website where a login is required, should have its own unique strong password. AND not only should these passphrases be strong and unique, you should change them regularly. BOY! It's getting more and more complicated. You might ask, "How do I keep track of all these passphrases?" Good question.

There are a number of Secure Password Management tools available. They are sometimes called Password Vaults. A few of the more popular ones are listed below. They each offer various options, but all have as a primary feature the ability to save all your passphrases securely while needing to remember only one strong password. Some are used in an off-line mode, some are meant for online use, some have both capabilities.

Clicking on any of the links below will open a new window or tab and take you to another website. Phase One has no control over these websites. Please use caution when visiting them. And, as with all free software, please investigate before downloading to be sure they are safe and free from malware.

• Bitwarden : Open Source service with Free and Premium options.
• LastPass : the "big dog" on the block — free for desktop/laptop use — $12/year for use on mobile devices. Stores your passphrases "in the Cloud". This is a benefit for some and detriment for others.
• LastPass Pocket : Allows you to use LastPass offline. Your information is still "in the Cloud", but if you need offline use, this will give you that option.
• KeePass : Free and open source. Primarily for offline use and because of that you may consider it to be more secure. While you can copy usernames and passphrases and paste them into your browser with a few clicks or keystrokes, it is not as convenient as LastPass.
• KeeFox : A free plugin for the Firefox browser, it works with KeePass and adds most of the functionality missing in KeePass. There are a number of reports decrying it for being temperamental. It takes a bit of 'tweaking' during setup and may make Firefox unstable. Use with caution.
• 1Password : ($50 - $100) Similar to KeePass. Available for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad & Android. Has functionality similar to LastPass, but has the offline data storage of KeePass.
• Dashlane : "The security-first password manager. Dashlane Password Manager has never been breached. And our zero-knowledge patented encryption means not even we can see your passwords and passkeys." Has Free and Premium options.
• Keeper : ($30/year) Works on all devices, mobile and otherwise.
• NordPass : "Secure and intuitive password manager. Organize your complex passwords and keep them securely in a single place - the NordPass password manager." Has Free and Premium options.

(All companies listed above are responsible for the pricing of their services. Prices and availability are subject to change without notice.)