Sisma (version: 4.1) is a lightweight freeware password manager that is encrypted using 256-bit AES and is a good alternative to the more popular KeePass and the famous web based LastPass.
It of course features the familiar password grouping and also supports hiding and showing passwords. It also has options to lock the program to prevent edits and can also generate passwords with user set options for number of characters and exclusion or inclusion of lower, upper, digits and symbols.
Sisma can separately copies account title, password or url to the clipboard and can also launch the default browser. Clipboard content can be cleared on program lock, exit or after a number of seconds. There is also a configurable – default is set to less than 8 characters – warning for weak passwords and a setting for a user determined password expiry. In addition to adding notes for each entry the user can also add custom properties. This may be best used for personal reminders(?)
Sisma is available in both portable and installer versions, runs on most Windows versions and requires .Net Framework 2.0+
I have tested Sisma and in my opinion it is neither good nor bad- just average:
– Pros:
· Free, portable, tiny, stable, acceptable interface
– Cons:
· It lacks some essential features (at least for me)- it cannot perform auto-type, it can export but not import databases, .NET dependency (I avoid .NET programs for several reasons- slow starter, resource hogs, compatibility issues (for example it is almost impossible to use a program that requires .NET 1.1 on Windows 8 machine since it is incompatible and cannot be installed on top of .NET 4- in fact it is possible but the user should uninstall all .NET versions an then try to install 1.1, 2, 3, etc, which is not easy, time-consuming and always unpleasant surprises may arise- once I wasted about 24 hours trying to re-install .NET since it was damaged- the uninstallation process is a pain since .NET is deeply rooted inside Windows, does not uninstall cleanly and as result it cannot be re-installed. My salvation was the help I got from an extremely helpful programmer from Microsoft who had created a special .NET uninstall tool).
For years I have been using KeePass Password Safe- the so called ‘Classic Edition’ (version 1) since ‘Professional Edition’ (version 2) requires .NET. Since I do not want to rely on online tools and browser add-ons, for me it is very important the ‘auto-type’ feature, which works almost perfectly in KeePass Password Safe. But some months ago I tested another password manager and found it to be even a better (for me, of course)- Password Safe, which is also free, open-source and portable. It was able to import my database perfectly (its whole structure with its folders, sub-folders, notes, etc), and the most important advantage- it has the option to open URL and perform auto-type with one single click (Browse to URL + Autotype), while KeePass Password Safe (at least the ‘Classic’ version 1) needs two clicks to achieve that- first- ‘Open URL’, then ‘Perform Auto-type’.
There is an abundance of free password managers and my favourites are KeePass Password Safe and Password Safe- the latter is significantly bulkier but extremely convenient for me.
Thanks for the comment. KeePass is the defacto standard really, I use it all the time too. LastPass is good as well, with a good security track record too.
When possible I avoid .NET too but I have another reason for liking ‘real’ portable software that is not necessarily related to .NET. I want installs to not write to My Documents, App Data or elsewhere. Sometimes I find software add files to the App Data folder itself, not a subfolder. Other times there is a folder with a generic name and later it is not immediately clear which software put it there.
By the way I meant this Password Safe (the name is ambiguous, it sounds more like a program category than a particular program):
http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/ – Home Page
http://sourceforge.net/projects/passwordsafe/ – Project Page
I detest programs that pretend to be portable but in fact are not- some days ago I tested IObit Uninstaller version 3, didn’t like it and removed it. It did not show a normal install dialog giving an impression it is portable, but not only it wasn’t- it wrote data all over, but it even added a SERVICE that was running all the time, no matter that the program was removed. I discovered this ‘LiveUpdate’ service by chance and needed to dig deeper in the registry to remove it. IObit Uninstaller 2 was decent but version 3 is terrible. So I won’t touch an IObit application any more- all their products are obtrusive and deceptive- even their ‘Portable’ builds write to the registry and add even context menu items.
An hour ago I tested a video downloader- Leawo Video Accelerator, after I uninstalled it I found out it had written data to virtually all possible places, I am sorry I didn’t make a screen-shot- it was amazing how many folders it managed to pollute.
Portability is valuable to me not only because it does not contaminate the system but because since it writes its data to its own folder it can be easily used virtually everywhere.