Is there something like gnome-keyring for Windows7?

Question

I want to use my login password to autounlock a passwordmanager. Is there something which makes this possible and fairly secure?

Answer 1

A "password manager" can mean two slightly different programs.

• If you are looking for a database where you can keep your own information, check out KeePass – it has an option to protect the database using your Windows user account. (This feature is only available in the 2.x series, though.)

  • Technically, any software can be made to work in a similar way, if you use the "Encrypted File System" (EFS) feature in Windows. (Win 7 has it starting with Professional.) All files you encrypt using EFS are encrypted with a certificate which is in turn protected with your Windows password. (Make sure you back up the certificate and the private key; Windows 7 should prompt you to do this.)

    This means you can create a database using Password Safe or KeePass or Notepad without any password, only encrypted using EFS, and it will be securely protected using your Windows password.

• GNOME Keyring is primarily intended to be used by other programs. In Windows, the same can be done using Credentials API: programs can store passwords through CredRead()/CredWrite() (in the form of CRED_TYPE_GENERIC), and you can browse the same entries through Control Panel – Credentials.