Password Manager
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Introduction
If you're like me you have passwords or pins for your e-mail
system(s), bank account(s), social media, and so on. Everyone
providing an on-line system seems to require a password no matter
how inconsequential it is: Oracle requires an account with a
password just to access the JDK, AVWeb requires a sign on just to
take the quizzes they periodically post and so on. Everyone has
their own rules about what constitutes a valid password - it must
start with a digit, it must have upper and lower case letters, it
must have upper and lower case letters plus at least one special
character, it must be at least 8 characters long, it can't be
based on a dictionary word, .... I found that at 1842 different
passwords my memory began to fail me so I needed a solution. I
still spend a good deal of time on my desktop system and, of
course, I carry a smart phone (Android) and now have a(n Android)
tablet. So I wanted a solution that I could install on all three
and synchronize them. Of course you mustn't store un-encrypted
passwords on any device so developing these apps gave me an
opportunity to get familiar with Password Based Encryption (PBE)
for local storage and public/private key encryption for
communication between the desktop and the Android devices.
The system originally released in 2014 was written using Java
Swing to create the GUI. Not only is Swing moribund but the
installation and support mechanism - JNLP (Java Network Load
Protocol) - has also been removed from the latest versions of
Java. The official path to updating Swing apps is to use JavaFX.
Now JavaFX has been removed from the latest versions of Java
(versions later than 1.8) requiring a more complex installation
than the original distribution.
This version
Password Manager System is a JavaFX app with a companion
Android app for easy entry & recall of systems & their
passwords. It is compatible with the initial Android app and will
handle datastores on the PC that were created with the original
Swing version of the app.
This page describes the installation of the desktop system. To get
the Android version go to the Android Apps market ("Google Play")
and look for JCST Password Manager.
Installation
There are 2 very different ways of installing and running the Password Manager
System: the "traditional" method and the "modular"
method
1. The "traditional" method requires installing Java and
installing JavaFX:
- install Java 12 for your platform from the Oracle web site at
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
and ensure it is the default java on your system. Ensure that
this version of Java is the default on your system by opening a
terminal window and typing "java -version". You should see
several lines of output with one indicating the version 12.0.nn.
- install JavaFX 12 SDK for your platform from https://gluonhq.com/products/javafx/
- create a directory where you want to install the app
- download the passwordmanager.jar
file to this directory
- download the launcher.sh
(Linux or Mac) or the PasswordManager.bat
(Windows) file used to launch the app
- in the launcher.sh file change the string <path_to_javafx-sdk-12-lib>
to point to the lib directory of the JavaFX
installation. Change the permissions to allow "execute" for this
file.
- on Windows check the path to the JavaFX lib subdirectory is C:\Program
Files\java\javafx-sdk-12.0.1\lib (if not change the
--module-path "C:\Program Files\java\javafx-sdk-12.0.1\lib" to
the JavaFX lib subdirectory.
The app can now be run by executing the launcher.sh or
PasswordManager.bat depending on your operating system.
There is an application icon
that can be used if creating a desktop shortcut.
2. The "modular" method does not require Java (or JavaFX) to be
installed but there are separate installation files depending on
the operating system you are using. To install this version of the
app:
- create a directory where you want to install the app
- for Windows, download PassManagerWin.zip
- extract this file into the directory you created. This will
create a subdirectory PaswordMangerWin with all the
necessary files.
- in the PaswordMangerWin subdirectory run the
application by executing passwordmanager.bat
- for Linux, download PassManagerLinux.zip
- extract the files into the directory you created
- in the bin subdirectory run the application by
executing JCSTPasswordManagerM (it may be necessary
to give execute privileges to this file)
- to create a desktop launcher it may be necessary to add "cd
/<install_dir>/PassManagerLinux/bin" at line 2 of this
script file (where <install-dir> is the directory where
you put the files from PassManagerLinux.zip.
- for Mac, download PassManagerMac,zip
- extract the files into the directory you created
- in the bin subdirectory run the application by
executing launcher.sh (it may be necessary to give
execute privileges to this file)
There is an application icon
that can be used if creating a desktop shortcut.
Getting Started
The first time the system starts it
displays the End User License Agreement:
You must Accept
this to continue. If you Decline, an error will be
posted and when you acknowledge the error message the system will
exit.
Once you accept the End User License Agreement the system will open
the main window with an empty list of System/Passwords:
At this point you can press the F1 key to invoke the
on-line Help
Next you must specify the file in which the
system/passwords will be stored. The system will automatically start
in the directory where the application is installed. The easiest way
is to enter a file name in the File: text box by adding a
slash (backslash on Window) and the new file name after the
directory name, enter a password in the Password: text box
and press Open (or just press Enter)
to create the new file in the installation directory.
Alternatively or to create a file in a directory other than the
installation directory (you can create as many password files as you
want in the same or different directories) press the Browse
button that will open a File Chooser window to allow you to navigate
to the directory of your choice and enter a file name:
The File Chooser will always start in the directory in which you
installed (and started) the system but you can choose any directory
that you can write into (some versions of Windows will not let you
write into the root of the C: drive). Enter a (new) file name and
press Open. Once you have created a file (or
files), thereafter when you start the system it will default to the
file that was in use when the system was last closed. To open a
different file use the Browse button to navigate to
the file you want to open.
The system returns to the main screen
with the full file name entered. Next enter a password that will be
used to secure this file. The Open button will be
active whenever there is anything in the Password: field.
Since this is a new file and it is vitally important that you know
exactly what password you set, the system asks for confirmation:
Re-enter the password and press OK button. If you
press Cancel the system will return to the main
window without creating the file. If the passwords do not match a
warning dialog will be displayed and when it is acknowledged, the
system will return to the main window.
Note: it is imperative
that you remember this password, it is the key to
accessing the file and if it is lost or forgotten there is
no way to access the file. It is equally important to back
up the file(s) which you have created to store your
passwords.
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Using the System
Once the system is running pressing the F1 key will bring up the
on-line Help for the screen with the focus. The Help will provide
information on how to make use of the system.
Recent Updates
No updates are available yet.
Android Version
The Android version of the Password Manager
System is called JCST
Password Manager
The Android version of the system is available on the Android
Market; look for JCST Password Manager in beta testing.
Legal Stuff
The Password
Manager System installed from this page is free
software.
The Password
Manager System is distributed in the hope that it
will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
You will be required to accept the terms of
the license before you can use the system.
Questions
Contact the developer at jcstdev@gmail.com
Prepared: February 15, 2014
Modified: August 28, 2019
Copyright \A9 Johnson Computer Software Team
Limited. 2014 - 2019