Splash ID v3.03 for Palm OS

Reviewed by: Lianne Reitter, March 2004, send e-mail
Published by: SplashData, go to the web site
Requires: Supports all handheld models running Palm OS 3.1 or late, Tungsten T3 users need Palm's DIA Compatibility PRCs installed, 220KB of free memory for the application and about 10KB for the data; Windows 98, ME, NT4, 2000 or XP, Mac OS 9.2 or later
MSRP: $29.95

If you are anything like me, you have been surfing the web long enough to have accumulated a few passwords. I have passwords that log me onto my favorite e-zines, my online banking, eBay, Yahoo and the list keeps growing. Now, my mind is not a steel trap and I can think of only one person I went to high school with who had a memory good enough to recall this kind of stuff. I've re-registered on many sites simply because I couldn't remember the password. Nowadays, thankfully, a lot of web sites, force you to use your e-mail address as a user name so your lost or forgotten password can be e-mailed to you when inevitable happens. OK - so I'm not so worried about forgetting my password for DP Review but I'd be in a fix if I forgot my online bank password, or worse yet, the password that signs me on to my computer at work. What I need is a place to write this stuff down. Clearly a piece of paper in my purse is no solution but a piece of software on my trusty PDA could be just the trick. Enter Splash ID. We reviewed version 2.55 in June 2003. A lot has changed.

SpashData, the people that brought you SplashPhoto, that cool picture viewer for your PDA , have a nifty new database program that allows you to not only keep a record of your passwords, but everything else in your life that requires a secret piece of information. Keep all your credit card information at hand without carrying every card with you (you don't need the card for telephone or online purchases you know - just the account number and password). Keep all your automobile information (driver’s license number, insurance policy and ownership) your e-mail addresses even family phone numbers in one place, and have it all available at the touch of a stylus, while at the same time completely inaccessible to others.

The software itself is designed to not just keep your information safe, but you help you find it again too. As with all databases, you can input your information under Categories like “Business” or “Personal” and Types like “Credit Card” or “Memberships” or “Web Logins”. You can assign each entry an icon; maybe a little red car for your auto information, the Visa or MasterCard icon for your credit cards. There are 64 icons to choose from. Each type of record is fully configurable as well, with 6 fields of information, any (or all) of which can be masked. Besides your password, you may not want the casual observer to see login names or account numbers either, so all can be masked with little dots until you are ready to access the information. Splash ID comes with 19 “Types” reconfigured but you can edit those to your heart's content or create your own. You can sort your records by Icon, or in alphabetical order, and there is a search option as well if you have a lot of records to sift through.

If you find that your passwords are getting too similar to one another you can use the included Password Generator to create a password for you. Using a combination of letters numbers and symbols you can create a password that only the most sophisticated password cracking software might be able to figure out.

To cut down on the tedium of inputting information directly into your PDA Splash ID comes with an identical PC version so you can use your keyboard for easy data entry. Once everything is in, just sync up your device and you're in business. Splash ID will also import your information from other databases like YAPS, CryptoInfo and MobileSafe. It couldn't be any easier to get all your sensitive information organized and at your fingertips.

Splash ID is very user friendly but if a feature needs additional explanation, there is a detailed user guide available to help. There is only one problem with Splash ID and you may have already guessed it, yeah, you need a password to sign in and access your information. Now where am I going to write that one down? The point is that once you start using SplashID you only have to remember one master password. Highly useful software. Highly recommended.

Letters to the Editor are welcome and occasionally abused in public. Send e-mail to: whine@kickstartnews.com