Sxipper: A Fantastic Password Manager for Firefox

Firefox can remember login information for websites; most web browsers today can. But it doesn't always work the way I expect. Some websites I use don't seem to "let" Firefox remember my information, which means I have to input it every time I go there.

On the Mac, I use a fantastic program called 1Password, a utility that adds a little icon to the toolbar of Safari, Firefox, Camino and other web browsers. With 1Password, when you come across a website you want to keep track of, simply click the 1Password icon and create an entry for it. From then on, each time you go to that website, all you need to do is click the 1Password icon, and once you've selected your correct identity (1Password supports multiple logins per website), you're immediately logged in.

For the longest time, I've been looking for something like that to use with Linux. And I'm happy to say that I've found it.

The name of this utility (a Firefox plugin), is Sxipper, and in my mind, Sxipper is actually even better than 1Password.

To use Sxipper, simply install it from the Firefox Addons page, and restart. Once you've restarted, you'll be asked if you want to let Sxipper use your already remembered login information. I did this, and have hardly needed to set up anything else with Sxipper!

It's incredibly easy. If I go to a website that Sxipper recognizes that it has login information for, it dims the website, and pops up a little transluscent window, right above the login area. If I have only logged into this website using a single login, that information is displayed (my login name only, not the password). All I need to do to login is click, and Sxipper does the rest.

As I said, that's if I've only used a single login. But what about families, where every member might have a different Gmail address, or separate login information to their ISP's webmail? In this case, each login identity stored in Sxipper will show up; all you need to do is click the one you'd like to use.