As password programs go, Dashlane has a lot going for it. Dashlane will generate complex passwords, remember them and store sign-on fields as they're typed. I've used it for years, but when I tried to install it on a new computer, it failed miserably.
I was all set to trash Dashlane in this column, until I tried its competitors, Password Keeper among them. Dashlane wins the race.
Like Dashlane, Password Keeper will remember user names and passwords, but it takes a bit more effort to record the passwords and actually fill in the fields, and it doesn't always work. It crashed my PC a few times, too. With Dashlane, you enter your password once per bootup. Keeper requires a master password each time Microsoft Edge (the browser it supports) is launched. Both support second-factor authorization. I used a device called a Yubikey for second-factor authentication. The Ubikey is a tiny USB device that's programmed easily on a PC or Mac. The master password is entered, followed by inserting the Yubikey.
I lost it with Dashlane's tech support _ offered by email and chat only _ when they failed to understand that I knew my master password and had my two-factor authentication device. They totally misunderstood it when I told them the sign-on screen would freeze on the new computer.
Perhaps there's a language issue, but all the techs who handled my case seemed not to understand why my master sign-on and Yubikey wouldn't open the program.
We went round-and-round for about a week _ third-level support wasn't much better than primary support. At one point I was asked to submit my photo and drivers license along with a string of numbers to help recover a master password I knew worked.
So, I'm making do with Password Keeper. It's a pain to insert all my sign-ons and, despite the security it offers, the easily remembered passwords I had set up on Dashlane. Which made me think _ suppose I had let Dashlane generate complicated passwords, like 4h7jl8989qqwe. I would be in an even worse place than I am now.
Most password programs have free versions. It pays to try them out. Meanwhile, I'm typing my sign-ons _ as I remember them. If I remember them.
And tomorrow I'll start dealing with Dashlane support again. After trying the competition, I think it's worth the effort.
