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Mozilla has developed its Lockbox password tool into a more standard password manager. Discover if Firefox Lockwise is suitable for you.

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Some time ago, Mozilla released Firefox Lockbox, which was his interpretation of the password manager. Although Lockbox was not so much a password manager, but a way to view saved passwords in the Firefox browser, you could not add new passwords or edit existing entries. This attempt at a password manager was only the basis for a fully-fledged tool.

The new tool is Firefox Lockwise, and it is now available.

SEE: 10 tips for dealing with an online impersonator (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

With Firefox Lockwise you can create new password items and edit and delete older items; you can also view entry passwords, but have to copy them manually. Firefox Lockwise does not contain a password generator (which prevents it from taking the place of my new favorite password manager, Bitwarden), so when you add new entries, you must create your own unique and strong passwords.

Firefox Lockwise has a mobile app for Android and iOS, but that version can only view listings, not create new ones.

Let’s take a closer look at Firefox Lockwise and see if this is the password manager you have been waiting for.

How to get Firefox Lockwise

Firefox Lockwise has been released with Firefox version 70, so if you use a version of the Firefox browser earlier than 70, you must upgrade. After running the most recent version, you must log in to your Firefox account by clicking the menu button in the top right corner and then clicking Log in to Firefox.

After you log in, Firefox synchronizes all your data, including your passwords. When that is complete (it should not take much time), click the menu button again and then click Logins and Passwords (Figure A).

Figure A

Access to Firefox Lockwise from the Firefox menu.

You can always open a new tab and type about: logins in the address bar. In both cases you get access to Firefox Lockwise.

Once Firefox Lockwise is opened (Figure B), you can search for an item by typing the site or service name or username.

Figure B

Search for an entry in Firefox Lockwise.

Create a new item in Firefox Lockwise

To create a new item in Firefox Lockwise, click the Create New Login button. In the resulting window (Figure C), type the URL for the item, a username and password, and click Save.

Figure C

Create a new item for Firefox Lockwise.

Once the new item is created, it will be synchronized with your Firefox account so that it is available for all copies of Firefox, including Lockwise.

Two comments with Firefox Lockwise

If you want to use Firefox Lockwise with every security level, you must create a master password. Without creating a master password, anyone who has access to your Firefox web browser can view your passwords.

SEE: Top 5 password alternatives (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The second reservation is a rather strange problem that I have seen a number of times. Suppose you want to save a password entry for http://192.168.1.33/akaunting/index.php. When you save the item, Firefox Lockwise turns off everything except the domain (or IP address). So in my example, Firefox Lockwise will only save http://192.168.1.33. I have no idea if this is a bug or a “feature”, but it’s pretty annoying. Hopefully the developers will take care of this sooner than later.

Apart from these two comments, Firefox Lockwise is a solid password manager for everyone who uses Firefox and wants a bare manager for his login details. However, if you are looking for a tool with more bells and whistles, you will notice that Firefox Lockwise is very missing.

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