Norton identity safe how does it work

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To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. This week, security software provider Symantec released Norton Identity Safe, a service that promises similar functionality to 1Password for free. We gave it a try, and found it's not all it was cracked up to be. With it, you can access password-protected websites with a single click, and store an encrypted copy of your passwords in Dropbox to access them on the go or with companion apps and browser extensions.

This week, security software provider Symantec released Norton Identity Safe , a service that promises the same basic functionality for free. As we quickly discovered, though, you get what you pay for here. As far as functionality is concerned, Norton Identity Safe does a basic job reasonably well: we tested on both Mac OS X and Windows 7, and found that either way we could automatically add passwords to our "vault," and auto-fill the password fields of websites that we'd stored there.

Since Norton hosts the password data itself, there's no need for a Dropbox account either, though you will need two passwords to get anything done: one to access Norton's cloud service, and one to actually get your passwords, which feels a little redundant.

They can't both be the same password, in case you're wondering, and the software's limited to website logins, private notes and contact information at the moment — there's no way to store your credit cards or other wallet item information here. While the OS X version is fairly demure, with a Menu Bar app that accesses your OS X Keychain to autofill passwords after you manually turn that feature of your browser on , the Windows version is a confusing, piecemeal combination of three different UIs.

When you launch Identity Safe, it triggers Internet Explorer to go to Norton's website to log in, and then you use the toolbar to go about your business, but if you want to create new password items, it launches an instance of the desktop app.

The toolbar also doubles as an internet security tool, checking to see if websites are on Norton's safe list. It's messy and confusing. Worse are the mobile apps: you want to use your passwords on your phone, Norton has apps for both Android and iOS, but they're not the repositories of data you'd expect: rather, they're no-frills replacements for your mobile browser, slow and light on features, and it feels like you have to let Norton dictate your web browsing choices in exchange for password storage and retrieval.

The only way to unlock your vault data is with the vault password, which is never stored or sent anywhere. Even better, if you install the Norton Password Manager app on your mobile device, two-factor authentication is available. Norton has an extensive support site, but very little of it is dedicated to Norton Password Manager. There are a basic FAQ and some documents that take you through some features, but these mostly lack screenshots and only occasionally have videos.

Searching for help on topics often returns results about other products. There is a support forum with a few posts per day, but Norton Password Manager shares this forum with Norton Safe Web and Norton Safe Search, making finding solutions for problems difficult. Most user problems go unsolved. Norton Password Manager is a free tool, but when you log in, the site lists your subscription status as Trial. This could concern those looking for a free-for-life product, as Norton software such as Norton AntiVirus Basic and Norton Security were initially available as complimentary trials only to be removed later, forcing users to upgrade to paid versions.

Though Norton Password Manager is free, the Norton website gently pushes you to purchase it as part of a security suite package with a subscription. A bewildering number of options are presented, as Norton offers at least 20 unique products and just as many ways to pay for them. The flagship product is Norton , a subscription-based security suite that includes antivirus protection, a firewall , cloud backup , a VPN , and password management.

What do you think about Norton Identity Safe? Do you recommend it? Norton Identity Safe for Windows. Norton Identity Safe for PC. Dashlane 6. Lastpass 3. Kaspersky Password Manager 9. Your review for Norton Identity Safe.