There's no doubt that until recently, RoboForm used to be the stand-out product in the category.  However, it has been replaced by the new kid on the block - LastPass. LastPass is a free password manager that integrates with both Internet Explorer and Firefox, and allows you to save your passwords and website login details and access from them anywhere in the world. Like RoboForm, your saved passwords and secure notes are accessible on all other machines that are running the browser plugin within minutes of your changes.

On the other hand, my favourite offline password manager is the open source program KeePass. It's not nearly as well integrated into your browser as RoboForm or LastPass, but it's a very good product that works without any limitations at all. There's also an excellent KeePass plug-in for Internet Explorer that automates web form filling. You can simply drag and drop saved information to password prompts or webforms. Alternatively, you can use the powerful auto-type functionality that allows you to define a sequence of key presses, which KeePass can automatically perform when a global hotkey is pressed – perfect for email logons or entering program serial numbers.

Some alternatives to KeePass include Password Safe and PINS, which are both open-source and free and come with an auto-type system. Yet another possibility is KeyWallet, which allows you drag and drop saved information directly into web forms. Not quite as neat as RoboForm's click-and-fill system, but it's still highly effective. KeyWallet can also automatically save form data and handle difficult Java based forms. And it's skinable. However, KeyWallet has not been updated since 2001, before the release of XP, and there are still some XP related issues. Access Manger is similar to KeyWallet, but is still being maintained. It doesn't have the skinning capabiliities of KeyWallet, and requires the .NET framework to run.

Finally, if you want to separate password keeping from filling out forms, consider PassPack. Its advantage is that it's entirely online: there's nothing to download and install. This lets you generate and use passwords from any computer that's connected to the Internet. My only concern at this time is the legitimacy of the service, but at present it would seem to be a viable alternative to software password managers.