Take a moment and look at your screen. If it has got a post-it with a password on it sticking out from the side, this guide might be for you.

Earlier this week, we released the brand new Lavasoft Digital Lock - File Encryptor, which enables you to manage, protect and encrypt your sensitive information through a user-friendly interface. However, it can also help you manage and protect not only your sensitive information but also your sensitive passwords and still have them easily accessible whenever you need them.

This is how you do it:

1. Create a new textfile on your desktop or in the folder where you want to store your passwords. I would recommend creating a plain .txt-file and using Notepad to open it. The reason for this is that Notepad doesn't cache your documents as you write them, which more advanced word processors like Microsoft Word do, and this makes Notepad more secure for this particular purpose.
2. Find and record your passwords for all resources you have access to. Hopefully you are using more than one... if not, shame on you! Save the file when you are done and exit Notepad.
3. Right-click on the file and select "Encrypt..." from the "Lavasoft"-menu.
4. The file encryptor window now pops up. Click "Encrypt".
5. Type in a new password for protecting the file. Remember that you are putting all your eggs in one basket in a sense here so this password better be a good one! If you need help with creating a secure password, Erin blogged about this a few weeks ago in Passwords 101. After you have constructed a really inpenetrable password and confirmed it, click OK.
6. An encrypted and password-protected version of your file has now been created, as you can tell by how the filename now ends with .safe.

Congratulations, you have now protected your passwords!

From now on, whenever you need access to a password, simply double-click on that file to open the file decryptor window. Check the boxes for "Open the files automatically after decryption" and "Re-encrypt file when closed", then click "Decrypt". Next you type in your password and the file with your passwords will decrypt and open, showing all of your secured passwords. When you are done, close Notepad and the file will automatically encrypt itself again for full security.

Almost as accessible as a post-it and a bit more secure, don't you think? If you don't have Lavasoft Digital Lock yet, why not download a free 30-day trial version and try this out for yourself?