I recently migrated my Mac from Netscape 9 to Firefox. I am actually a longtime Firefox user on the PC, however I had been using Netscape on the Mac since I bought the Mac Pro in October. Since Netscape is heading to the technology graveyard, I thought it best to ditch it now.
One of the issues when moving to a new Firefox installation is how to get your saved passwords over to the new installation. These are the passwords that are saved in the browser when you hit “Remember” when Firefox asks you if you want to remember it. This is a real time saver, and it would suck to have to formulate the entire list again just because you are using a new installation of Firefox.
A few other tutorials I’ve seen on this talk about how you need to manually copy the user profile for Firefox and move it over to the new location. This is a pain in the butt.
There is an easier way.
A Free Firefox Add-On: Password Exporter
There is a free add-on available for Firefox called Password Exporter. Taken right from site:
This extension allows you to export and import your saved passwords and rejected sites between computers. Your passwords will be exported to an XML or CSV file and can be encrypted.
It works super well, too. You install it just like any other add-on. You can then use it to export your password list from the old browser installation and then import it into the new one.
The only catch I found was that where the site SAYS you can access it is not exactly where I found it. The site says “Tools -> Options -> Privacy (or Security) pane -> Import/Export Password button”. After installing this add-on, I did not have any button in that location. Now, I am using a Mac here and it is unknown whether that has something to do with it. Either way, you can still get to the same window by pulling up your add-ons list, highlighting Password Exporter and choosing “Preferences”.
Thanks go out to the add-on’s author, Justin Scott, for this fantastic time saver.
David Risley is the founder of PCMech.com. He is the brains, the thinker, the writer, the nerd.
Copy over:
key3.db
signons2.txt
Done
I found it to be a dumb idea to store my passwords on my computer. Just write them down on paper and no matter how hacked into your computer gets or how much it crashes and burns, you still have your passwords.
No hacker has ever been able to get into a paper notebook and no stroke of the keys has ever been able to delete a password written in ink.
Nor have I ever been able to remember my passwords when they were written on a sheet of paper while I am on the road. I use complex passwords, and remembering the 800+ that I have saved would be impossible.
The more likely case of having a password compromised is using a simple password that some script kiddie can guess, or can get it on one site and use it on others.