Password button, enter the password you want to use and then re-enter it (see Figure 8-6). A password quality meter indicates the relative security of the password you have chosen. Passwords that contain random mixtures of letters, numbers, and other symbols (such as $) are more secure because they're harder to guess, even with the help of automated guessing technology. See Chapter 15 for more advice about creating secure passwords. Figure 8-6: A Master Password gives you both automatic password entry and peace of mind. Warning If you decide to use a Master Password, make sure you remember it. If you ever forget your Master Password, there is no way to recover the passwords that are stored in the Password Manager. To change the Master Password later, simply click the same button, which now reads Change Master Password. Likewise, to remove the Master Password, click the Remove Master Password button. In either case, you need to first enter the current Master Password to prevent someone else with access to your computer from simply disengaging the feature and gaining access to your saved passwords. Viewing and clearing saved login info with the Password Manager From the Firefox Password Manager, you can view login information you've told Firefox to save and tell Firefox to forget that information and to stop recommending it whenever you visit the site. You can also view a list of Web sites at which you've told Firefox not to save login information and undo that setting so Firefox begins prompting you again when you log in at those sites. Follow these instructions to use the Password Manager: 1. 2. Click the Privacy icon at the top of the window that appears. 3. Click the Passwords tab. 4. Click the View Saved Passwords button. The Password Manager window appears, as shown in Figure 8-7. It contains two tabs: Passwords Saved and Passwords Never Saved. The first tab shows the login names Firefox has saved and the associated Web sites. Passwords are not shown unless you choose to show them, as I discuss a little later in this section. The second tab shows the sites for which you've told Firefox not to save or offer to save login information. Figure 8-7: The Password Manager. 5. From the Password Manager, you can do any of the following: View the passwords Firefox has collected thus far. If Firefox has prefilled your password for so long you've actually forgotten it, this is a good way to retrieve it! Warning Make sure nobody's looking over your shoulder before you decide to show your passwords. Firefox shows every password it has saved. Click the Show Passwords button at the bottom of the Password Manager. If you have a Master Password, you need to enter it before you can access the stored passwords, even if you've entered it previously. This is for your security. Otherwise, Firefox asks you to confirm the decision. After you do so, your passwords are shown in a new Password column in the Password Manager's table of login information. To hide your passwords again, click the Hide Passwords button. Clear some or all of the stored login information. If you want Firefox to forget a certain username and password combination so that it stops recommending the information when you visit the Web site, select the information in the Password Manager list and click the Remove button. To have Firefox forget all login information, click the Remove All button.