Webjimbo 2 Eases Network Setup, Adds iPhone Interface

Webjimbo, a third-party interface to password and miscellany manager Yojimbo, has received a significant upgrade, now offering simple network configuration, a persistent remote access URL using NAT port mapping, and a specially tailored iPhone front end. Webjimbo 2 can now also edit stored passwords and encrypted notes. A list of new features appears on a Webjimbo mailing list.

Webjimbo uses Yojimbo’s extensive AppleScript interface to enable Web-based remote access to nearly everything you can stick in Bare Bones Software’s data manager. Encrypted PDFs and Web archives are the two exceptions. I use Yojimbo religiously for storing every password, sales record, and random bit of crud that I accumulate in daily life. It’s a decent solution to the problem expressed in David Weinberger’s excellent book “Everything Is Miscellaneous.” (We reviewed Yojimbo 1.0 in “Let Yojimbo Guard Your Information Castle,” 2006-01-30; it’s now at version 1.4.2.)

Like the previous version of Webjimbo, the new release uses a secure SSL/TLS Web connection with a self-signed certificate that enables you to access confidential information and passwords without worrying about sniffers. (Self-signed certificates produce a warning in browsers, including Safari on the iPhone, that the certificate can’t be independently confirmed. You can permanently accept such a certificate in most browsers; Safari for iPhone makes you click Ignore once per session.)

Webjimbo also now offers automated router configuration to make computers without publicly routable IP addresses reachable through a directory that the developer has enabled; you can also configure a router manually. Like Back to My Mac in Leopard, you need to have a router that supports the Apple-developed NAT-PMP protocol (all AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express models), or the more widely found UPnP.

By registering the software with the Webjimbo directory, you can remotely access your system through http://findme.webjimbo.com/yourname, replacing yourname with the account you set up.

While there are a few other iPhone-based password managers that use cleverly tailored bookmarks to store password information (a technique pioneered by Selznick Scientific Software’s Password Wallet for iPhone), Webjimbo links directly and in real time to a more versatile information store. Webjimbo’s iPhone interface is well designed to take advantage of limited screen real estate, limited download speed (when not on a Wi-Fi network), and the special limitations of the iPhone (no downloaded attachment). You can also view unencrypted PDFs, which is a nice plus.