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Get a lifetime Sticky Password Premium subscription for $24.99

From the Cheapskate: Stop paying annually for password management! Here's your one-and-done alternative. Plus: three bonus deals, including a huge free software bundle and a hoverboard!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
3 min read

CNET's Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.

Quick bit of housekeeping: Did you find a new phone, laptop, tablet or other tech goodie under the tree? That probably means you've got an old one you're looking to sell. Head to CNET's new trade-in page, which offers cold, hard cash in exchange for your used devices.

Okay, on to business. Remember when software was something you bought once and owned forever? Sure, you might buy an updated version a few years down the road, but this whole subscription thing? Bah. Humbug. (A little post-Christmas Grinch-iness for you, there.)

Now everything's a subscription -- antivirus, office suite, VPN and, sadly, password manager. I'm especially bummed about this last, because a good password manager is absolutely essential -- and having to pay annually for one really bites.

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Lamantine Software

That's why today's deal rocks. Ending in just two days, StackSocial has a lifetime subscription to Sticky Password Premium for $24.99. Regular price: $99.99. This is for new customers only, but your single license covers all your devices and includes updates.

Raise your hand if this has ever happened to you: You forgot your password for, say, Amazon, Netflix, your bank or any of the hundreds of other Internet services you use, so you visit the special circle of Hell that is resetting your password.

That's why a password manager is crucial: It not only remembers all your passwords for you (and secures them with a single, master password), but automatically inputs them for you as you bop around the Web. (Huge time-saver.) What's more, it can generate strong passwords on your behalf (no more "12345678"), automatically complete online forms and much more.

The software is available for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, and of course it syncs your password database between any and all devices you own, regardless of platform. It can even do this via Wi-Fi, effectively keeping your passwords out of the cloud.

I haven't tried Sticky Password Premium myself (I'm a Dashlane man, but at $40 annually I'm strongly considering a switch), but earlier this year it scored an Editors' Choice nod from PC Magazine. If you've used it, hit the comments and tell your fellow cheeps what to expect.

Personally, I'm loving this one-and-done option. Your thoughts?

Bonus deal: WonderFox Soft has put together a pretty amazing free software bundle, including its own HD Video Converter Pro and DVD Ripper Pro, plus Artensoft Tilt Shift Generator, IObit Advanced System Care Pro 9, and, if $25 for Sticky Password Premium is too rich for your blood, a one-year Sticky Password Premium subscription. Again, all this is free. Click through to the giveaway page, scroll down a bit and then click Hit Me. You'll receive a ZEP file containing a Word document for each of the 12 giveaway items. Open each document for a download link and activation/registration instructions.

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XtremeGuard

Bonus deal No. 2: Nothing ruins your day year like a broken smartphone screen. A case offers some protection; a screen shield rounds it out. And here's an amazing deal: XtremeGuard is offering its Spartan Tempered Glass iPhone 6-series screen protectors for $1.49 shipped when you apply coupon code CR91OFF at checkout.

When you click through to your specific model, choose the Spartan Tempered Glass Case Friendly Screen Protector option, even though it's not the default $7.99 choice listed on the promo page. (Seriously, could this site be any more confusing?) You can use that code to get 91 percent off XtremeGuard's other products as well.

Bonus deal No. 3: Didn't get the hoverboard you were hoping for this Christmas? If you scored some cash instead, check this out: Monoprice has a Smart Balancing Two-Wheeled Scooter for $289.99 shipped. It includes a Samsung battery, which is reported to be less of a fire hazard. I know a few folks who scoff at these, but I have to tell you, they're ridiculously fun. Just make sure to take it slow at first so you don't fall down and hurt yourself. Humans aren't accustomed to having wheels for feet.