Method for enabling an administrator to configure a recovery password

A method is provided for a enabling a user to initiate a password protected backup copy of the user's credentials. The method includes providing a user with a credential store containing information relating to the user's identity, generating a different recovery password of any length for each recovery authority, encrypting the recovery password for each recovery authority, storing the encrypted recovery passwords in the credential store, and sending a copy of the information by the user from the credential store to a central repository.