How many different password/user identification (ID) combinations have you accumulated since you first started exploring the Internet for research, shopping, and information management purposes? If you're a typical entrepreneur, you currently use an average of 50 password/user ID pairings, many of which are slight variations on one another, according to a survey conducted this year by Online Info Security, an advocacy group based in Palo Alto, Calif.

What's the best way to keep track of your combinations and retrieve them when you need them? A quick Web search will reveal dozens of software-based or Web-enabled password management systems. These will organize and store your passwords on your browser, which allows you to access and use your list from multiple computers and various locations. This kind of system works well enough if you don't mind logging onto the management program to recall a password/ID combination.

For anyone who surfs regularly on password-protected sites, however, digging up the correct password and user ID is a tedious chore. And when you shop, repeatedly filling in online forms that collect your name, address, and credit card information can be exasperating. Fortunately, help has arrived in the unlikely guise of a little online alligator.

Gator.com's mission is "to make online consumers' lives simpler and better" by providing applications that make using the Web easy. Once you've downloaded the Gator program (which you can do for free at www.gator.com) and have provided some basic information, Gator travels with you on the Web, remembering your passwords and user IDs, automatically filling in shopping forms, performing on-the-spot price comparisons while you shop, and alerting you to money-saving offers.

When you first reach a site that requires a password/user ID combination, a small green alligator in a dialog box surfaces on your screen. After your initial login, Gator remembers the password and ID data and tags it to that particular site. On subsequent visits, with just one mouseclick on the alligator box, you'll be able enter the site.

With its Form Helper application, Gator can automatically fill out online forms. When Gator sees a form, it surfaces and allows you to complete the form by simply clicking a "Fill In" button.

Gator's Price Helper service lets you compare prices on books, movies, music, hardware and software, and electronics before you buy. When you are on a product page at one of the supported online stores, a comparison alert will pop up and offer to perform a price check at other Web sites, without leaving the site you're on. When you're ready to make a purchase, click on the link to the store of your choice.

And finally, there's Gator's Offer Companion, which sends you relevant offers and promotions based on Web sites you visit.

What sets Gator apart from most password management systems, in addition to the "online companion" nature of the program, is that the personal information - such as your name, address, and credit card specifics - that Gator uses to complete forms is stored on your computer (or any other computers you transfer the program to) in an encrypted file. It does not sit on a Web browser or at Gator.com; it resides safely on your equipment, disguised at all times.

If you would like to password-protect your sensitive information for additional security, you can do so. This is particularly helpful if there is more than one Gator user on a single computer at your business. Gator is also capable of remembering different password/ID combinations for the same site. If you and your office manager both shop for supplies at Staples.com, for example, you can each have unique passwords and user IDs for that site.

One downside, however, is that the program will not work on Macintosh computers. Gator is a Windows application, designed for Windows 95, 98, ME, and NT 4.0, Internet Explorer 4 and 5, MSN Explorer, Netscape 4, and AOL 4, 5, and 6.