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I know this question comes up time and time again, but as it seems a good fit here: What are the best password managers out there that do not force you to use t

by ar0 10y ago

I know this question comes up time and time again, but as it seems a good fit here: What are the best password managers out there that do not force you to use their "cloud" for syncing between devices and are available on all major platforms? I am a very happy 1Password user up to now because of it's local wifi sync feature, but I think with this announcement the writing is on the wall: The standalone sync will go away sometime down the road to "improve" everyone's user experience by moving them to the cloud sync and the accompanying subscription revenue. So it might be a good time to explore (open source?) alternatives...

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
csixty4 10y ago
I've been pretty happy with Enpass. Runs on pretty much everything, syncs to your choice of cloud services.
- stock_toaster 10y ago
  This looks like a great alternative. Thanks! I will def keep this one in my back pocket in case 1password does indeed start to deprecate or mess with the standalone offerings.
rocqua 10y ago
I'd be surprised if any features were removed from the current standalone version. So basically, until need a software upgrade, either for compatibility or feature reasons, there are no issues. 1password major versions always cost money, so the only added cost is that of switching. With the current data-format of 1password being open-source, that shouldn't be that hard. As for alternatives, last time I looked (~3 months ago, when I was in the market for a password manager) I chose 1password because of their superior browser plugins. The contending alternatives were: - keepass (open source) - lastpass - dashlane
- dilap 10y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if features were removed in a version or two. The have negative incentive to maintain working dropbox synching code, since now it's competition for their main product. Even if they don't remove the feature, what are the odds it gets any love and continues to work well? Bitrot is a real thing. Most software needs a little bit of love to continue working as the world around it changes.
lcarlson 10y ago
I use this everywhere and I've been slowly migrating all of my passwords off of 1password: http://genpass.supergenpass.com http://genpass.supergenpass.com Bookmarlet and mobile app and I don't need to store any passwords anymore. I also save passwords in the browser to save time after they're generated.
scrollaway 10y ago
I recommend Keepassx.
bad_user 10y ago
I'm a former 1Password user and switched to KeePass ports. On the desktop I use KeeWeb [1], which works great on both Linux and OS X, and I assume on Windows as well, on Android I use Keepass2Android [2], which is actually better than 1Password on Android btw, and on iOS I use MiniKeePass [3]. This last one is a little weak, but it works. All 3 are open source btw. And seriously, it works better than I expected for $0. What made me switch is their move to a subscription model. They pretend that the old licensing model will still be around, but if you pay attention, that's not true. The first thing they did for example is to get rid of the Mac-only license, in order to make subscriptions seem more competitive. And they also stopped developing standalone features. I'm a Linux user as well, I would have liked a Linux port. And the only sync option is Dropbox, but Google Drive or other options would have been nice. On cloud syncing, I do syncing by means of Dropbox, but my Dropbox directory isn't a big target for hackers and at the very least I know how KeePass and GPG work, what ends up in my Dropbox being just an encrypted file. I don't know how LastPass and 1Password work, even though they claim the encryption is only client side, and frankly I don't care anymore. [1] https://keeweb.info/ https://keeweb.info/ [2] http://keepass2android.codeplex.com/ http://keepass2android.codeplex.com/ [3] https://minikeepass.github.io/ https://minikeepass.github.io/
- aioprisan 10y ago
  KeePass comes with built-in security flaws, so that's the main plus over 1Password! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9727297 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9727297
  - scrollaway 10y ago
    KeePass is not the same as KeepassX, or KeepassDroid, or any of the other clients.
pwg 10y ago
> What are the best password managers out there that do not force you to use their "cloud" for syncing between devices and are available on all major platforms? The definition of "best" is subjective, and eventually up to your desires. With that said, at least Password Gorilla (https://github.com/zdia/gorilla/wiki https://github.com/zdia/gorilla/wiki) is open source and has some built in 'sync' ability that does not _require_ any cloud service (it is manually driven, but it highlights most 'merge conflicts' for you to resolve) . It is also available on Linux, Windows, and MacOS, and while not itself available on Android there are several Android apps. (and maybe an iOS app or two) that inter-operate with the encrypted file format it uses.
toddanderson2 10y ago
Yes it might have been a valid question a few years ago. These days the ReadySignOn iOS is unquestionably the best password manager all around. Actually it's the only one that I ccould trust. Its recently released source code of KeePass plug-in shows it actually uses a million key derivation iteration count and additional direct key xors on top of ASE256.
- jdeibele 10y ago
  What does ReadySignOn cost? I can't find any pricing information on their website. On their App Store web page it just says "Free" without the usual "Offers in-app purchases". On closing the tab I saw something about "purchases" and this is what I see in the lower left corner: Top In-App Purchases English website te$5.99 English website te$0.99 This might be a great program but I feel like they're so shifty about pricing that I don't feel comfortable with them. I understand they can't completely control the way that the App Store presents things and maybe it's more clear if I load iTunes.
  - toddanderson2 10y ago
    The app is free, no pay-to-unlock features. I think the IAP packages are for additional templates which are really not necessary at all. If I need a similar record for the same site I just duplicate then modify, it's actually easier than templates. The only limit that I found is there is no Android version.
toddanderson2 10y ago
Yes it might have been a valid question a few years ago. These days the ReadySignOn iOS is unquestionably the best password manager all around. Actually it's the only one that I ccould trust. Its recently released source code of KeePass plug-in shows it actually uses a million key derivation iteration count and additional direct key xors on top of ASE256.
msh 10y ago
F secure key don't force you to sync. Actually that's the difference between the paid and free version (sync cost, the rest of the features are free).

by ar0 10y ago

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

csixty4 10y ago

I've been pretty happy with Enpass. Runs on pretty much everything, syncs to your choice of cloud services.

stock_toaster 10y ago
This looks like a great alternative. Thanks! I will def keep this one in my back pocket in case 1password does indeed start to deprecate or mess with the standalone offerings.

rocqua 10y ago

I'd be surprised if any features were removed from the current standalone version. So basically, until need a software upgrade, either for compatibility or feature reasons, there are no issues. 1password major versions always cost money, so the only added cost is that of switching. With the current data-format of 1password being open-source, that shouldn't be that hard. As for alternatives, last time I looked (~3 months ago, when I was in the market for a password manager) I chose 1password because of their superior browser plugins. The contending alternatives were: - keepass (open source) - lastpass - dashlane

dilap 10y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if features were removed in a version or two. The have negative incentive to maintain working dropbox synching code, since now it's competition for their main product. Even if they don't remove the feature, what are the odds it gets any love and continues to work well? Bitrot is a real thing. Most software needs a little bit of love to continue working as the world around it changes.

lcarlson 10y ago

I use this everywhere and I've been slowly migrating all of my passwords off of 1password: http://genpass.supergenpass.com http://genpass.supergenpass.com Bookmarlet and mobile app and I don't need to store any passwords anymore. I also save passwords in the browser to save time after they're generated.

scrollaway 10y ago

I recommend Keepassx.

bad_user 10y ago

I'm a former 1Password user and switched to KeePass ports. On the desktop I use KeeWeb [1], which works great on both Linux and OS X, and I assume on Windows as well, on Android I use Keepass2Android [2], which is actually better than 1Password on Android btw, and on iOS I use MiniKeePass [3]. This last one is a little weak, but it works. All 3 are open source btw. And seriously, it works better than I expected for $0. What made me switch is their move to a subscription model. They pretend that the old licensing model will still be around, but if you pay attention, that's not true. The first thing they did for example is to get rid of the Mac-only license, in order to make subscriptions seem more competitive. And they also stopped developing standalone features. I'm a Linux user as well, I would have liked a Linux port. And the only sync option is Dropbox, but Google Drive or other options would have been nice. On cloud syncing, I do syncing by means of Dropbox, but my Dropbox directory isn't a big target for hackers and at the very least I know how KeePass and GPG work, what ends up in my Dropbox being just an encrypted file. I don't know how LastPass and 1Password work, even though they claim the encryption is only client side, and frankly I don't care anymore. [1] https://keeweb.info/ https://keeweb.info/ [2] http://keepass2android.codeplex.com/ http://keepass2android.codeplex.com/ [3] https://minikeepass.github.io/ https://minikeepass.github.io/

aioprisan 10y ago
KeePass comes with built-in security flaws, so that's the main plus over 1Password! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9727297 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9727297
- scrollaway 10y ago
  KeePass is not the same as KeepassX, or KeepassDroid, or any of the other clients.

pwg 10y ago

> What are the best password managers out there that do not force you to use their "cloud" for syncing between devices and are available on all major platforms? The definition of "best" is subjective, and eventually up to your desires. With that said, at least Password Gorilla (https://github.com/zdia/gorilla/wiki https://github.com/zdia/gorilla/wiki) is open source and has some built in 'sync' ability that does not _require_ any cloud service (it is manually driven, but it highlights most 'merge conflicts' for you to resolve) . It is also available on Linux, Windows, and MacOS, and while not itself available on Android there are several Android apps. (and maybe an iOS app or two) that inter-operate with the encrypted file format it uses.

toddanderson2 10y ago

Yes it might have been a valid question a few years ago. These days the ReadySignOn iOS is unquestionably the best password manager all around. Actually it's the only one that I ccould trust. Its recently released source code of KeePass plug-in shows it actually uses a million key derivation iteration count and additional direct key xors on top of ASE256.

jdeibele 10y ago
What does ReadySignOn cost? I can't find any pricing information on their website. On their App Store web page it just says "Free" without the usual "Offers in-app purchases". On closing the tab I saw something about "purchases" and this is what I see in the lower left corner: Top In-App Purchases English website te$5.99 English website te$0.99 This might be a great program but I feel like they're so shifty about pricing that I don't feel comfortable with them. I understand they can't completely control the way that the App Store presents things and maybe it's more clear if I load iTunes.
- toddanderson2 10y ago
  The app is free, no pay-to-unlock features. I think the IAP packages are for additional templates which are really not necessary at all. If I need a similar record for the same site I just duplicate then modify, it's actually easier than templates. The only limit that I found is there is no Android version.

toddanderson2 10y ago

msh 10y ago

F secure key don't force you to sync. Actually that's the difference between the paid and free version (sync cost, the rest of the features are free).