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[Pasting an old comment of mine on password managers, since I see people talking about starting to use Keepass. I hope this helps someone] ---- If you're just
by scrollaway 9y ago
[Pasting an old comment of mine on password managers, since I see people talking about starting to use Keepass. I hope this helps someone]
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If you're just starting, here's some guidance on setting up a password manager.
First of all: Don't be afraid of using one. It's not just more secure, it's super convenient. Never again will you ask yourself: Did I make an account for this website/service? What email did I use? Never again will you have to remember a password. Using a password manager is a quality of life improvement.
KeepassXC is what I recommend to people at this point. It's free and you own your data (your passwords). They live wherever you want them to live. There are plenty of online services that are supposedly more convenient but I have to say I trust them less -- YMMV (1Password is the best I'm aware of).
https://keepassxc.org https://keepassxc.org
If you do use keepassxc, you get the added benefit of being able to store 2FA settings in it as well (if you store them in the same database as your passwords, be aware that you lose the security benefit of a second factor, however it is still more secure than not having 2FA enabled due to the One-time password component).
Put every account you ever made and ever make into keepass. Enable 2fa wherever you don't have it enabled. Add login URLs and notes. Generate your passwords from keepass itself; the password generator is really powerful and lets you very easily deal with site-specific shitty password limitations. I'm telling you this because, seriously, it's incredibly convenient to have this stuff as long as you're rigorous about maintaining it.
Oh, also, keepass has the full history of all your passwords. Need to look up an old password? Go into details and look at "History". You can also attach files to items (items don't have to be accounts at all, you can use keepassxc as a simple encrypted storage db).
Mobile support: Keepass2Android. Best android client, with google drive support. iOS I have no idea, suggestions welcome.
IMPORTANT: BE STUPIDLY PARANOID AND RIGOROUSLY CAREFUL ABOUT YOUR MASTER PASSWORD. That thing, together with your keepass database, unlocks all your accounts ever. Use a really long passphrase that you will never have to write down (if you do decide to write it down because you don't trust yourself, store it in a safety deposit box, don't put it in a bloody drawer). Make sure the device you unlock the database on is malware-free.
PS: Wondering what's up with Keepass vs. KeepassX vs. KeepassXC? Keepass is the original app, written in .NET but with poor multi-platform support. KeepassX is a rewrite in Qt and is a fantastic password manager, but has gone unmaintained recently. The open source community picked up the slack in the KeepassXC fork (after continuing countless attempts to upstream the patches) and has implemented lots of powerful features. I've switched to it and at this point I strongly believe it's the better client.
- GordonS 9y agoI use KeePass 2.x (can't be arsed switching to KeepassXC), but I absolutely second Keepass2Android. It supports a whole host of backends, which includes SFTP - great it you want to securely keep your password DB online without using a 3rd party service (e.g. Dropbox).
- hanklazard 9y agoI've just switched from 1password to keepassxc in the past few weeks. The only reason I did so was because 1password was trying to force me into their subscription service as I switched from macOS to linux mint. I looked at a few work-arounds on github, but eventually just decided to move over to keepassXC. The export / import and overall setup was pretty painless. I am still able to sync through dropbox just like with 1password. There is also an ios app called keepasstouch which was a breeze to get going and syncs with my dropbox password vault. Finally, the browser extension works in a very similar way to 1password's. Overall, I definitely recommend it. I haven't lost any functionality or security to my knowledge. I was happy to pay up front for 1password (probably dropped 60-80$ or so for their apps), but, after doing so, just couldn't stomach being forced into their SaaS model. Especially when a similar free, open-source alternative exists.
- praveenster 9y agoJust out of curiosity, aren’t you worried that keepasstouch app on the iOS may be compromised?
- hanklazard 9y agoI have to thank you for bringing this to my attention! Although I have not seen any reports of keepasstouch being compromised, it is true that it is not open source ... I had meant to download minikeepass, which is. I've remedied the problem. 2FA keeps me pretty safe on most of my important accounts, but I have still changed pw's on many accounts thanks to your comment. Much appreciated!
- mseebach 9y ago> you get the added benefit of being able to store 2FA settings Don't do this. If you use a password manager with all the benefits this entails (long, random passwords, each only used for a single site), the only benefit 2FA really gives you is if your password manager is compromised somehow. If your second factor is in your password manager, you're screwed. I use Authy with a long, secure password printed on a piece of paper. Yes, it is cloud and third party and everything, but it's on a completely orthogonal chain from my Keepass DB, so dual compromises are significantly more difficult.