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KeePassXC and Bitwarden are the best password managers in existence right now: KeePassXC if you want to be disconnected from the cloud and Bitwarden if you want

by mikece 6y ago

KeePassXC and Bitwarden are the best password managers in existence right now: KeePassXC if you want to be disconnected from the cloud and Bitwarden if you want both the convenience of cloud-based password management AND high security.

tarasmatsyk 6y ago
how is your experience in a browser? I honestly tried to use Bitwarden, paid for premium for one time key feature and browser extensions comparing to 1pass are much less convenient. For instance, an ability to manage multiple website (e.g. google) accounts is priceless
- sigzero 6y ago
  I never had any problems using BW and my multiple gmail accounts?
- mikece 6y ago
  A habit I carried over from using KeePassXC is that I don't use a browser extension. Call it paranoia but I don't want the browser process to have the ability to reach into my password manager. What I do is pin the Bitwarden tab open and just copy & paste where needed. For the desktop app it would be awesome if it had an auto-type feature like KeePassXC (something that mystifies coworkers who see that in action for the first time, even remotely). Even though my employer has a corporate LastPass account for shared production passwords I insist on using KeePassXC for non-shared credentials. I've told those who need to be notified and there is general indifference what password manager I use for non-shared credentials (AWS login, GitLab credentials, storing SSH keys, etc) as long as it's secure.
  - delroth 6y ago
    Browser extensions have the benefit of being more resilient against phishing (since they can perform origin checks), which I would definitely recommend for most users.
  - selykg 6y ago
    You're losing out on certain types of phishing protections by doing this. You're also potentially opening yourself up to any apps/tools that are keeping an eye on your clipboard if you're copying and pasting. Auto-type might help with that, but I also wouldn't hold my breath for such a feature coming.
    - mikece 6y ago
      That is the one thing that worries me about iOS (okay: the BIGGEST concern, not the ONLY concern) now that's it has been shown that TikTok and LinkedIn (apps not on my phone) have been shown to be copying the contents of the clipboard. I had not thought of using a browser plugin to avoid clipboard scavengers on non-mobile OSes: I'll have to give that some thought now.
      - vbezhenar 6y ago
        iOS have standard API for password managers. There's no reason not to use it.
        selykg 6y ago
        Really hoping Apple makes this feature available in macOS so that password managers can hook into it in an official way. Every year I keep crossing my fingers but it never happens.
    - TonyTrapp 6y ago
      And at the same time you win by not falling victim of "oops, there is a bug in our browser add-on that accidentally leaks arbitrary login data to websites", as it has happened in the past. Leaking all my credentials certainly sounds more concerning to me than leaking the credentials to a single page.
      - selykg 6y ago
        Eh.. I'm going to go a different route. Compromising everything is easier, it means you have to change the password for everything and know it was compromised. If only SOME stuff is compromised then you don't know what was compromised so you end up having to change everything anyway. I mean, that's at least my approach. I'd rather know I needed to keep an eye on everything rather than some things. At least then I know I can take appropriate precautions.
  - vbezhenar 6y ago
    I'm doing similar thing with KeePass. While there are browser extensions to work with KeePass, I decided to not use those. I'm using Ctrl+B, Ctrl+V for user name and I'm using Ctrl+V which sends keystrokes into browser to fill password. Actually most of websites remember my login information for a long time, so this is not a problem at all. And I like to keep some sense of control over my private data.
    - Latty 6y ago
      As pointed out elsewhere in this thread, there is a danger here that you have to manually verify the origin of the page you are on, which makes you far more vulnerable to phishing attacks, which are common and can be very sophisticated (things like pages that look like normal content but change to a fake Google log in page when you minimise the page, so when you come back, it is there waiting).
  - Latty 6y ago
    KeePassXC has a thing where it asks you before it will give the browser the password the first time for a given URL. I don't know if you can force it to always prompt you, but that would seem a better solution—as others have pointed out, copy/paste and even auto-type opens you up to more attacks.
- selykg 6y ago
  Bitwarden supports multiple accounts. If you have two logins for the same service with the same URLs they'll appear in the browser extension with the username shown by the title. If you're instead talking about using the same login credentials on multiple sites, it can do that as well, just edit the item and add a second URL to the site. Now that item will appear on both site URLs
  - paulryanrogers 6y ago
    KeePass can support that too. If it sees more than one match when auto typing it'll prompt you to choose.
  - tarasmatsyk 6y ago
    Yep, I saw that, the feature I was trying to describe is a popup on a username that gives you a list of all accounts tied to this domain, which is quite handy. In Bitwarden I have to either right click or copy/paste from the extension. A bit awkward IMO
jaimehrubiks 6y ago
How can anyone switch to bitwarden given how complex it is to switch back in the future? I love keepass because I am allowed to export my DBS to any other provider with ease. For bitwarden, there is not a good export system (that includes attachments,images...),meaning that I would be vendor locked.
- Spivak 6y ago
  Not an excuse for poor export capabilities but you can absolutely DIY with bitwarden-cli.
- driverdan 6y ago
  Bitwarden is 100% open source. You can run your own server. There is no vendor lock in.
- oropolo 6y ago
  What vendor lock-in? They make it plainly clear how to export your data from BitWarden: https://bitwarden.com/help/article/export-your-data/ https://bitwarden.com/help/article/export-your-data/ Personally I think it would be awesome if Bitwarden gave you the option to export your password vault as a KDBX4 file. What's the best way to fund a bounty program for adding this feature to Bitwarden?
  - Funnnny 6y ago
    KeePass has the ability to import Bitwarden JSON file so there's little need for the feature.
    - mikece 6y ago
      There might not be a need but I like the idea of being able to use the Bitwarden client on iOS/Android with a KDBX4 database file from KeePass(XC).
gchamonlive 6y ago
You can also run your own bitwarden server either with their official server or with bitwarden_rs, a reimplementation in rust that runs better on lower-end hardware
- throwaway8941 6y ago
  It runs better everywhere. I have set up both and see no difference between them feature wise. Why would you use the official one? It's so resource heavy, more difficult to set up, feels very enterprise-y.
  - gchamonlive 6y ago
    exactly, it is suited for enterprises, where you have to stick with the official builds for compliance.
kspacewalk2 6y ago
>best password managers in existence right now I am using 1Password with a standalone licence (sunk cost, so 'free' doesn't matter much. Also, C$70 is essentially free when it comes to securing my digital life). I sync a vault with a few co-workers via Dropbox and this is sufficient for us, no need for 1Password.com 'cloud' yet. We like the UI, and to our knowledge 1Password has the best track record for security, with extensive and continuous testing and no major fuck-ups yet. What advantages to switching to KeePassXC or Bitwarden are there for us?
- shmerl 6y ago
  Such tools should be open source.
- chucky 6y ago
  Source code access, and being free of charge seems to be the main things you would get compared to 1Password. Also, great Linux support (from what I've heard 1Password only recently even added a Linux-compatible client). But to me it sounds like you have a solution you are very happy with, and you don't mind paying for that solution, so my recommendation would be to stick with it. Although, as a happy user of KeePassXC, I'm tempted to ask the counter-question: why would I want to pay for 1Password when KeePassXC gives me a great solution for free (and also gives me source code access)?
  - kspacewalk2 6y ago
    Good question. I can't think of compelling reasons why a standalone user, or a small team, would switch to 1Password if they're already happy with KeePassXC.
    - benhurmarcel 6y ago
      I did that switch after using Keepass(XC) for about 10 years. For me it was for the seamless sync across devices, and nicer polish of the various apps/addons (iOS, Firefox, etc).
  - spanhandler 6y ago
mimimi31 6y ago
>convenience of cloud-based password management AND high security. One attack vector I see with Bitwarden is that if the server hosting the web client or the Firefox/Google account that owns the browser extension gets compromised, they could easily be modified to exfiltrate all your data. So unless you always package the browser extension yourself and check the web client's code before using it, your passwords are essentially only as secure as the developer's security measures are strong.
chromedev 6y ago
Nope, pass (Password Store) is way better IMO.
- jm2dev 6y ago
  I’m very happy with pass too.
- rendaw 6y ago
  I realize GP was unqualified too, but can you expand on this since it sounds like you've used both? I use (go)pass fairly happily and was recently recommended BitWarden and I'm curious about what separates them.

by mikece 6y ago

tarasmatsyk 6y ago

how is your experience in a browser? I honestly tried to use Bitwarden, paid for premium for one time key feature and browser extensions comparing to 1pass are much less convenient. For instance, an ability to manage multiple website (e.g. google) accounts is priceless

sigzero 6y ago
I never had any problems using BW and my multiple gmail accounts?
mikece 6y ago
A habit I carried over from using KeePassXC is that I don't use a browser extension. Call it paranoia but I don't want the browser process to have the ability to reach into my password manager. What I do is pin the Bitwarden tab open and just copy & paste where needed. For the desktop app it would be awesome if it had an auto-type feature like KeePassXC (something that mystifies coworkers who see that in action for the first time, even remotely). Even though my employer has a corporate LastPass account for shared production passwords I insist on using KeePassXC for non-shared credentials. I've told those who need to be notified and there is general indifference what password manager I use for non-shared credentials (AWS login, GitLab credentials, storing SSH keys, etc) as long as it's secure.
- delroth 6y ago
  Browser extensions have the benefit of being more resilient against phishing (since they can perform origin checks), which I would definitely recommend for most users.
- selykg 6y ago
  You're losing out on certain types of phishing protections by doing this. You're also potentially opening yourself up to any apps/tools that are keeping an eye on your clipboard if you're copying and pasting. Auto-type might help with that, but I also wouldn't hold my breath for such a feature coming.
  - mikece 6y ago
    That is the one thing that worries me about iOS (okay: the BIGGEST concern, not the ONLY concern) now that's it has been shown that TikTok and LinkedIn (apps not on my phone) have been shown to be copying the contents of the clipboard. I had not thought of using a browser plugin to avoid clipboard scavengers on non-mobile OSes: I'll have to give that some thought now.
    - vbezhenar 6y ago
      iOS have standard API for password managers. There's no reason not to use it.
      - selykg 6y ago
        Really hoping Apple makes this feature available in macOS so that password managers can hook into it in an official way. Every year I keep crossing my fingers but it never happens.
  - TonyTrapp 6y ago
    And at the same time you win by not falling victim of "oops, there is a bug in our browser add-on that accidentally leaks arbitrary login data to websites", as it has happened in the past. Leaking all my credentials certainly sounds more concerning to me than leaking the credentials to a single page.
    - selykg 6y ago
      Eh.. I'm going to go a different route. Compromising everything is easier, it means you have to change the password for everything and know it was compromised. If only SOME stuff is compromised then you don't know what was compromised so you end up having to change everything anyway. I mean, that's at least my approach. I'd rather know I needed to keep an eye on everything rather than some things. At least then I know I can take appropriate precautions.
- vbezhenar 6y ago
  I'm doing similar thing with KeePass. While there are browser extensions to work with KeePass, I decided to not use those. I'm using Ctrl+B, Ctrl+V for user name and I'm using Ctrl+V which sends keystrokes into browser to fill password. Actually most of websites remember my login information for a long time, so this is not a problem at all. And I like to keep some sense of control over my private data.
  - Latty 6y ago
    As pointed out elsewhere in this thread, there is a danger here that you have to manually verify the origin of the page you are on, which makes you far more vulnerable to phishing attacks, which are common and can be very sophisticated (things like pages that look like normal content but change to a fake Google log in page when you minimise the page, so when you come back, it is there waiting).
- Latty 6y ago
  KeePassXC has a thing where it asks you before it will give the browser the password the first time for a given URL. I don't know if you can force it to always prompt you, but that would seem a better solution—as others have pointed out, copy/paste and even auto-type opens you up to more attacks.
selykg 6y ago
Bitwarden supports multiple accounts. If you have two logins for the same service with the same URLs they'll appear in the browser extension with the username shown by the title. If you're instead talking about using the same login credentials on multiple sites, it can do that as well, just edit the item and add a second URL to the site. Now that item will appear on both site URLs
- paulryanrogers 6y ago
  KeePass can support that too. If it sees more than one match when auto typing it'll prompt you to choose.
- tarasmatsyk 6y ago
  Yep, I saw that, the feature I was trying to describe is a popup on a username that gives you a list of all accounts tied to this domain, which is quite handy. In Bitwarden I have to either right click or copy/paste from the extension. A bit awkward IMO

jaimehrubiks 6y ago

How can anyone switch to bitwarden given how complex it is to switch back in the future? I love keepass because I am allowed to export my DBS to any other provider with ease. For bitwarden, there is not a good export system (that includes attachments,images...),meaning that I would be vendor locked.

Spivak 6y ago
Not an excuse for poor export capabilities but you can absolutely DIY with bitwarden-cli.
driverdan 6y ago
Bitwarden is 100% open source. You can run your own server. There is no vendor lock in.
oropolo 6y ago
What vendor lock-in? They make it plainly clear how to export your data from BitWarden: https://bitwarden.com/help/article/export-your-data/ https://bitwarden.com/help/article/export-your-data/ Personally I think it would be awesome if Bitwarden gave you the option to export your password vault as a KDBX4 file. What's the best way to fund a bounty program for adding this feature to Bitwarden?
- Funnnny 6y ago
  KeePass has the ability to import Bitwarden JSON file so there's little need for the feature.
  - mikece 6y ago
    There might not be a need but I like the idea of being able to use the Bitwarden client on iOS/Android with a KDBX4 database file from KeePass(XC).

gchamonlive 6y ago

You can also run your own bitwarden server either with their official server or with bitwarden_rs, a reimplementation in rust that runs better on lower-end hardware

throwaway8941 6y ago
It runs better everywhere. I have set up both and see no difference between them feature wise. Why would you use the official one? It's so resource heavy, more difficult to set up, feels very enterprise-y.
- gchamonlive 6y ago
  exactly, it is suited for enterprises, where you have to stick with the official builds for compliance.

kspacewalk2 6y ago

>best password managers in existence right now I am using 1Password with a standalone licence (sunk cost, so 'free' doesn't matter much. Also, C$70 is essentially free when it comes to securing my digital life). I sync a vault with a few co-workers via Dropbox and this is sufficient for us, no need for 1Password.com 'cloud' yet. We like the UI, and to our knowledge 1Password has the best track record for security, with extensive and continuous testing and no major fuck-ups yet. What advantages to switching to KeePassXC or Bitwarden are there for us?

shmerl 6y ago
Such tools should be open source.
chucky 6y ago
Source code access, and being free of charge seems to be the main things you would get compared to 1Password. Also, great Linux support (from what I've heard 1Password only recently even added a Linux-compatible client). But to me it sounds like you have a solution you are very happy with, and you don't mind paying for that solution, so my recommendation would be to stick with it. Although, as a happy user of KeePassXC, I'm tempted to ask the counter-question: why would I want to pay for 1Password when KeePassXC gives me a great solution for free (and also gives me source code access)?
- kspacewalk2 6y ago
  Good question. I can't think of compelling reasons why a standalone user, or a small team, would switch to 1Password if they're already happy with KeePassXC.
  - benhurmarcel 6y ago
    I did that switch after using Keepass(XC) for about 10 years. For me it was for the seamless sync across devices, and nicer polish of the various apps/addons (iOS, Firefox, etc).
- spanhandler 6y ago

mimimi31 6y ago

>convenience of cloud-based password management AND high security. One attack vector I see with Bitwarden is that if the server hosting the web client or the Firefox/Google account that owns the browser extension gets compromised, they could easily be modified to exfiltrate all your data. So unless you always package the browser extension yourself and check the web client's code before using it, your passwords are essentially only as secure as the developer's security measures are strong.

chromedev 6y ago

Nope, pass (Password Store) is way better IMO.

jm2dev 6y ago
I’m very happy with pass too.
rendaw 6y ago
I realize GP was unqualified too, but can you expand on this since it sounds like you've used both? I use (go)pass fairly happily and was recently recommended BitWarden and I'm curious about what separates them.