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I second the recommendation for Bitwarden.
I switched over from Dashlane and never looked back. They even have a browser extension for mobile Firefox (the browser you should be using anyways) so it’s easy and convenient on all my devices.
+1 for Bitwarden. There were growing pains at the start to move off of iCloud Keychain. Once done and being more proactive with managing passwords it’s so good and trustworthy
Agreed. Bitwarden has been fantastic. I just wish it was easier to swap between accounts on the browser extension. You can do it on desktop and mobile pretty easily.
Is there another way than just going back and forth and manually putting them in?
Manually putting what in?
You can import from another service if that’s what you mean
First time using it you export your password data and move it into BW. Then browser extension can help auto fill and detect new ones. It also has a password generator built in so that’s handy
Phone app can integrate and auto fill. On iPhone I’m not sure it if can detect and save. But the few times I’ve needed to sign up on phone I manually input.
I still use Firefox password and iCloud saves when prompted. Doesn’t hurt to have a backup I suppose.
I spent some time when I migrated from just storing my passwords in Chrome. I went through and made sure all of them were strong, unique passwords. I set up categories for all of them. I set it up so I could share the right ones with the family and whatnot.
Doing the raw import is easy, but it was a good time to make sure everything was in order.
Is there a reason to use the mobile extension over the app itself? The app can input into other apps as well
The desktop application runs on Chromium, so that’s something to consider.
Don’t know honestly - I’ve never tried the app so I don’t have a comparison. Didn’t even know they had one.
Ah nice :)
I find it a lot better, worth a try if you can get it
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.x8bit.bitwarden
Part of why I picked Bitwarden over keepass was that it had nice apps/extensions for all my devices, like you said. I didn’t miss any features when I switched, and instead gained a few cool ones.
The app is nice if you want to use bitwarden to login to other appa. You can allow it permission to run alongside other apps that can fill in login forms.
I have never even got the mobile extension to work. When I set it up and enter in my email and master password, the Captcha that is supposed go show up is missing entirely. There is just a blank space under the password field where the Captcha is supposed to have appeared.
If you have a custom DNS or VPN, that might be blocking the CAPTCHA.
Been using KeePassXC (and before that, KeePassX) since I abandoned LastPass about a decade ago. The apps integrate with Nextcloud perfectly and at least for me, it’s a breeze. I use it for TOTP too, and I second the recommendation of a hardware token for an additional layer of security. There are some USBc options that work on phones (I’m using a pixel 7 pro).
yup, no need to pay for a password manager. and far more secure.
I never got YubiKey to work on desktop with it. Key files seem to work good enough and easy to manage.
YubiKey works for me, both on desktop with KeePassXC and on Android with KeePassDX to the same DB
I like the look of KeePassDX but I was bothered by the fact that I have to use the yubikey every single time to unlock the database, unlike keepass2android which allows me to store the yubikey credential with biometric lock until the phone restarts. Keepass2android is not as nice of an app but that feature was really required for me.
KeepPassXC can do this as well, but it does require the yubikey to be inserted every time you want to save a change to the database.
Look under Settings -> Security -> Convenience -> Enable database quick unlock (Touch ID/Windows Hello)
Using that I can quick-unlock my database using my laptop’s fingerprint scanner, just like how KeepPassDX works on Android.
its not a huge issue on KeePassXC because I keep a yubikey nano plugged into my laptop, but for my phone, I haven’t been able to make this work reliably with KeePassDX. I’ll have to give it another go.
Ah yeah you are right, it makes me tap my key every time I open the app.
The biometrics seem to only replace the master password.
I do wish it worked more like KeePassXC where the key is only needed to save the database after unlocking and confirming with fingerprint
It does require some configuration within yubikey manager. I did not find it straightforward but once set up its really reliable.
While we’re on the topic of open source products, may I suggest the SoloKey:
So it’s like a YubiKey?
Yes, same type of device.
I’m curious about using the same store for passwords and TOTP. Technically if someone gets screwed to your database, they have both your factors, yes? But I guess it does thwart someone trying to brute force your password.
Adding a hardware key, like Nitrokey, would be an additional level of safety there. I would not use the database without some kind of additional key (something you know and something you physically have).
If there’s something nefarious that has user access, you’ve already lost in that regard.
Just to add, you can also use multiple databases to help maintain separation
This is what I do: I have 3 KeepassXC databases (regular passwords, “security” questions, TOTP tokens) each with a different password.
Technically you do lose the second factor, but nowadays 2FA is often mandatory or they force some crap like SMS/email verification onto you. If you are aware of the risk then it isn’t a huge deal.
Though you might want to consider not using it at least for the most important stuff like banking (here you don’t even have an option; banks have their own 2FA apps that you have to use) and primary/recovery email.
when lastpass screwed around with it’s free tier offering, i switched to bitwarden and haven’t felt any reason to use or even try anything else, it’s rock solid
Same. Been very happy. Great iOS integration.
Exact same boat. It was so easy to migrate from lastpass, I didn’t even feel any friction.
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+1 for BitWarden.
Plus, it’s ridiculously easy to self-host with VaultWarden.
Bitwarden - does everything, and is free. You can even setup a shared vault so 2 people can have access to shared stuff like online shopping and streaming sites. Takes a bit of admin work but it is not hard.
Sadly that second but requires the other person to care enough to make an account and not just text you when they need the password 😂
Just send a photograph of your screen showing the requested password of 25 random characters so they have to type it out. Guaranteed their next question will be where they sign up for an account.
lol that’s generally what I do. Sometimes I’m nice enough to copy and paste. We don’t share a lot of accounts so it’s not a huge issue.
Bitwarden gang
Bitwarden, Been using it since 2021
I’ve settled in with Keep Ass myself.
I too like to keep my pet Donkey to myself. I love it. 🙂
Also KeePassXC – KeePassDX + Nextcloud + (encrypted container dropbox backup)
Why the need to encrypt on Dropbox? Shouldn’t KeePass be secured enough by itself?
The Dropbox is just a remote backup container. The backup is automated , gathers files from a few locations, dumps them in an encrypted box and push them to Dropbox once a day. The encryption bit is just for some other files which are not encrypted in their natural state.
i guess because of metadata. an encrypted file has no readable header, which the keepass database file probably has so that keepass knows how it is encrypted.
KeePass don’t have much beyond a password hash for testing if you entered the right password or not.
still something that would identify it as a keepass database file, no?
It’s important to me to keep the three main pillars of my digital life—passwords, 2FA and email—separate, so I use Bitwarden, Aegis and ProtonMail. I don’t think that’s likely to change unless some catastrophic incident made one of those unusable.
I’m happily using YubiKey, wish everyone implemented U2F
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I’m in the exact same boat with these 3. couldn’t be happier
Yep, me too. Unbelievable that it was LastPass, Authy and Gmail a few years ago. What a shift for me :-).
Proton Pass pisses me off. Proton is such a money grubbing company that takes FOREVER to release stuff.
I pay $120 per year for ProtonMail, and they want me to pay $180 to unlock the full Proton Pass. $60 per year, for something that BitWarden does for only $12 per year.
Not to mention you’ll be waiting years for apps to come out. They’re such a fragmented company. The Android remake is already so far past the estimated release date it’s sad. Proton Drive Windows app finally came out, but fuck Mac and Linux users, I guess.
BitWarden is available for Windows, Linux, Mac, 9 browsers, iOS, Android, and CLI. - Premium is $1/month.
ProtonPass is available for iOS, Android, and 4 browsers. - Premium is $5/month.
Can’t wait for Proton to release a few more half baked services with outdated apps and a promise to update them in a year, but then 3 years later there’s still radio silence. Perhaps use your paid services money for developing in a timely manner? Holy shit.
100% They attack so many fronts in the worst way possible.
Also why would someone who want enhanced privacy put all their eggs in the basket by trapping themself in Proton’s ecosystem. Compartmentalize is important, and it ends up being cheaper too. Proton’s pricing is cutthroat.
They are not in the privacy business. They are in the business of business.
It’s actually 10$ a year.
Not where I am from.
I meant the Bitwarden premium sub.
Well ya, but I’m not American, so it’s not $10 for me.
It’s also 10€ per year if you live in the EU.
That’s because Euro and USD are similar. That’s how currency works. It’s not $10 where I live lol.
Oh well.
I’m using proton mail for free, paying like $12 a year for proton pass.
How?
That’s interesting. Looks like I received an email to get 75% off and I signed up using that
I agree with the fragmented part. Even their apps have different unlock interfaces, like they’re each made by a different company
Can’t say I share your sentiment. I’ve been quite happy with their rate of progress over the years and the applications they offer. I’ve been using them since they only offered mail and haven’t ever had any issues. I’d rather them take their time to do things right then try to release new things at a frantic pass. While they might not have all the bells and whistles, for the average user I think they provide more than enough value.
Also, your pricing is just completely wrong and off base. Pass by itself is $5/month ONLY if you pay per month. If you pay for 1 year worth it’s $4 a month and $3 month if you pay for 2 years. And that’s only if you for some reason only want to pay for proton pass.
Likewise, if you’re paying $120 year for protonmail then you’re most likely on the proton unlimited bundle for $10 per month paying for 1 years worth at a time. In that case you already have access to proton pass (and in fact all of their proton apps and premium features), so I’m not sure why you think you need to pay again for proton pass.
While I agree the proton pass pricing (even at 2 years) is high compared to similar companies, getting the proton unlimited subscription OTOH is (IMO) great value for money: the mail, password, & vpn are all great. The drive seems pretty good and useful but isn’t something I normally use anyways, and the calendar is the weakest of their offerings (and also something I normally don’t use anyways).
edit: I should also note, you don’t have to pay for any of their services. You could get by just using the free versions of everything if you didn’t need the extra bells and whistles offered for paying customers.
Can’t say I share your sentiment. I’ve been quite happy with their rate of progress over the years and the applications they offer. I’ve been using them since they only offered mail and haven’t ever had any issues. I’d rather them take their time to do things right then try to release new things at a frantic pass. While they might not have all the bells and whistles, for the average user I think they provide more than enough value.
They redesigned their Android app and missed the promised deadline TWICE and took 2 YEARS to release it. Now they’re working on the Android remake, to add threaded view, to finally catch up to year 2023. Already missed the deadline once.
Also, your pricing is just completely wrong and off base. Pass by itself is $5/month ONLY if you pay per month. If you pay for 1 year worth it’s $4 a month and $3 month if you pay for 2 years. And that’s only if you for some reason only want to pay for proton pass.
It’s $5 when I add it onto my Mail Plus for 12 months. Not sure what country you’re from, but it’s $5 in my country.
Likewise, if you’re paying $120 year for protonmail then you’re most likely on the proton unlimited bundle for $10 per month paying for 1 years worth at a time. In that case you already have access to proton pass (and in fact all of their proton apps and premium features), so I’m not sure why you think you need to pay again for proton pass.
Again, I am on Proton Plus. The second highest tier. The next tier is Proton Business, and it doesn’t go higher than that. I need more than 3 measely custom domains, so instead of ProtonMail offering the ability to pay for just more custom domains, they nickel and dime you and force you to pay for the business account. Like I said in my initial comment, they are money grubbing.
edit: I should also note, you don’t have to pay for any of their services. You could get by just using the free versions of everything if you didn’t need the extra bells and whistles offered for paying customers.
Except the features BitWarden hides behind a $1/month subscription, Proton locks behind a $5/month subscription. So unless I want to switch from BitWarden to ProtonPass and LOSE features, then yes, I do.
Have you considered using just the 3 domains with Proton and hosting the rest yourself? Assuming you have some more important/primary mail domains than others.
I was already hosting them, but it’s not worth it. I’ve been looking into switching to one of the other privacy focused alternatives that provide the ability to pay per domain, so you can add more without having to jump up tiers and pay for crap you don’t want.
Looking at their website I still can’t figure out what plan you are on while still needing to pay for proton pass. The only plan I see that matches your $120/year (USD, I’m from the US) comment and matches your “more than 3 custom email domains” is the proton business tier which is $13-10/month depending on the number of months you purchase in advance. And in all cases you once again get access to all other proton apps and their premium services for free. Sounds like maybe you’re on some legacy plan and would benefit (probably save money?) by going onto one of their new pricing structures? Not sure because I got upgraded to an unlimited plan for free back in the day (since i started when they only offered email) and so I’m still grandfathered in to a better price than is currently possible that includes everything.
It’s unfortunate their android app seems to be 2nd class to their iOS offerings; sadly that’s fairly commonplace, especially with small teams on tight budgets. I imagine that’s also why their proton pass pricing is so expensive.
But once again, I don’t see a need to slander and lie about a company that by all accounts is trying to actually do something about the privacy nightmare that the internet has become.
I thought I made it clear? I was on the Proton Mail Essentials ($9.55) and was required to go to Proton Business ($15) to unlock Proton Pass Plus.
An over $5 increase.
But once again, I don’t see a need to slander and lie about a company that by all accounts is trying to actually do something about the privacy nightmare that the internet has become.
Please tell me where I lied? Thanks.
As far as I can tell there is no mail essentials plan that costs $9.55 (talking USD/EUR/CHF which is all I can see). The absolute worst case scenario is $7.99/month per month (Business being $12.99). Furthermore, considering you are on the essentials plan it would seem like you’d save way more money using the individual plan (or family plan unless you have a large number of employees/users?). I suppose it’s possible you are on some grandfathered plan that is more expensive because you have more custom domains (I seem to maybe remember that being possible back in the day?). But then I think that also would have applied to the individual plan, so again I’m not quite sure why you are on a business plan when all of your comments seem to imply you’re an individual?
And honestly the crux of the issue is you made poor-faith arguments from the very start. You called them a money grubbing company and tried to pass yourself off as a regular user who’s paying all this money and then having to get charged more. When in fact, for 99% of users your situation isn’t applicable at all; and in fact you are on a weird, old, business plan (to which you’d probably save money switching to a new business regular plan [for $12.99 - $9.99] which supports up to 10 custom email domains + all premium proton services).
And looking into proton pass, it seems like the majority of the cost is because of the email alias service that comes with it. Bitwarden doesn’t in fact provide that (though they do support integration of it) and a quick look at other providers that only provide custom emails it shows similar monthly fees (still less than proton pass to be fair).
So to me, it seems like a bit of unwarranted slander and lies (though I suppose, again, you could be on an old grandfathered plan; but it still doesn’t explain how the “next step up” is $15) because of some beef you have against them.
As far as I can tell there is no mail essentials plan that costs $9.55 (talking USD/EUR/CHF which is all I can see).
Here’s when you learn other countries exist. I am Canadian. I don’t talk in USD, EUR, or CHF. I talk in CAD. My payment provider doesn’t tell me I paid “X USD”, it tells me I paid “X CAD”.
I suppose it’s possible you are on some grandfathered plan that is more expensive because you have more custom domains (I seem to maybe remember that being possible back in the day?).
I am not, but you’re correct about Proton offering to add more custom domains without having to change to a whole new tier. Another perfect example of how they nickel and dime. They realized they could squeeze more money by forcing people who need more than 3 custom domains to upgrade to a higher tier, than just to pay for the few extra domains.
You called them a money grubbing company and tried to pass yourself off as a regular user who’s paying all this money and then having to get charged more.
Again, they are money grubbing, because they removed the ability to customize your plan, and force tier changes.
When in fact, for 99% of users your situation isn’t applicable at all; and in fact you are on a weird, old, business plan (to which you’d probably save money switching to a new business regular plan [for $12.99 - $9.99] which supports up to 10 custom email domains + all premium proton services).
I am NOT on an old business plan. I am on THE business plan for $15. Again, not everyone uses USD, EUR, or CHF.
$12.99 USD = $17.65 CAD.
And looking into proton pass, it seems like the majority of the cost is because of the email alias service that comes with it. Bitwarden doesn’t in fact provide that (though they do support integration of it) and a quick look at other providers that only provide custom emails it shows similar monthly fees (still less than proton pass to be fair).
Since Proton loves tiers, offer a more expensive tier for the email alias. They should offer a tier similar to BitWarden with similar pricing, and then offer a higher tier for the email alias, something most people don’t care about.
So to me, it seems like a bit of unwarranted slander and lies (though I suppose, again, you could be on an old grandfathered plan; but it still doesn’t explain how the “next step up” is $15) because of some beef you have against them.
For the third time. Other countries exist. I know it’s a crazy concept, but it’s true. I didn’t slander anyone, thanks.
Sigh…Seems like every time Proton gets criticized, their fanboys always ensure to let you know that you’re somehow wrong. I don’t know how they managed to get recommended by so many people considering they provide unaffordable services for everyone not on a high income. I would try to migrate if I were you, they’re pumping new features constantly despite their users wanting bugfixes and improvements to existing ones to gain more and more ecosystem users. It’s a dark pattern. Look at Google and Apple.
“Oh, what about the free-tier?” It’s a joke having to use their own clients when powerful open-source ones exist. “Oh, but it’s because of the encryption that’s protecting you!” I know how to use PGP, thanks. Plus, it only works if you’re sending to other Proton accounts, and guess what? I don’t even have control over my own key pair! (Edit: and when migrating away, I can’t even bulk export my emails!)
Even the comments made by me and Dsklnsadog got vibe-based downvoted because they can’t even bother to come up with a response on why our opinions were wrong. I’m glad I stopped using their services before I sent them any money.
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Not the point.
Paying for something is great. Not allowing paying customers to add a simple service without having to upgrade to the next tier, forcing them to buy shit they don’t want, is scummy.
Wow, so 1Password is not recommended anymore? How come? I’ve been using them for years.
Possibly because it is not open source and doesn’t have anything to offer that the other recommendations do not.
Ya I think so. These are always tech articles and Foss software is always a big feature.
But 1password has on going audits and a sane ui and mobile apps that pass the boomer-parent test. Canadian company too which is nice given the US centric tech world.
I use it because I share an account with my parents, so I can manage their stuff. My fathers old local Pw-Manager was a mess.
Fastmail integration for masked emails! If you already have an email provider you like then yeah not much to offer. But if you’re like me a few years ago and was looking to get off of chromes password manager and gmail, then 1password and fastmail is a nice combo.
Bitwarden has integration with Fastmail, as well as for many other alias services (anon addy, SimpleLogin, etc). They also just added support for selfhosted anon addy, and are working on adding support for self hosted SimpleLogin.
It’s in their honorable mentions.
Have no source available clients is the author’s main nit pick.
Which personally I think does a disservice to their readers. If their article ends up high in search results for “best password manager 2023” for whatever reason, most people aren’t going to care if there’s a source available client or not.
Dash lane and 1Password might not have source available clients but they likely have better UI/UX than these more open source alternatives that are made for people with technical expertise.
Former 1password user, current Bitwarden user. Jumped ship when 1password dicked local vaults. Never been happier.
And it’s a FUCKLOAD cheaper. 1password is very overpriced.
Bitwarden is practically free. You can pay for some extra features but all the core features and unlimited passwords storage works. Nobody should pay for a password manager.
Same. We’ve been using it for about a decade I think. One vault for my wife and I to share. Hosted on their end in case all our self hosted stuff takes a crap our passwords are still available. Been considering looking at bitwarden but haven’t had the time.
I’ve been thinking about trying it… I like Windows Hello integration which seems to easily break in Bitwarden
I can personally recommend 1Password, the Windows Hello integration works really well. Asks for your PIN code to unlock (or your master password after a reboot). If you put your computer to sleep rather than turn it off overnight, you won’t need the full master password.
Also, if you’re so inclined, 1P has an excellent CLI tool you can use for accessing vaults programmatically. I use this for auto filling TOTP codes for my Final Fantasy XIV login.
I love 1Password. Works well.
I use KeePass and keep it synced with self hosting Nextcloud. I get the appeal of bitwarden, but I’m really trying to get off other people’s computers.
You can host Bitwarden. It’s open source. I do it myself.
Now the open source version is called vaultwarden
Now the open source version is called vaultwarden
Bitwarden with the self hosted vaultwarden server then, that way you get the nice bitwarden experience, apps, browser plugins, but all hosted on your own hardware. I run my vaultwarden server on my synology.
Syncthing is another good cloud-free option.
Vaultwarden can be easily hosted for free
KeePass for me for the same reason.
Bitwarden. Tried Proton Pass but ultimately stuck with Bitwarden.
It has been my password manager of choice for quite some time and I didn’t see any reason to change.
Self-hosted bit warden works like a charm plus you get to learn reverse proxies if you use docker on a Nas, it’s pretty fun, would recommend
OK, I understand some of those words. I have a nas and I want to self host with docker. I have read a little but its confusing. Do you have any links that explain the whole process? Especially the reverse proxy and making your containers available outside your lan? Thanks
It definitely is confusing, and I didn’t full grasp it when I did it 😅
The installation process will vary depending on your OS. I have a synology, so I followed this walkthrough and some youtube videos as well: https://mariushosting.com/how-to-install-bitwarden-on-your-synology-nas/ but QNAP, FreeNas, etc will have their own install process. They should be pretty similiar, though, if you use docker.
There are many tutorials on YouTube. I recommend SpaceinvaderOne’s tutorials. Very in-depth and easy to follow.
