Password Managers?

[Statik]

Hey guys, so I've been fairly interested lately in internet security, etc, and I've always just had a text doc with a giant list of all my passwords (call me secure, I know), but I've kind of considered getting a password manager, then using more complex secure passwords. Years ago I got a LastPass subscription through humble bundle, but I never really used it, and I'm sure it's expired by now. What is the advantage of a Password Manager, versus just encrypting a text document or something on my computer?

 

If a manager is better, what is recommended? If there's a secure, and free option I would obviously like that, but I understand that security and free go together like spice and my butthole. So I'm open to any paid services, but obviously the cheaper the better. Thanks for any help!

 

EDIT: If it matters I'm not really concerned with people physically accessing my computer.

[zeusthemoose]

The main benefit is accessing it anywhere. With a document in your computer, you can’t use it if you want to find the password while out and on your phone. 
Lastpass has a free version which allows you to save all your passwords and other info. I don’t know what the paid version adds though. I use it and am happy with it.

[TetraSky]

If you don't want to pay and mostly use your passwords in one place, Keepass is great. There are also some android apps available that can read the database, if you really need it on-the-go.
The fact that it's "local", means no cloud that can potentially be hacked (because no matter how strong the security of it is, it only takes one vulnerability for...). If it gets hacked, it means your own machine is compromised.

[Slottr]

2 minutes ago, Statik said:

What is the advantage of a Password Manager, versus just encrypting a text document or something on my computer?

Efficiency. 

 

I'm an avid LastPass user and it's extremely fast and easy to retrieve a password, have it auto fill and go. (If you set things up right) 

[Statik]

2 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

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1 minute ago, Slottr said:

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2 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

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Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll look into LastPass and probably grab it again.

[BobVonBob]

I'd suggest either LastPass or Bitwarden. The main selling points for each are LastPass being more mainstream, and a bit more streamlined, and Bitwarden being open source.

 

https://www.safetydetectives.com/blog/lastpass-vs-bitwarden-is-an-open-source-password-manager-better

[Senzelian]

Keepass or nothing.

• Easy to use
• Secure
• Lots of features
• Available on any device
• No cloud. You can use your own.

With Keepass you simply encrypt all your passwords in a keepass database file with a master password. You control the level of encryption!

Then you can take that file to whichever device you want. Of course it's silly to manually move the file around, so you can simply set the path of the file to a cloud-link. You can use Google Drive, Dropbox and whatever else is out there.

 

Personally I use Keepass and synchronise the file with my Synology NAS to all my devices and Google Drive.

Works incredibly well and I have full control over the file.

[kelvinhall05]

2 hours ago, Senzelian said:

No cloud.

 

2 hours ago, Senzelian said:

you can simply set the path of the file to a cloud-link. You can use Google Drive, Dropbox and whatever else is out there.

I personally never understood this mentality as it defeats the purpose of an offline password manager, but to each their own.

 

 

OP, Lastpass is great. Android app is a little buggy (no idea about IOS) but works great.

[Senzelian]

1 minute ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I personally never understood this mentality as it defeats the purpose of an offline password manager, but to each their own.

Depends on what your point is.
Mine is to be in control of the file and therefor the encryption method.

 

With online password managers I don't know anything about what they're doing with my passwords.
Do you know for sure that your passwords are encrypted?

Do you know for sure that the provider doesn't have access to your password?

And aren't online password managers more vulnerable to attacks than generic cloud services, because of their obvious type of data?

[kelvinhall05]

Just now, Senzelian said:

Depends on what your point is.
Mine is to be in control of the file and therefor the encryption method.

 

With online password managers I don't know anything about what they're doing with my passwords.
Do you know for sure that your passwords are encrypted?

Do you know for sure that the provider doesn't have access to your password?

And aren't online password managers more vulnerable to attacks than generic cloud services, because of their obvious type of data?

Heh, I do completely agree with this. But if I am syncing multiple devices and don't have access to a NAS or whatever, I would rather have a seamless solution that "just works" rather than having to deal with going through a third-party cloud storage service.

 

 

But I also don't really have anything important (well, important in the grand scheme of things or whatever) at this point in my life so while it would suck if I got hacked or whatever, it wouldn't be the end of the world for me personally, hence why I take my security less seriously than others.

[Senzelian]

11 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Heh, I do completely agree with this. But if I am syncing multiple devices and don't have access to a NAS or whatever, I would rather have a seamless solution that "just works" rather than having to deal with going through a third-party cloud storage service.

 

 

But I also don't really have anything important (well, important in the grand scheme of things or whatever) at this point in my life so while it would suck if I got hacked or whatever, it wouldn't be the end of the world for me personally, hence why I take my security less seriously than others.

I don't take my security seriously either, but yet I'm using this seemingly complicated system to store my passwords.

Because every other solution sucks.

I tried Lastpass, I tried Bitwarden and of course I tried Google's pw manager.

In my opinion, they are all worthless pieces of sh*t, with Google's being the least worthless, because it is at least built into Chrome and Google's Keyboard on Android.

 

I have my entire network orginized within Keepass - all the static IPs, device settings, logs, notes, anything you can possibly imagine.

The added benefit of security and redundancy is just the cherry on top.

 

So yes, I understand what you mean with "it just works", but to be honsest, I don't think LastPass and Bitwarden even know what "work" means, because to me, they are nothing but a toy and I recommend to anyone to not use them, because of their limited functionality first and second because of their lack of security.

[kelvinhall05]

3 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

I don't take my security seriously either, but yet I'm using this seemingly complicated system to store my passwords.

Because every other solution sucks.

I tried Lastpass, I tried Bitwarden and of course I tried Google's pw manager.

In my opinion, they are all worthless pieces of sh*t, with Google's being the least worthless, because it is at least built into Chrome and Google's Keyboard on Android.

 

I have my entire network orginized within Keepass - all the static IPs, device settings, logs, notes, anything you can possibly imagine.

The added benefit of security and redundancy is just the cherry on top.

 

So yes, I understand what you mean with "it just works", but to be honsest, I don't think LastPass and Bitwarden even know what "work" means, because to me, they are nothing but a toy and I recommend to anyone to not use them, because of their limited functionality first and second because of their lack of security.

Well, as long as Keepass works for you. Lastpass works great for me but if I didn't need syncing across devices I would for sure be using Keepass.