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Ask HN: What password manager do you use, and why?

19 points by Fej ↗ HN
Okay, so CloudFlare has caused a decidedly large security breach, and everyone's being told to change their passwords. Now's probably a really good time to switch to a password manager.

I'm sure plenty of folks around here, myself included, would be interested in hearing your thoughts on popular (and not-so-popular) password managers.

22 comments

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mikebos
I tried a bunch: Lastpass Dashlane Keepass pass Passwordsafe 1password

Some a longer time then others :-) I'm currently back with lastpass.

There are two main things for me security and usability. Lastpass seems secure, don't know for sure as it's not open source and who knows how it's implemented. The usability is for me excellent, it works flawlessly on my deskop, tablet and mobile.

I would argue that keepass with say dropbox sync is more secure, but the usability is worse. It's a tradeoff at the current it seems

NameNickHN
I use Keepass and haven't found any fault with it. It came as a recommendation in a blog a couple of years ago.
MikeTV
KeePass with the KeeFox and chromeIPass browser extensions. Synced in dropbox, using password+keyfiles that aren't in the cloud anywhere. A bit slow on mobile, but can adjust down the rounds of encryption if it gets too annoying.
paulryanrogers
Keepass2android is a solid choice for Android mobile devices.
rmurri
I recommend Enpass. Cross platform, good mobile support, inexpensive, and usable by mere mortals.

https://www.enpass.io/

wbercx
I happily use this too.

My only complaint is that I occassionally have to relink it to my cloud storage of choice to get syncing working again.

rerx
I just started using this myself. Having a good, free Linux client and a reasonably priced Android client was most important to me. I like how enpass is offline-only, but neatly integrates with a number of sync providers like Dropbox to share the encrypted password storage between devices.

Unfortunately, at this time the fingerprint reader support in the Android app should be avoided: https://discussion.enpass.io/index.php?/topic/1139-issues-wi...

adictator
I use Lastpass because I believe it is as user friendly as it can get. They did have a security incident a few years back, but the way the handled it & the transparency & humility they showed was enough for me to trust in them. Please read about it. Also it is free. The mobile version is not free.
ashman5
I use a combination of 1Password and icloud keychain on my iPhone. I have no account with 1Password and backup to dropbox when I need to swap devices. I use no browser extensions as this will just increase the attack surface for very little gain. The icloud keychain keeps my iOS and MacOS devices in sync and if I need a password for a Windows/Linux machine I'll transcribe or email it to myself if it's too long.
koenigdavidmj
1Password's feature list, when using an account, includes: "Access your data on the web at 1Password.com."

Is it possible to opt out of that while still using their sync? I'm uneasy with anything that does the decryption on their end, which that seems to qualify as.

EDIT: Supposedly the crypto is done in-browser. Still feel uneasy about that.

JCDenton2052
I have been using PasswordSafe and am very happy with both security and usability. It was designed by Bruce Schneier and has been extensively peer reviewed.

When I was looking to adopt a password manager I did some research and came across KeePass. However, this hackernews thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9727297 dissuaded me from using it.

michalpt
I have been using KeePass for many years and didn’t know about this. Thx for the link
reves
So far I have found password safe also a great password manager.
bgrohman
Currently using LastPass. Considering trying out bitwarden.
ralfk
I use pass: https://www.passwordstore.org/ - a password manager for the commandline that can be synced with git and stores the passwords encrypted using gpg
johnnycarcin
I have slowly been migrating from LastPass to pass and am just about ready to go all in. There are a few hoops to jump through to get it working on android (a requirement for me), but nothing too bad. The one thing I am having to make a habit is always doing a git pull whenever I open it since I use it across multiple devices.
tbihl
I use LastPass. They seem fairly transparent with their issues, the usability is great, and I've been with them for a few years. Unless I start seeing big issues, I'm not going anywhere, because at the end of the day the most secure system is the one you actually use, and that's been LastPass for me.
chris_7
1Password, it's usable and up to typical AppKit standards. LastPass is... awkward.
matthberg
Dashlane Premium, with sync between android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Features include an automatic password changer, browser addons, password sharing management, and emergency access settings in case selected people need access to your accounts if you die.
CryptoArtist
I'm using SaferPass, it is an extension to browsers and mobile (ios and android ) app. Very easy to use, good design and it allows log out remotely, also from websites and deletes my browser history.