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Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

bitwarden.com

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Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#161
post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Password managers are the most stupid thing, really? What better alternative do you propose?

One suitable option is to memorize an algorithm as a password: Say, given a site, create a password as: HardcodedChars+siteName+len(siteName)+symbolInKeyboardOf(lenSiteName)+len(TLD)*N+hardcodedChars So gmail.com would be something like Chad1Gmail5%9Foo@ And then use that algorithm for generating all passwords.

What happens if siteName changes? What happens if you lose your memory?

Wait was it "TransferWise" or "Transferwise" or "Wise" or "wise" or "transferwise"?

I don't hate the idea, but what happens when you stumble upon a website that does not accept % in passwords, or needs less then 8 characters or one of the other random things that do exist? Then you have an algo for this, and a algo for that, you end up back at the same place.

Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#162
I’ve been using Bitwarden, LastPass and 1Password for the past few years. Of the three, Bitwarden gave me the least problems. LastPass is by far the worst. While 1Password is generally good about keeping up with its features, it is on the pricy side and UI is not great.

I liked Bitwarden so much I asked them if I can pay for it several years in advance. No dice there.

My recommendation is to pair Bitwarden with Yubikey.

Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#163
post #2

Love Bitwarden, I personally onboarded dozen … but they must heavily invest in UI/UX and fix their apps (+ extensions) It’s not easy and intuitive for non-techies.

Bitwarden is great, I use their paid subscription to manage access to everything. Syncs my passwords, notes and credit card information across my phone and Firefox on many devices. Only issue I have is the lack of native UI and lack of encrypted notes, which LastPass has.

Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#164
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just switched to it from LastPass which, well, has even worse UX in my opinion. It's an extremely low bar to clear and I agree Bitwarden is quirky too, but for me it's still firmly been an upgrade. The only thing I miss is an "add to bitwarden?" dialog when I sign up somewhere. Their docs say it exists but I've never managed to get it to appear :-)

Is there a simple way to make this transition from LastPass to BW?

There is an import tool in BW to ingest LP CSV extracts. It works quite well.

Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#165
post #81

I see lots of people deriding LastPass... just wondering what exactly Bitwarden or 1Password do better? I find LastPass a bit clunky at times, and once or twice a year it won't actually save a password, but seems ok in general?

Last year there were a few stories about how they embed trackers in their software. So I decided to go with a paid solution that will never spy on me (BW).

Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One suitable option is to memorize an algorithm as a password: Say, given a site, create a password as: HardcodedChars+siteName+len(siteName)+symbolInKeyboardOf(lenSiteName)+len(TLD)*N+hardcodedChars So gmail.com would be something like Chad1Gmail5%9Foo@ And then use that algorithm for generating all passwords.

What happens if siteName changes? What happens if you lose your memory? Wait was it "TransferWise" or "Transferwise" or "Wise" or "wise" or "transferwise"? I don't hate the idea, but what happens when you stumble upon a website that does not accept % in passwords, or needs less then 8 characters or one of the other random things that do exist? Then you have an algo for this, and a algo for that, you end up back at th…

Moreover, how does an algorithm handle password resets?

Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#167
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a techie and it's not intuitive for me either. Honestly, their UI is just bad, despite being my choice of a password manager. It's not a matter of habit, I stumble upon it every damn time I have to open its extension window.

I've had this issue before. If you're on Firefox, open up the history sidebar with ctrl + h,then in the top left corner click on the word History to open the dropdown and select Bitwarden. You'll be able to have it "open" without clicking the extension popup.

No, I have no trouble opening it (sorry that I wasn't clear enough). I meant that my entire UX in that window is full of mistakes and confusion. To name a few, clicking on an item shows "unable to autofill" message as if I wanted to autofill my gmail password on other sites and not open a card. Lock button is hidden obscured in a settings menu. Password length slider is too sensitive in a generator tab. And the window is always not high enough to include most important options. It feels half-assed all over the place.

Re: Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager

#168
post #132

I frankly thing password managers are the most stupid thing. We fake users inputing text to input boxes and spend crazy time figuring out how to do that and how to get around various sites trying to block that, so the site can still pretend it’s actual user inputting the password. Plus the manager needs to work around arbitrary password rules. Plus they usually don’t work at OS level; so you still need to remember th…

Password managers are the most stupid thing, really? What better alternative do you propose?

Stop using passwords entirely. That's my dream alternative.

Password managers are stupid because the problem they solve is dumb. They act like fake users inputting passwords into little boxes.

I don't know how to solve that issue though. Some single-sign-on? Client certificates? Biometrics? I don't know.

Probably client certificates would be the best option.

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