Opinion - What are your thoughts on password managers? Do you use one? Would you recommend it to others?

Bitwarden all day every day. I don’t even know any of my passwords because they’re all randomly generated. Try to guess my password now hacker man

yup randomly generated 20+ digit passwords are the way to go
- When possible I use passphrases with numbers added. Sadly my bank has a 16 character limit.
- Is there a legitimate reason to use 20 characters over 16? Genuinely asking. Bitwarden considers them both "strong", taking centuries to crack.
It's probably..... Um... 8#shJo9$f ?
Bitwarden didn't work perfectly fine for me. Proton pass does.
I use Bitwarden!! It's great cause I have a long complicated password to access the vault (my phone will do it by fingerprint though) but it's the only password I need to actually memorize. Don't know how someone can be secure without one nowadays, way too many services

KeePassXC here. Locally encrypted, Locally stored, cloud backup of an encrypted file, synced with SyncThing to mobile devices. I will never trust nor recommend a cloud based manager with all the breaches.

I had to scroll too far to find KeePassXC + syncthing recommended; with syncthing, I see no reason to sacrifice security by using a cloud solution.
This is the way.
Yeah, KeePassXC + SyncThing all day every day. Can't in good conscience trust someone else with my sensitive data, even if I encrypt it before it gets to their servers. My database is keys-to-the-kingdom level shit.
Oh yeah, someone, finally :D KeepassXC on PC, KeepassDX on Android, Syncthing for synchronization. I like when my password is just one file, that I can easily backup, not some cloud thing 🙂
This is the way.

Bitwarden, all the way.

I use keepass synced with internxt. Works so so , but internxt will hopefully improve

Check out Syncthing. It works pretty painlessly.
- Thanks completely forgot about it , used it a few years back and had some issues. Seems to work great now :)

Everyone should be using a password manager. Every service should have a different password (and some service should have several passwords) and it's impossible for the average person to keep track of all of those. Every time I hear about someone losing control of an account it's because they were using the same password as another service.

I recommend:

KeePassDX: Can be completely offline. Probably the most secure but can be a little awkward to use sometimes.
Bitwarden: Cloud based but open source. You could run a server but the main service offers MOST of the features for free.

Your mileage may very with some of the proprietary platforms. However my job uses 1 Password and it seems to be fairly safe.

Not using a password manager (be it digital or simply a paper notebook) is just asking for a breach or getting hacked.

No one can remember the amount and complexity of passwords that are needed to live a secure digital live.

Every service/account you register for years now and couldn't live without it. I've set up a paper notebook for my mother and that works too.

But reusing passwords or using too short or insecure passwords is the number one reason why people get hacked or stuff gets leaked and stolen.

As a side note: a secure password doesn't have to include weird characters. Just make it long. Everything with 32 letters and numbers or longer will be super secure for a while. And because your password manager takes of it, you don't even notice.

A password manager is an absolute must, in my opinion! I use Bitwarden and love it.

Yes, do it! Now! It’s the safest way, but only by choosing the right and trusted ones. Examples:

The expensive but good one: 1Password
The free, geeky and difficult one for normal users: Keepass.
The simple and free and beloved one: Bitwarden
The don’t try it ever because they will leak your data: Lastpass.

Password manager-less life with notebooks and reused passwords is life in the stone age. If you or anyone you know isn't using one, get on bitwarden.

Everyone knows why password manageras are absolutely essential, but here's an often neglected perk: I can list every site I ever signed up to. Wanna delete some old accounts? "Did you sign up to X yet?" Simples.

One of the best decisions - software wise - I made was to switch from Lastpass to Bitwarden. Never going back!

Bitwarden is really great imo.

Selfhosting it is even better

I know a lot of people are saying Bitwarden, but I've been using 1Password for 4 years and Bitwarden just isn't a viable replacment.

1Password looks much more modern and their organizational tools are not present at all in Bitwarden. I can't even sort by date created or modified in Bitwarden.

Not using a password manager is like not having locks on a house. Everyone should have one and if you don't, you're risking a lot of valuable stuff being taken from you.

I'm in the Bitwarden camp. There is no other way for me to have complex/secure passwords and remember them for my gazillion accounts.

I use Bitwarden!

I like that I can share password with my team. :)

I just use 123password for all of my passwords, so I don't need one.

Why waste so many characters? Just stick with 123, or if you're really pressed for time, 111

In general, password managers are a must-have in today's world. The question is not if you should have one, but which one and why.

As a Software Engineer very conscious about security and privacy, but also with a high practicality sense, I'd say you should opt for whatever you feel more comfortable.

If you don't want to manage anything, then 1password, BitWarden, LastPass or any of those might be right for you. If you are more of the kind to tinker with everything, then you can have your own OwnCloud/NextCloud and use KeePassXC.

I particularly used the later setup, but NextCloud was too much to handle for me, and settled with KeePassXC + Dropbox.

You do you, but use a password manager.

KeePass is the perfect tool for me ! The cybersecurity practice at work also use it,

Over the last 15 years or so I've moved from 1Password to LastPass to Bitwarden. I don't know how anyone manages without them.

I have a bit of an eidetic memory so I just come up with ridiculously long complicated strings of numbers and letters and memorize them. Don't know how I do it. Don't know how my brain keeps up with it but it works for me. And I have the plus side of not ever having my shit saved digitally I guess it probably doesn't matter but whatever.

Love dashlane.

Well, shit. I don't use a password manager but now I feel like I should lol. Gonna check out bitwarden I guess.

Yes, they should be used. KeepassXC FTW

There's an exploit that will dump all you passwords as raw text as a feature
- can you elaborate?

I'm probably going to get grilled for this but I've Been using Firefox's Saved passwords, I really don't need anything better.

Yes you are going to get grilled for this. Please don't use that on anything important.
- Genuine question, but why are browsers so bad compared to a dedicated cloud service?

I can’t imagine life without one. So many bad password habits can be eliminated by using a password manager to generate a strong, unique password for every site you use, and devoting your limited password-remembering powers to one decent master password. (Or better yet, secure your password manager further using other forms of authentication.)

It’s not just for helping you (and your less technically inclined friends and family) remember and use strong, unique passwords, though. Since a password manager only recognizes the real web address that any given password was designated to, it won’t be fooled by a scam website using a similar-looking name to a legitimate one. While this doesn’t eliminate the risk of falling for a scam, every little bit helps, no matter how skilled you are at cybersecurity.

I use Bitwarden, which I’ve been using ever since Lastpass started limiting you to using a single device class (mobile or desktop) for free accounts. It integrates with both Firefox and Chromium-based browsers and with the password manager features in smartphones. Their free account is nice, but I went with the paid option so that I could keep and use 2FA passcodes within Bitwarden itself. There have been several debates between doing it like this versus using a separate authenticator app, but I feel like it’s both very secure and really, really convenient. It encourages me to use increased security on every website that supports it.

I use Bitwarden. Used to use Last pass, but that got crappy a while back.

One another Bitwarden user chiming in!

I started with LastPass but they started making things difficult enough on the mobile side that I decided to jump ships. Bitwarden also is a smoother app to use - LastPass felt clunkier (I've used only the free side on both).

Been using 1password family subscription for years. Absolutely swear by it.

Been using the Firefox password manager ever since I've been using Firefox on all devices. Used Firefox clockwise before that. Planning to switch to a self hosted vaultwarden+bitwarden setup. Any guides or pointers are welcome.

I’m going to suggest the lessor known option, Enpass, I’ve used it for maybe eight years? I paid a one off fee at the time. It’s multi platform, windows, iOS, Linux etc. It has browser plugins, there’s a Flatpak option so it’s handy for my Linux distrohopping. It supports passkeys and one time codes and you can store the data in any cloud you want..

I use 1Password atm, but want to switch either to Proton or something selfhosted.

KeePassXC is awesome, used it for years. Works great with browser plugin, secure. Sync with Syncthing across all computers and devices.

Huh. I didn't realize KeepassXC was a thing. I've been using KeepassX for years. I did notice it hasn't updated in a long time, but it functioned so I didn't bother looking into it. I'll check this out.
This is slightly annoying, but it looks like the android app is KeePassDX. KeePassDroid is what I had been using, but I'll just check out the newer things everywhere.

What are my thoughts on a password manager?

I think it’s both a good thing, and a crutch. I feel the fact that most services are rendered unusable without an account is sad, and with the 100’s of accounts one is expected to have a password manager is sadly needed if you can’t memorize a password or can make passwords with a consistent pass phrase.

Do I use one?

Nope, I have a password system which is good enough for most accounts that’s always more than 7 character long and unique for each account without being lost to me. The only time it has failed as when my work decided to have us change our passwords every quarter, and I ran out of password ideas.

I don't use them. I see this as a putting all eggs in one basket strategy, if my master password was lost, hacked, hosting company shutdown, or for whatever reason refuse to do business with me, my entire life would be screwed.

Instead I use long passwords made of words, and for each site it will be a few letters off. They're easy for humans to remember because how similar they are, but due how hash works they are equivalent to unique passwords to hackers.

Hashing only works if the website stores their passwords correctly. If a single website you use doesn't hash passwords correctly, and gets their database leaked, then your passwords will all be leaked. Changing a few characters per site may help a bit, but it shouldn't be relied on.
Also, if you're worried about the host shutting down, you should try bitwarden. It's completely open source, and you can self host it if you want.
- Changing even a single letter will completely scramble your password with hash, so for all intents and purpose it is equivalent to a unique password
  Though I do admit it can get a bit tedious, I'll definitly look into self-hosting, thanks for the recommendation

I've been using Microsoft authenticator for work, and since it was there I also started using it for my personal accounts and passwords as well. It works well enough, never had any issues.

You should use an open source authenticator

If you're not using a password manager then you're mostly likely 1 data breach away from not knowing how many other accounts of yours have been compromised.

They're so incredibly easy to use, they're all basically free, and they are essential IMO. I personally use Bitwarden, before that was LastPass until they first got rid of any reason to use the subscription, only to then lock multi-device use behind the subscription (oh and they got bought by LogMeIn, who are a garbage company). Bitwarden is better in every way, so it was a win. Happily paying for Bitwarden, and would recommend it to everyone.

I do not trust password managers. There's a saying that goes 'do not put all of your eggs in one basket' and that's what I don't do. Mobile, Desktop, whatever, I don't use a single password manager. It wasn't long ago that a password management company was compromised, right? What are the odds that similar circumstances could happen on another password management company? It'd be a disaster.

Whatever happened to just simply having a notepad program/app and documenting your passwords onto there?

Ironic to the contrary, I've caught myself using browsers such as chrome to save my passwords for easier log in. But that's simply out of my decaying memory due to age, not necessarily because I have a bias with Google and I trust them with everything. I still don't trust them with everything.