BITWARDEN.....a serious alternative to LastPass

Condobloke

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I have used LastPass since 2013.

And I have paid, ....and paid. In more ways than one. via $, because I use it on more than one pc/mobile etc.....and also via frustration because when I do have a problem with it, the answers are sometimes like the answers you might get from a Linux forum which is not as friendly as ours. You get my drift.

So....Brian (me) gets the s****....in a big way.

I have taken note of the comments on our site about bitwarden. Also on other sites.

I downloaded it first to my iphone....played around for a while and decided the better approach was to put it on my PC first and go from there.

I found and downloaded the browser (Firefox 85.0.1) add on, and soon found that it does not function properly while a VPN is connected

Downloaded and installed the file for Linux from bitwarden's site.(I opened the downloaded file with AptURL)


From that point on, bitwarden worked properly, regardless of whether I was connected to a vpn or not. The presence of uBlock Origin didn't appear to worry it either.

The bitwarden site gives good instructions on how to import a .csv file from LastPass which contains all passwords used there. Likewise, Lastpass has good instruction on how to export a .csv file containing all passwords. I deposited my file on the desktop for easy access.

I logged out of LastPass to truly and thoroughly test bit warden.....then I disabled the lastpass addon to make the test more thorough.
It passed with flying colours.

Then onto the iPhone. (Note that bitwarden also has good instructions there for Android phones as well.)

Downloaded and installed, fresh.
Signed into my account.
The app immediately filled the vault with my passwords

I then went to settings on the phone and set it up to 'autofill' password and user name for sites requiring that

Bitwarden ....FREE

Any questions or suggestions are welcomed.

I realise that 'the cloud' is transferring my info to the iphone. Although they do say..."Your private information is protected with end-to-end encryption before it ever leaves your device." I am not sure what I wish to do about that, if anything.

Pricing??....HERE

For $10 per year you can access Premium

Top Premium Features
  • Bitwarden Authenticator (TOTP)
  • 1 GB encrypted file storage
  • Two-step login with YubiKey, U2F, Duo
  • Vault health reports
  • Emergency Access

blah blah....you can read it all just as well as I can.
 
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And......I have just figured out how to add BitWarden to the Menu.

This info from::
Put the AppImage file in a directory in your home directory where you want to keep it (and if you haven't yet, right-click the file, go to properties, then permissions, and mark to allow it to be executed). Assuming you want a nice icon in your menu download the krita-icon.png I attached and place it in the same directory (right-click the image and select to save it).


Now right-click your menu button and select to configure it and from there open the menu editor. Go to the Graphics category on the left hand side and then on the right hand side click New Item. Give it a name and for the command click the Browse button and locate the AppImage file and select that one. Then click the icon on the left hand side browse to where you have the icon file and select it. Done. You now have a menu entry.

Close the menu editor. Open your menu and right-click the launcher you created to add the launcher also to your desktop/panel if you want.


There is no real need to add krita-icon.png

You can probably find an icon after you have clicked on the existing icon.


mine looks like...
icon.png
 
And......I have just figured out how to add BitWarden to the Menu.
I don't know about Mint. But for Ubuntu, I can simply install Bitwarden app from Ubuntu software center.
 
It is the same in Linux Mint 20.1...it can be installed from the Software Manager.

I chose to read their site thoroughly and then thought I may as well install it from there.

I was surprised that it didn't show up in the menu.....but the fix was relatively straightforward.

More importantly, I am finding the program/app to be quite straightforward, relatively intuitive, and so far, reliable.
 
I just use the Bitwarden Firefox add-on, works great as well.
 
Re the firefox add on...

VPN or Ad Blocker Interference
In some cases, VPN or Ad Blocker browser extensions may interfere with the connection between client application and server. This issue is typically observed with Bitwarden Browser Extensions.

That's why I installed the app/program
 
Re the firefox add on...

VPN or Ad Blocker Interference
In some cases, VPN or Ad Blocker browser extensions may interfere with the connection between client application and server. This issue is typically observed with Bitwarden Browser Extensions.

That's why I installed the app/program
I've never had any problems with the browser add-on but I wasn't aware there was a desktop application, I'll install it so I can compare the two. Looks like besides the desktop application there is also a command-line client which sounds quite interesting!
 
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BitWarden relies on the user having and remembering a “Master Password”
There is a tester contained in BitWarden which tests the strength of each password and also tells you what length of time would be necessary to crack that password.
I copied and pasted my own master pword into the tester and discovered that it would take approximately 3 years to crack it . I then discovered that by adding just 3 additional letters/numbers etc it took the crack time out to’centuries’
My point ?.... my own research tells me that a MINIMUM of 15 characters is necessary to establish a strong password......and if you want to play real safe, use more.

The password generator on BitWarden will make a password for you with up to 122 characters. ...a mix of numbers, upper and lower case letters and special characters like #%{]<£€•=+ etc etc
I am not sure there are many sites that would handle that !
 
The stumbling block, it would appear, is the cloud. It is not trusted.
“But what exactly is the cloud? Simply put, the cloud is the Internet—more specifically, it's all of the things you can access remotely over the Internet. When something is in the cloud, it means it's stored on Internet servers instead of your computer's hard drive.”
(Would it be fair to say it is Safer in the cloud than it would on your hard drive ???). ...hmmm....



So, we use the cloud with just about every mouse click....we are using it now to exchange comments etc here
We use it every time we receive an email, search for anything at all regardless of which search engine we use......it is the internet

But when it comes to our passwords.....no way !....trust goes out the window !!

what if those who doubt the security of the cloud were to use 2FA.....two factor authorisation ?...a text can be received or an ‘authoriser’ can be used. Google has one.....or “Authy”....Yubikey etc etc....all are simple and quite easy to set up. They work across devices.....pc and mobile (cell) phone etc
@stan said somewhere to print the .csv file from your password manager, and store that in a safe. Sage advice indeed !

It is imperative to note that with BitWarden, the information that leaves your pc/mobile or cell phone, is ENCRYPTED .....BEFORE IT LEAVES THE DEVICE .

Food for thought.

Reply
 
@stan said somewhere to print the .csv file from your password manager, and store that in a safe.
Did I say that? Oh yeah, I guess I did... here. :oops:;)

I added a long-winded whole lot more on top of that, if you want to read it... here. :eek:
 
I've never had any problems with the browser add-on but I wasn't aware there was a desktop application, I'll install it so I can compare the two. Looks like besides the desktop application there is also a command-line client which sounds quite interesting!
I find the Bitwarden brwoser add-on more useful that the actual desktop client because 99% of the passwords I need are passwords of websites I login into. The desktop client requires another extra action for me to login into a website while with the browser add-on it just automatically fills it out for you when your right click and select the entry which is needed.
 
Assuming it's stored encrypted on the server, I wonder if it's possible to make a Bitwarden server (as-a-service) for multiple accounts? If anyone has any experience, lemme know. I could theoretically spin up a VPS and make a Bitwarden server free for users here.

Also, I did find this:


Which, while free, means using Google...
 
 

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