Why Password Managers?

I’m asked about password managers often. Or maybe I complain about people’s password habits, so I get asked. Full disclosure; I do not like cloud products. I’m sure there are a bunch out there if that’s what you are looking for. Easy to use and safe.

If not, and you just want a database of passwords (think of your old spreadsheet of passwords) you can access from your phone and multiple computers, in either a team-like setting or just one user. This means, you have a password database that is opened by a program. You can have many databases, for many uses (personal / shared / work-related)…

Think of this as the old spreadsheet that has the passwords on it (but safe and encrypted). Saved on a shared drive so you can access it from anywhere. KeepassXC is the safe in which it is stored. User experience is important. Memorize only one main password to open your safe, so all the ones inside are long and computer generated passwords (and different from each other).

Examples
I have a personal database that I have on my Nextcloud drive that I can access from my computer on from any of my mobile devices. I have a work one that I keep on my team drive (so anyone with the main password can access it). I’m currently setting up a database for a non-profit I work with *hi alex!

There are also ways to import your keychains passwords from your browser.

Steps

  1. Download KeePassXC https://keepassxc.org/ (each computer that needs access to that password manager has to have this program installed). That way you can all share the same database of passwords (encrypted), and never miss a beat. We can add this to phones as well. I’ll show you that later. KeePassXC for Mac or PC or whatever computer you want this on (and download on everyone’s computer that wants access to the central password database).
    keepassXC
  2. Once downloaded, open < Database < New Database
  3. Give it a name (in this case GGPasswords)
  4. Add your overall password to open the new database (it can be changed anytime)
  5. Save in in a folder you can open from anywhere!
  6. To use, Entries < New Entry Add all the info. Add the URL and username
  7. Use the password generator for really strong passwords
  8. Open database when you need your password and copy the username
  9. Open database when you need your password and copy the password

You can find more info here: https://keepassxc.org/docs/KeePassXC_UserGuide.html