Password manager

Aim: easy protection of your passwords and web access

Target audience: everyone

Introduction

A password manager puts all your passwords in a digital safe and protects them with a master password. Hence you only have to remember one password to access all your accounts. It is a bad habit to use a single password, or variations of a password, for multiple services. If your account on one service or website is compromised, your credentials may be shared on the internet and tried by hackers to access other services.

Password managers allows the user to use a unique password for each service, so if a password is stolen, only one service is affected, but there is no danger to other services. These password managers can automatically create advanced passwords, such as aQ/3cZtf2f8`6W^37JS81yvW, and then store them. This kind of passwords are virtually uncrackable and impossible to guess for a hacker.

Password managers also allow you to automatically enter your login details at websites. This protects you from many phishing attacks. If a website address is not correct, such as your bank's web-address, a password manager will not enter your bank credentials there. You can also use a password manager to store notes, for example the answers to secret questions that you sometimes have to use.

Instructions

A password manager is very much recommended by Nikhef. There are many good password managers on the market. Many are free and often offer the option to pay for additional functionality. Nikhef does not provide a password manager as choosing one is a personal choice and the passwords are of course very personal and private. Within the CT department many people use Keepass and Keepasxc open source password managers. These offer limited support for mobile devices and syncing of passwords between device. If asked which password manager we recommend. It really depends on how you want to use the password manager. For most users Bitwarden will work well.

Bitwarden

For most use cases Bitwarden is a good password manager. It is a free (open source) password manager that offers a good user experience, is secure and is available on all popular platforms. Bitwarden has a very extensive help functionality that helps you to get started.

Start here by making an account: Create Your Bitwarden Account. After creating an account you can use Get Started with Desktop Apps and Get Started with Mobile Apps to download the apps for your platform of choice.