1. Mac/Window/Linux support 2. Ability to control accounts from an admin account. PW/2FA reset, export/wipe of accounts etc. 3. Reasonably secure 4. Not too terrible to use for Engineers/non-techies alike.
It encrypts your passwords with your GPG key and stores them in a git repository. You can of course easily extend this to do a lot of different things.
I also wrote this tool for automating password rotation:
[0] https://git.zx2c4.com/password-store/plain/src/password-stor...
Initialize new password storage and use gpg-id for encryption. Multiple gpg-ids may be specified, in order to encrypt each password with multiple ids. This command must be run first before a password store can be used. If the specified gpg-id is different from the key used in any existing files, these files will be reencrypted to use the new id. Note that use of gpg-agent(1) is recommended so that the batch decryption does not require as much user intervention. If --path or -p is specified, along with an argument, a specific gpg-id or set of gpg-ids is assigned for that specific sub folder of the password store. If only one gpg-id is given, and it is an empty string, then the current .gpg-id file for the specified sub-folder (or root if unspecified) is removed.
-- https://git.zx2c4.com/password-store/about/
EDIT: Better formatting
Edit: See sister comment by runejuhl.
Keyringer: encrypted and distributed secret sharing software https://keyringer.pw/
https://www.justwatch.com/blog/post/announcing-gopass/
One of the claimed features is "multiple stores: Combine several work teams and your private store!"
eg I know some phone/sms services that only let one account manage a phone number or something.
Also, sometimes account licences are absurdly expensive.
There's some services that even though we have (say) 50 licenced users, they also want us to have licences for each admin. We're not spending $50k/year just so we can each login once or twice a year to fix/configure something for someone.
Once it's implemented I may reconsider, but for now at least, I'd shy away from it.
Edit: Looks like it's close
https://github.com/keepassx/keepassx/pull/200#issuecomment-2...
Also mutiplatform as KeePassXC, built on Electron. Even though it is built on JavaScript, it has 0 dependencies[1].
And the author responds well on external feedback/contributions[2].
It does support KDBX4[3].
[0]: https://keeweb.info/
[1]: https://github.com/keeweb/keeweb/blob/c651343f80f4f3d41c7d64...
If bundling your devDependencies at compile time counts as "0 dependencies", nothing has any dependencies. In this case, the whole thing's built on electron - all of chrome's rendering engine is quite the dependency. The uncompressed Windows version is 137 MB on disk. Fatter than most any app should be.
Are these a huge improvement from what was offered previously?
ChaCha20 over the existing AES-CBC... not as much, I feel more comfortable in that it's harder to screw up the implementation of it, but that's about it. CBC mode especially can have unexpected side effects unless used very carefully, ChaCha20 or any other strong stream cipher, even AES in CTR mode is somewhat easier to understand the side effects of.
So overall, not concretely in terms of known vulnerabilities, but in terms of predicted risks, I'd say certainly. Before this change I was erring on the side of known algorithms with solutions like LastPass at least using standardized PBKDF2. With this change, KeePass went behind or middle of the pack, cryptographically compared to competition, to the frontrunner.
I do security for a living. This technique is mocked by other so-called experts, but who's laughing today? I fully understand the security model I'm using. Lastpass users--and developers--clearly did not. Other password manager users should stifle the urge to laugh if they haven't fully reviewed their entire stack.
Further, I've used variations of the same password for the past two decades for >90% of my accounts, e.g., the ones where my threat model is "do not give a fuck." When I sign up, I mentally consider whether I give a fuck the account is compromised. If I do, new random password for the list. If I don't, use the 20-year-old password.
94^12 ~= 4.76e23 > 7776^6 ~= 2.21e23.
And typing 12 characters from muscle memory is faster than learning and typing "limbdumaslaterjuramondohalf", which is what diceware^6 just gave me.
The supposed mnemonic value of diceware is illusory. If it convinces people to use stronger passwords and it works for you, great.
As I need to enter on a regular basis. In practice, no more than half a dozen. Usually I have 3 or 4 in use. Might be work, personal, and a couple for crypto.
> How long does it take you to learn a new/changed one?
Depending on the length, 5-10 minutes of continuous training to be confident if it's one I'm going to put into immediate use.
The point is to go straight to pure muscle memory without using a mnemonic crutch. Ultimately for a password that you're typing on a multiple-times daily basis, you're going to be relying on muscle memory anyway. If you're trying to remember what came after the correct horse battery, or if the correct came first or last, you've already lost. "limbdumaslaterjuramondo" gets me no closer to login if my password is "limbdumaslaterjuramondohalf" if I've forgotten nonsensical "half" than "+D%W}B_]7|~y" gets me to login if my password is "+D%W}B_]7|~yd" and I've forgotten "d".
You're going to be typing the password with your fingers, so learn the password by typing it with your fingers until it's automatic, not by conjuring a sequence of unconnected mental images. It actually saves time.
As far as I'm concerned, I've tested some diceware passwords for some months, and I would say they served me all right. I "name" my passwords by their initials (first letter of each word), so there's no risk of missing a word or swapping some.
But, I still contend it basically knocks down a straw man with bullshit. Yes, they correctly point out that if you're using a mnemonic method, a long passphrase is better than a short password. I'm pretty sure the PGP folks pointed that out at least a decade or two ago.
At the end of the day, if you're not using, recalling, and exercising a strong secret, you will forget it. That's how memory works. With Diceware you have three things to learn; your silly mnemonic, what it translates to, and how to type it quickly. True, you might (just might) forget the muscle memory of exactly how to type it before you forget the entire mnemonic, and then be able to recover the password from your memory of the mnemonic cues. That seems intuitive, at least, but misleadingly so.
But my years of experience has taught me that muscle memory is the most durable memory. There's nothing inherent in "correct horse battery" that's going to give you "staple" once you've forgotten it; it's gone. It was random, after all. If you're not exercising and remembering your secret, then you have to have a backup to fall upon--written down or stored somewhere? If your goal is muscle memory with minimum pain, fewer, maximally-random higher-entropy keystrokes is better.
I don't think most people sit down at their desk all day uninterrupted without leaving. I lock my terminal when I leave my keyboard and type a password to unlock when I return. I enter a password whenever I unlock an encrypted volume (e.g., to get other passwords).
You can use biometrics or tokens, but purely memorized passwords can have unique utility. In America, for instance, you generally can't be rubber-hosed to give up a memorized passphrase, and it's not generally a crime to do so. You can be compelled in a variety of settings to provide a physical token, including biometrics, or disclose their existence. There can be civil coercive techniques to pursuade you to give up a password, but at a bare minimum, in a criminal situation or where the 5th amendment applies under my current understanding you cannot be forced to give a password from memory.
Of course if you're the surveillance target of a nation-state then potentially they can do what they need to do to covertly intercept your passphrase through physical access, evil maid etc., but that's a different ballgame.
Now, it could be argued that these images/backstories could be made up for random ASCII chars too, but to me it's just easier to do so with words.
Regarding screenlocks, I tend to use relatively mediocre passwords (nothing stupid, though), since screenlocking is only useful against very casual attackers -- someone skilled and motivated will just get in if they have physical access to the box. But I agree that it's where muscle memory would work best.
The only non-unique keys I use, are also nonrandom, and used for accounts with no security consequences. Like this one.
Misinformation like, "Always use a reputable cloud password manager, like LastPass?" Along with a trusty antivirus, am I right?
To be further contrarian, if the common man is going to use a password manager, use Chrome's built-in auto-fill, without antivirus or other 3rd-party bolt-ons, be they LastPass, KeepPass, 1password etc. You know who Tavis works for, right? Chrome's application security is best of breed, and its password manager does what it's designed for, at least.
If you are going to memorize passwords, feel free to memorize ASCII gibberish if that's what you are into. Or memorize random phrases, since many (most?) humans find those easier to remember.