Ask HN: What benifits does Password Managers actually provide? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What benifits does Password Managers actually provide?

1 pointprakhar8974 comments

I'm using Bitwarden. if I put in the master password, I get all my usernames and passwords in plaintext. Doesn't this mean that Bitwarden employees can access my data anytime. Even if they use a masterkey managed by executives only, it opens up substantial security risk.

So, can anyone explain why a password manager is better?

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Yes, the two unlock factors for password managers are the master password and the encrypted database. When you save your database on the cloud, it would be easy for the bad employees to get your information in plaintext once they get your master password.

  That's also why offline password managers are becoming popular these days. Through offline password managers, users can save their data on their own devices so no one else can access their encrypted data except users themselves. 

  What can password managers do for us?

  - The most crucial feature: help users remember and protect their passwords. 
  - Help generate strong passwords 
  - Fill via autofill framework on smartphones and extension in desktop browsers.

> Doesn't this mean that Bitwarden employees can access my data anytime.

No, it doesn't.

Can you elaborate why?

I understand all the data must be hashed before storing using a "central key". But this just means delegating the power to the key holder. Am I missing something?

Your data gets encrypted on your computer, with a key derived from your master password. Your master password is never made available to the server.

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