I’d be grateful for clarification on this point: is “offline” use of Bitwarden the same as “storing data locally”?

Or is offline use, as I suspect, merely using a local copy of the online password database on devices that are disconnected from the internet, probably temporarily.

True “self hosting” seems to be an entirely different setup, from what I can gather. Thanks.

B. Livingston wrote:

Do you create a different username-password combination for every website where you register?

Yes, I do.

B. Livingston wrote:

But it almost demands that you install a password-manager app to remember every combo.

I beg to differ.  I have 101 unique username-password combinations for websites where I’m registered, but I do not need an app to navigate them.  I have an Excel password-protected spreadsheet stored locally that is very easy to use.

I also allow Firefox to supply username-password combinations for most of the sites I use.  Yes, I know that this list is stored unencrypted locally, but direct access to my PC is required to make use of that, and I could add a master password to that if I wanted.  So far I just don’t feel the need.

There are also a number of sites I visit that require registration, but I use a throwaway email addresses for these, and never bother checking the email.  What I don’t want to do is store all this information in the cloud.  That’s a level of complexity (and risk) I can do without.

I still don’t understand why you never mention what I think is the perfect password manager — password safe [or pwsafe].   Originally by Bruce Schneier but now open source.

It stores the passwords locally in a securely encrypted file and you set a master password to open the password file.   I have over 350 passwords in my database.   Since the password file is well encrypted, I feel safe “cloudifying” it by using dropbox to sync it between my devices.

The article did not mention  RoboForm.

I and others have been using RoboForm for years without any issues.

I holds inportant information in SafeNotes, holds card and bank information, and holds a lot of personal information that is all encrypted, synced, and stored in the cloud, which makes it available to multiple devices.

Most of the information is available for inserting in fields that RoboForm can read on a page.

Maybe a review of RoboForm would be helpful to your readers.

Robert

Depending on your comfort level of storing passwords in the cloud, one could opt to double encrypt. For example, I use Keepass as a locally encrypted password manager. To store it online I would double encrypt a copy of the the KeePass password file with PGP or an alternate method of encrypting a file.

Do you create a different username-password combination for every website where you register?

Yes, to 350 websites, each with a different email address.  I keep this data locally in an encrypted (SHA-256) Word doc with a very complex 20 character PW.  Brute force crack time estimate 80 years+.  I never say never but the probabilities are on my side.

Use Passkey when available

..Passkeys are a way to reach a passwordless future. With the security feature activated, users do not need to input their username or password when they log into a service or app…

To that end, the passkey standard was created by Apple, Google, and Microsoft in partnership with the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium. It is a cryptographic key directly associated with a specific device, which is used to confirm the user’s identity…

Apps and services that support passkey as of March 3, 2024

Apple
Adobe
Amazon
Binance
Best Buy
Coinbase
eBay
Dashlane
DocuSign
GitHub
GoDaddy
Google
Home Depot
Instacart
Kayak
LinkedIn
Microsoft (Windows)
Nintendo
Nvidia
OnlyFans
PayPal
Robinhood
Roblox
Shop Pay
Shopify
Sony PlayStation
Target
TikTok
Uber
WhatsApp
WordPress
X
Yahoo..

In the original article mention was made that Dashlane offers an “off-line” option.

According to their FAQ “off-line ” is not available. Everything is stored on their servers.

I’m glad Dashlane made the list, because I’ve been using it for years and absolutely wouldn’t trade it for anything.

The only thing I dislike about it is that they discontinued the Windows standalone app.  That takes away Dashlane’s ability to work outside the browser on Windows applications.  I have to do the copy/paste BS instead, whereas before it worked great.  If you have an “in” with the people there, maybe you can put in a good word for me and see if they’ll bring it back…. 😁