Password security

KEEPA SSXC

Ever-cautious Nick Peers reveals how to keep your personal logins safe, secure and private with the help of KeePassXC.

Credit: https://keepassxc.org

OUR EXPERT

Nick Peers may have improved his password strength over the years, but KeePassXC’s audit didn’t take long to reveal a string of weak, repeated and exposed passwords.

Everyone needs a secure password manager, but just how private is yours? While cloud-based password managers like Bitwarden and LastPass are attractive, simple to use and convenient, there’s one major flaw: all your passwords are stored online in the cloud. Your entire password database could be one hack or phished master password away from being handed over to hackers.

One solution is to add two-factor authentication to your account, but even this can be broken. Another is to take your password database offline, so it’s not on a public server that’s an appealing – and visible – target for hackers. If you’re a Bitwarden aficionado, check out the Quick Tip (opposite) for a self-hosted version, but what about the rest of us?

For those without access to their own server, the answer lies in using a dedicated offline password manager. These predate cloud-based services, and one of the longest established is KeePass. Gone are the days when you could only use KeePass on a single PC, laboriously copying and pasting login details from the app into browser windows when required. Now you’ll find apps and browser extensions that make it possible to use KeePass in the same way you would any cloud-based password service.

Choose KeePassXC

Take a trip to the main KeePass website (https://keepass.info/download.html) and you’ll quickly discover it’s just one of many. The main KeePass app has basically spawned loads of forks over the years to widen its appeal. And that’s a good thing, because although KeePass offers its own Linux build, it requires the outdated Mono to work because the main package is written using Microsoft’s .NET Framework.

A better – and more flexible option – is to choose KeePassXC (https://keepassxc.org), which is popular among Linux and Mac OS users for several reasons. First and foremost, it’s been coded in C++, so provides a more native user experience and integrates well into your desktop. It’s also actively maintained and packed with features. Finally, it’s easy to install because it’s available as a Snap, Flatpak, portable AppImage, within the default repos or via its own Ubuntu repository.

Take the time to run regular reports on the health of your passwords – particularly after importing them from another platform.

To ensure you’re running the latest available version, we recommend installing it via its own repo. Open a terminal window and type the following: $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phoerious/keepassxc $ sudo apt update $ sudo apt install keepassxc Once in place, open KeePassXC via the Launcher.