My environment (Generated via diagnostics page) Bitwardenrs version: v1.19.0 Web-vault version: v2.18.1 Running within Docker: true Internet access: true Uses a proxy: false DNS Check: true Time Check: true Domain Configuration Check: true HTTPS Check: true Database type: SQLite Clients used: Reverse proxy and version: Other re. Errors include Yubikey OTP disabled, Yubico client id or secret key environment variable not set. If we all need to have access to all our customer's credentials in Bitwarden, we'd have to create 100 organizations with 3 users each. That's $900 per month before even a single customer actually received access to their credentials. Secure your Microsoft account today: yubico.com/go-passwordless/microsoftInterested in purchasing the YubiKeys from the video? Visit the Yubico online store.
I’ve used Authy for several years to generate mytime-based one-time passwords(TOTP)for two-factor authentication(2FA). For variousreasons, I recently migrated to using Bitwardeninstead.
Google Authenticator Issues
Many services recommend using GoogleAuthenticator for 2FA. Ioriginally used it before switching to Authy, but I switched for a reason thatis still valid today: it doesn’t have any sort of backup or syncingfunctionality.
Check out thereviewsto get a sense of how often people get burned by switching to a new phone forwhatever reason and realizing they’ve lost all their codes or need to go througheach service one by one and set up 2FA again.
Google Authenticator is also a neglected app. The Androidappwas last updated on September 27, 2017, and the iOSapp was lastupdated on September 12, 2018. You could argue that these are relatively simpleapps that don’t need frequent updates, but take a look at what other apps likeandOTPand Aegis offer in terms of functionality that GoogleAuthenticator doesn’t have, like being able to search for a service instead ofhaving to scroll though the entire list to find it.
Authy Issues
While I have happily used Authy for several years, I also have some issues withit that caused me to look for a replacement.
No Browser Extension
Authy doesn’t have a browser extension forFirefox, my primary browser. This is aproblem because an extension can offer some protection againstphishing, one of the main securityweaknessesof using TOTP for 2FA. If the extension fails to find an entry that matches thecurrent domain, that can alert me to a possible phishing attempt.
The Chromeextensionalso hasn’t been updated in two and a half years and will no longer besupported goingforward.
No Web Client
Authy doesn’t have a web client. While this could be considered a securityfeature, I’d rather have the option to access my codes through any browser in anemergency. It’s a security vs. usability tradeoff that I’m willing to make.
No CLI Client
Authy doesn’t have a CLIclient. I have some ideas for personal browser automation projects that could beeasier to implement with programmatic access to my TOTP codes.
Mac CPU Usage
I use the Mac desktop program, but when it has a code open, the program usessignificantly more CPU. Here’s the CPU usage when it’s just displaying the listof services.
And here’s the CPU usage when it’s showing the TOTP code.
Since I don’t want the program to unnecessarily drain my laptop battery, I tryto remember to press the back button after copying the code. There’s no optionto automatically go back on copy or to just copy the code from the list viewwithout even seeing the code.
Authentication and Recovery
When you create an Authy account, you have to provide a phone number rather thanan email address or username. I didn’t like this to begin with since I want asfew things tied to my phone number as possible, given how often phone numbersget hijacked.
Authy thenencouragesyou to add the app to your other devices and then disable the multi-devicefeature. This means that your codes will keep working on your existing devices,but to add Authy to a new device, you need access to one of your old ones totemporarily re-enable multi-device and to grant access to the new device. If youdon’t have access to an old device, you have to go through a 24 hour accountrecoveryprocess.
However, I want to be able to regain access to my 2FA codes, even if I’ve lostaccess to all my devices. For example, I could be in a foreign country withoutmy laptop and then lose my phone. I want to have a good contingency plan forthis kind of situation.
Note that Authy doesn’t support an account level password. It does support apassword for your encrypted backups, but you don’t enter that until after youlog in.
Authy also doesn’t support TOTP codes orU2F security keys forprotecting itself. Its sole authentication mechanism (beyond account recoveryprocesses) is access to an old device.
Yubico Authenticator
Bitwarden Setup
I considered using my YubiKeys to generate TOTP codesusing YubicoAuthenticator,but a YubiKey can only store32TOTP secrets, and I already have 49 of them since I enable TOTP-based 2FAwhenever possible.
Bitwarden
I currently use LastPass to manage my passwords,but I am going to switch to 1Password soon. I decidedto use Bitwarden as well but solely for TOTP codes. 1Password can also handleTOTP codes, but I am willingto deal with the hassle of having two password managers to avoid using the sameservice for both passwords and 2FA.
By using a password manager for TOTP, I get broad cross-platform support with aweb client, browser extensions, desktop programs, mobile apps, and even a CLIclient. I also get standard authentication mechanisms, including 2FA support.
This does mean that I am treating my TOTP codes more like secondary passwords(something Iknow)rather than as something Ihave.Authy’s requirement to have access to an old device better fits the latterprinciple. This is a deliberate choice on my part.
Note that Bitwarden requires a premium account that costs $10 a year in order togenerate TOTP codes. A premium account also adds U2F support, which I wanted aswell.
Yubico Bitwardenrs
Authentication Strategy
U2F support is the last component of my authentication strategy. Going forward,it will be like this: I’ll store passwords in 1Password and TOTP secrets inBitwarden. I’ll use separate, high entropy masterpasswords that will only exist in my head.
1Password requires a secret key inconjunction with the master password in order to log in on a new device. Since Ican’t memorize it, I plan to store my secret key as a staticpasswordon my YubiKeys. This means that if I touch the metal contact for a few seconds,it will type out the secret key for me.
For both services, I’ll add all my YubiKeys for 2FA. This means that all I needis one of my YubiKeys (one of which is on my keychain) and the master passwordsin my head to regain full access to all of my accounts.
However, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to use my YubiKey on every device.For example, Bitwarden doesn’tsupport U2F inits mobile apps. I would also be paranoid about feeling like I need two YubiKeyswhen I travel in case I lose one.
My plan to deal with these issues is to also set up TOTP-based 2FA for both1Password and Bitwarden. I’ll print those TOTP secrets, along with the 1Passwordsecret key, on a small card and laminate it. I can make multiple copies to putin my wallet and my bag. Sometimes being overly prepared is fun in itself, eventhough it might be overkill.
Migration
To migrate to Bitwarden, I went through my Authy list one by one. In theory, I’dbe able to just copy the TOTP secret to Bitwarden, but Authy doesn’t expose thesecret.
For each account, I logged in and reset 2FA to add the secret to Bitwarden. ThenI deleted the account from Authy. Authy marks it for deletion and then waits 48hours before actually deleting it in case you made a mistake.
I did have trouble with adding some services, such asAlgolia and npm, that onlyshow the QR code and don’t have an option to display the TOTP secret. The QRcodes encode URIs that look like this, asdocumentedin the Google Authenticator wiki:
I tried using my phone camera’s built-in QR scanner, but I couldn’t see the fullURI and opening it would open Authy, with no other option. I used GoogleLens instead to grab the secret. In retrospect, I wasonly having trouble because I was adding the services to Bitwarden through thebrowser extension. I should have installed the mobile app from the beginning andused that because it has an option to scan QR codes.
I also had trouble with adding Twitch, which has aspecific integration with Authy instead of providing a generic QR code. To getaround the issue, I followed thisguide.You can use the deprecated Authy Chromeappto retrieve the TOTP secrets and configurations. This method entails usingChrome’s developer tools to execute customcode toprint the information.
This revealed that Twitch uses 7 digit codes instead of the standard 6 and 10second intervals instead of the standard 30.
At this point, I thought I hit a Bitwarden limitation because I mistakenlyassumed that the extension would only take the TOTP secret in the authenticatorkey field.
However, I discovered that Bitwardensupportsputting the full URI with configuration into that field. I tested it and wasable to log in to Twitch using the code generated by Bitwarden.
Conclusion
Migrating to Bitwarden took me about a full day, but I’m happy with the result.I’ve been using the Bitwarden browser extension to log in to accounts for thepast week, and it is much nicer than using the Authy desktop program. Next up ismigrating from LastPass to 1Password.
1. Security & Encryption
A good password manager stores your data securely by using strong encryption to protect your data while it’s on your computer, on the password manager’s server and moving between the two. Deciphering this encryption is almost impossible when password managers use industry-standard encryption like Advanced Encryption Standard. We also checked for up-to-date security methods, two-factor authentication and whether the password manager ever had a third-party security audit.
Docker Compose Bitwarden
2. App Compatibility
Password managers aren’t very useful if you can’t use them everywhere, so we compared the types of hardware and software Bitwarden and KeePass were compatible with. We looked at three types of compatibility, which included compatibility with operating systems on desktops and laptops, browsers and iOS and Android for mobile devices.
3. Usability & Ease of Use
We compared Bitwarden and KeePass on ease of set up and use because a good password manager should be simple to download, set up and create a list of your passwords. The interface should also be easy to operate, so you can generate new, stronger passwords and autofill usernames and passwords on logins. We also checked how well they worked with biometric logins for users who have face or fingerprint scanning on their phone, laptop or tablet.
Bitwarden Local Install
4. Password Sharing
While password sharing is a common feature for paid password managers, it’s not always offered in free ones. We researched secure sharing capabilities and how many people could share at a time. This feature is especially important for families who want to share online accounts or bill pay sites or companies who need to share email, social media accounts or other account logins.
5. Price Snowflake obsidian lyrics.
The cost for password managers run the gamut from free to $90 annually or more, depending on how many people are sharing the application. Most password managers advertise a monthly subscription price, but fees are usually billed annually. Any paid password manager should offer unlimited password storage, but free applications often do as well, so we researched storage capacities along with cost.