Categories
Open Source Security Tech

First Steps with KeePassXC

Why KeePassXC?

Most of my experience with password managers lies with KeePass. For an enterprise environment it is simple to use, easy to deploy and fairly lightweight. For my personal use I can take advantage of its portability and not worry about phishing too much, as I tend to type out websites directly when something sketchy comes around. For work, VMs and other users however, I recommend KeePassXC now. It offers some advantages to KeePass, namely an easier interface, browser integration and TOTP.

The browser integration provides phishing protection => if users click on links asking for credentials, the extension will not recognise the domain and therefore not provide credentials. Along with the easier interface, this means users are more likely to avoid password reuse and less likely to fall for phishing attempts.

First Steps

The KeePassXC team have a great introduction to their password manager, covering details from setting up a database to the configuration of the browser integration. I highly recommend taking a look there before doing the install, even if just to make yourself aware of the different interface. You can find their getting started guide here.

Now, following the steps from the KeePass guide there are some differences in the procedures. The first is the key transformation, instead of telling the system how many iterations you want, KeePassXC suggests choosing how long it takes to decrypt the database.

KeePassXC settings interface, on the security menu, encryption settings tab.

Unlike KeePass, KeePassXC doesn’t provide password templates. nor does it offer the ability to generate a password from the previous password (useful for services with character or length limitations). The password generator takes the last used settings. My recommendation is to check the box to avoid lookalike characters (for those times you need to type it out).

Password creator with the Exclude look-alike characters checkbox ticked

Same as with KeePass, KeePassXC allows entries to autoexpire. This is not checked by default, in my use of the application, it does not stay checked when making several entries. The preset expiry times include 1, 2, 3 weeks, months and years.

KeePassXC new entry window with no expiry date selected.

Same as with KeePass, I recommend renewing your passwords at 6 month intervals, but at least once a year.

TOTP

Unlike KeePass, KeePassXC comes with TOTP support out of the box. While arguably this is not great as it means you are getting all your authentication tokens through the same medium, it does protect your accounts from brute forcing attacks. You can’t set TOTP from the entry window, but after creating the entry right click => TOTP =>Setup TOTP. When generating your tokens, tell the web service you can’t scan the QR code, and enter the secret into the TOTP window.

Setup TOTP window with an empty Secret Key.

It is worth mentionning that you can get the secret from KeePassXC. Not the most secure solution but I can see this being useful for teams connecting to client environments, as the database can be shared through KeeShare with those people who need access to it. With the browser extension, this means seamless logging in to services as all the credentials come from a single place, (and the database can be locked with a passphrase & hardware token).

KeeShare

KeeShare sort of takes the need for cloud sync away accross devices, however my limited experience with this feature was not great. Most likely due to user error and limited time / infrastructure to play with it, it is worth knowing that the KeePassXC team have documented it quite well over here.

Nice to know

You can save credentials from the browser extension directly to your database. These will be in a default “browser credentials” group. You can order them into whatever folder you want if you actively use the standard interface to find them faster.

By default, autotype is enabled in KeePassXC, but with no assigned shortcut. With the browser extension I have not found any reason to activate it. Specially after the shenanigans with KeePass spouting my credentials into a couple services.

The browser extension requires the database to be unlocked in order to use the credentials. The icon turns green when the connection between the extension and the data base is active, and grey if the connection is not present. I have found it particularly useful to be able to hide the window once it has been unlocked as it lets me keep an uncluttered desktop, and the browser lets me know if anything is the matter.

KeePassXC Application Setting window with ‘Minimize window after unlocking database’ checked

By default, the database will be saved after every change (new entry, password change, etc.). I’ve found this behaviour useful, but worth knowing if you have a long decryption time it can slow down your machine. The behaviour can be medified in the Application Settings => File Management.

KeePassXC Application Settings window with ‘Automatically save after every change’ option checked

Sadly, unlike KeePass, there is no option to show expired / expiring soon entries upon loading up the interface. The entries will have a different icon showing that the entry has expired and the title will be crossed through.

KeePassXC expired entry “Test” with the expired entry icon, & title crossed through

KeePass or KeePassXC?

I think it really comes down to the user. Both offer similar levels of protection for the users’ databases, they differ mainly in what they offer out of the box. Neither solution has been ported to Android or iOS which means regardless of what you pick, there will always be another party accessing your passwords. I believe KeePass will continue to have its place in enterprise environments where it outperforms the XC variant through a slimmer interface. KeePassXC does provide a nicer experience for first time users, with default settings that make it easy to use from the get-go. As long as you don’t use TOTP, you can use both with the same database and decide later on.

Categories
Privacy Security Tech

Optimising Browser PW Management

Advantages

If you save your passwords to your browser if has some advantages. In the case of Chrome, your accounts are synced on to Android devices. Additionally, any device with Chrome where you are logged in to the browser will provide some protection from phishing. Because the browser doesn’t recognise the website, it won’t provide credentials, and therefore invites the user to double check what’s going on. Further, as the user it provides a seamless integration across devices.

Drawbacks

The first drawback comes from the advantages. By syncing passwords across devices you have the risk of contaminating personal and enterprise accounts. Secondly, should someone have access to your google account, you can consider all of your passwords, no matter how complex to be compromised. Google does provide some security by requesting authentication when accessing the cleartext passwords, but this authentication is provided by the local device, therefore any 3rd party with access to your Google account can access your passwords without needing your MFA. Finally, it is extremely easy to export the passwords to a cleartext file, usually CSV, and the probability is that you’ve been using it from before the times where secure passwords were suggested. As such, probability is that you may find reused passwords within your accounts list.

Optimising the tool for your security

First, secure your google account. MFA the hell out of it. Using a browser based password manager is better than no password manager, so securing access to your accounts is an important first step. Once you are confident your google account has been secured, check for reused passwords and secure those accounts. Where applicable remove the accounts which you no longer use. Google will offer passwords with a relatively high level of entropy for those accounts you are changing the details for.

Finally, make sure you are using Google’s Password Checkup semi-regularly to be alerted about data breaches. Signing up for HaveIBeenPwned alerts will also help inform you of compromised accoutns where passwords need to be rotated. Sadly, this tool will not provide any help with reminding about rotating your passwords regularly.