When compared with the slick and modern layouts of paid password managers such as Keeper and Zoho Vault, KeePass' database interface looks dated. ![]() This is a simple window with your password groups listed in the left menu (including one titled "eMail") and your stored passwords appearing in the larger, right-hand window. When all this is done, you can finally view your empty database. ![]() Here's an abbreviated summary of the process: If you want to learn how to use the password manager, you must visit the KeePass website and look for the tutorial. Other password managers such as LastPass and Keeper prompt users to create a master password and import their existing passwords with just a couple of clicks. After installing the software, a password database window appears with no instructions for use. Getting started with KeePass isn't very user-friendly. If you aren't sure which edition to download, KeePass recommends downloading version 2.x. A look at an edition comparison chart (Opens in a new window) provided by KeePass shows that edition 1.x is a pared down password manager that doesn't have a lot of security settings included. Editions 1.x and 2.x are available to download and are kept current by the developers. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. ( Read our editorial mission (Opens in a new window) & see how we test everything we review (Opens in a new window).)ĭownloading and installing KeePass is easy, but unlike other free password managers such as Bitwarden, LogMeOnce, and NordPass, there is more than one version of the software available. Other users have contributed unofficial ports of the product for Android and iOS, but this review specifically covers the official product. You can install KeePass on Windows, Mac, or Linux systems. But if you’re looking for a password manager you can set and forget, I recommend the free tier of PCMag's Editors' Choice winner, Bitwarden, instead. On the plus side, KeePass allows for local credential storage, which is more secure than storing your passwords in the cloud, and you can configure it with the features you want using its trove of associated plug-ins. Its interface isn't particularly attractive either, and the Auto-Type function didn't work with some multipage logins during our testing. It lacks a lot of the ease-of-use features you associate with modern password managers, such as automatic password capture and replay. Open-source free password manager KeePass is not for those people. Many people want a password manager that stays out of sight, quietly collecting credentials and generating new passwords when prompted. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill.How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages.KeepShare: No longer actively developed. ![]() KeePassMob: No longer actively developed.Also popular and actively developed, and not an eyesore. Keepass2Android: A fork of KeePassDroid.KeePassXC: Being the actively developed fork of KeePassX, this is probably the best of the bunch.No longer gets much development and has been forked as KeePassXC. KeePassX: The Mono-free fork of KeePass 2.KeePass 2: The first version to be available for Mac and Linux.KeePass Portable: As the name implies, is a Portable App.Īll options for Linux share the same dreadful interface and poor usability.See the impressively long list of applications in the KeePass family. Pointing any general purpose sync service to a hot database is an exceedingly bad idea and the only surprise for me is that it sometimes works. I am a support engineer for a popular sync service and have worked first hand with people who have done this and have gotten a corrupt KeePass database for their trouble. ![]() Proponents glibly say that you just plop its live database into your sync service of choice. It’s hard to make software so unappealing that even I as a function-trumps-form guy resist using it, but the KeePass family perversely achieves that. They are also clunky and unpleasant to use, graceless, and unattractive. Nearly all are open source, available at no cost, and are well regarded by technically adept commentators. Each one I look at gets its own note here the family as a whole is considered. The original KeePass (Windows only) has spawned a number of related and compatible applications.
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