Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Password Manager Free or Very Cheap?

I've used Bitwarden for years.

I started off by using the Rust open source variant of it and hosting it on my own hardware. (https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden)
It's very close to the version you get if you just use the consumer version.

Life has got more complicated as I get older, and my time is more precious, so I just use the consumer version nowadays.

It's excellent. I've even started paying the $10 a year to give it a bit of financial support. Although I don't really use the extra features you get from paying for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nickm11
I used to use Lastpass (free), and then switched to Bitwarden (also free). Both will do the job, I just trust Bitwarden more than Lastpass. I ran into too many issues with Lastpass not being able to fill in authentication fields on more websites.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hibbit and nickm11
chrfr said:
Why not use the Passwords app that’s built into macOS? It works extremely well.
Click to expand...

Because you're limited by what software/os/device you can use it on. Most browser extensions like Lastpass and Bitwarden work with every browser, on every platform. Plus if I'm on a device I don't own or have permissions, I can simply log into the website and snag my credentials.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hibbit
Corefile said:
Sorry, can you elaborate on the security risk you mention here? Thanks.
Click to expand...
As Ray2 said, Apple Passwords uses your device login password to unlock, if biometrics is not available. I could use a complicated device login. Personally, for admin purposes, I prefer to keep it separate to my password manager. That’s just me.
That said, for family members I strongly recommend Apple Passwords to no password manager, or using the same password for every login.
 
Ursadorable said:
Because you're limited by what software/os/device you can use it on. Most browser extensions like Lastpass and Bitwarden work with every browser, on every platform. Plus if I'm on a device I don't own or have permissions, I can simply log into the website and snag my credentials.
Click to expand...
I agree with this, and I'd also extend the sentiment a bit by saying that my password manager is a critical part of my electronic life. Having a good password manager is important to me, as an IT professional.

So to have something reliable which isn't dependent on a particular platform makes Bitwarden a great choice for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ursadorable
If you're only worried about passwords, passkeys and wifi networks, Apple's Passwords app with suffice. However, apps such as 1Password offer many more categories, which for me is the reason to stick with 1Password. Aside from passwords and wifi networks, it also allows me to store details for the following categories:

  • Logins
  • Secure Notes
  • Credit Cards
  • Identities
  • Passwords
  • Documents
  • Bank Accounts
  • Databases
  • Driver Licenses
  • Memberships
  • Passports
  • Rewards
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Software Licenses
  • Wireless Routers
As a software developer, I find this vault to store my software licence keys very valuable and I have used most other categories frequently, too.
Something to keep in mind...
 
dwrufus53 said:
The Apple Passwords app is free and works very well for me.
Click to expand...
I think that Apple Password uses the same pw as the computer. I'm single and live in an apartment, so I dont have the best PW on my iMac, which means, if management or repair comes in my apartment, it would be easy to get my important passwords.
 
nickm11 said:
I think that Apple Password uses the same pw as the computer. I'm single and live in an apartment, so I dont have the best PW on my iMac, which means, if management or repair comes in my apartment, it would be easy to get my important passwords.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, make the computer password more complex and set up biometrics so YOU don't have to type it in each time
 
  • Like
Reactions: IJustWannaTalk and dwrufus53
Thumbs Up for Keepass Derivates.

There are many Password Managers like Bitwarden, 1Password an so on, which are vulnerable against Clickjacking:


1755867945840.png
 
nickm11 said:
I think that Apple Password uses the same pw as the computer. I'm single and live in an apartment, so I dont have the best PW on my iMac, which means, if management or repair comes in my apartment, it would be easy to get my important passwords.
Click to expand...

You’re absolutely right. Once they have access to your computer on an administrator account, they have access to everything. It doesn’t matter what password manager you use.

I think you identify the problem so it should be easy to fix. Change your login password.

It doesn’t have to be a 37 character long string of random numbers, letters and special characters. It could be something like. Cheesy3Donuts2Me. Sure that would not last against some type of brute force attack but I suspect you’re not important or wealthy enough for that. If I’m wrong then physically secure your Mac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IJustWannaTalk and roronl
nickm11 said:
I think that Apple Password uses the same pw as the computer. I'm single and live in an apartment, so I dont have the best PW on my iMac, which means, if management or repair comes in my apartment, it would be easy to get my important passwords.
Click to expand...
Dude. Are you sure this is a scenario that actually has a chance to happen?
 
  • Like
Reactions: jw2002
Enpass.

1password clone without subscriptions. One time lifetime license purchase.
 
R3van said:
Thumbs Up for Keepass Derivates.

There are many Password Managers like Bitwarden, 1Password an so on, which are vulnerable against Clickjacking:


View attachment 2539838
Click to expand...
Note that although iCloud Passwords (Apple Passwords) is listed, this does not apply when using the application with Safari. Safari uses the Apple Password AutoFill system, which is not a browser extension. However, when using a third-party browser on Mac or on Windows, a browser extension is necessary to autofill information from Apple Passwords.

Although most password managers use browser extensions, there are exceptions such as Codebook. It uses the Apple Password AutoFill system for Safari, and has a helper application (Secret Agent) that you can use to insert your passwords and other data stored in Codebook into any app on your Mac or PC. Codebook is free unless you want to use Codebook Cloud to sync your passwords across your devices. However, I manually sync using desktop WiFi, and don’t find it to be burdensome. I think Codebook is a great password manager.
 
I just thought of another reason to like Bitwarden.

If you're stuck without internet you can still log into the browser extension and it uses the last cached database. It works the same on Android. I like that lack of internet doesn't cause it to flake.
 
The problem I see with Apple Password is that if you are locked out of your Apple account you lose everything. I rather have my master password for my password database totally separate from my Apple account password. In addition, Apple's icloud leaves much to be desired in terms of stability and dependency on having a working Apple device. Besides when Apple asks for my account password I can paste it from my password manager.
 
ifxf said:
The problem I see with Apple Password is that if you are locked out of your Apple account you lose everything. I rather have my master password for my password database totally separate from my Apple account password. In addition, Apple's icloud leaves much to be desired in terms of stability and dependency on having a working Apple device. Besides when Apple asks for my account password I can paste it from my password manager.
Click to expand...
I use Apple Passwords app but, I also use Strongbox and have the same database for Apple backed up and used in Strongbox and Minimalist password managers. That way, if I should ever have a problem with my Apple Account, I should still be able to get into my my accounts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back