Keychain password manager vs 3rd party

Broken Hope · 22 Apr 2022 at 10:08

You can export using the passwords control panel on MacOS.

I’ve been all Apple since 2014 though and can’t see me ever changing away, I have an Apple Watch, multiple HomePod etc I’m very locked into the Apple ecosystem.

LiE · 23 Apr 2022 at 11:01

Yup you can export a CSV of passwords from KeyChain on macOS. I use KeyChain as it's the slickest and most convenient password manager for someone who is all-in the ecosystem. The only issue I find is sometimes the auto generated passwords don't comply with some password policies and you have no option to generate one using different parameters.

Cromulent · 27 Apr 2022 at 08:41

Just to add to this thread because I think it basically makes Keychain worthless for password management. If you get Bitwarden Premium (£10 a year) you can use a Yubikey for 2FA which is pretty strong. I currently have two Yubikeys, a Yubikey NEO and a Yubikey 5C NFC which means you can only log into my Bitwarden account if you have one of my Yubikeys. I've just bought the Yubikey Bio USB C which is the same as the older Yubikey devices I own with the addition of having a fingerprint sensor for even greater security. You can also use it as 2FA for SSH keys and store a GnuPG private key in it. Basically, I would say if you want the highest level of security use Bitwarden with a Yubiley 5C Bio.

https://resources.yubico.com/53ZDUYE6/at/gm5shtjfxkvknbkzjkhffn/YubiKey_Bio.pdf

Holtz500 · 6 May 2022 at 15:31

I got a ? And this may be a dumb one but here we go so I had to reset my iPhone yesterday and when I went to log in to Instagram which i have 2 Instagram accounts it had my accounts saved from iCloud Keychain but I removed them to log in manually but now I’m concerned for some reason that my account get deleted can that happen or no all I did was remove the accounts to log in manually sorry if this is a dumb ?

Deleted member 77746 · 10 May 2022 at 10:50

Holtz500 said:
I got a ? And this may be a dumb one but here we go so I had to reset my iPhone yesterday and when I went to log in to Instagram which i have 2 Instagram accounts it had my accounts saved from iCloud Keychain but I removed them to log in manually but now I’m concerned for some reason that my account get deleted can that happen or no all I did was remove the accounts to log in manually sorry if this is a dumb ?

No they won't be deleted.

beachBOYken · 19 Dec 2022 at 12:24

Thread bump.

Im beginning to test out apple keychain while I still have an active 3rd party sub to a password manager.

In the apple passwords when you click edit on one of your website account passwords it shows your password with a little key symbol and under that it has "easy to type" and "special characters" passwords, are these just alternative passwords generated by Apple for me to switch to if I wish?

Thanks

Cromulent · 19 Dec 2022 at 12:29

beachBOYken said:
Thread bump.

Im beginning to test out apple keychain while I still have an active 3rd party sub to a password manager.

In the apple passwords when you click edit on one of your website account passwords it shows your password with a little key symbol and under that it has "easy to type" and "special characters" passwords, are these just alternative passwords generated by Apple for me to switch to if I wish?

Thanks

I would highly suggest you use Bitwarden over keychain. Bitwarden is free for the most part, but the premium version is only £10 a year, and it works on pretty much everything.

beachBOYken · 19 Dec 2022 at 12:44

Cromulent said:
I would highly suggest you use Bitwarden over keychain. Bitwarden is free for the most part, but the premium version is only £10 a year, and it works on pretty much everything.

I’m only testing it out see how it goes, I only use these for passwords and nothing else which is why I’m thinking of dropping 1p.
I also have all apple devices.

Feek · 19 Dec 2022 at 12:47

beachBOYken said:
I’m only testing it out see how it goes, I only use these for passwords and nothing else which is why I’m thinking of dropping 1p.

What about 2FA, does it handle it as seamlessly as 1Password? Interested to know.

beachBOYken · 19 Dec 2022 at 12:51

Feek said:
What about 2FA, does it handle it as seamlessly as 1Password? Interested to know.

Think so after some reading, was going to test it with this site, but it’s not requesting my 2fa code at the moment.

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Dec 2022 at 13:07

Anyone moving to Bitwarden will not regret it. Either self hosted is free or £10 a year for the server version. Absolutely perfect pricing.

beachBOYken · 19 Dec 2022 at 13:13

GaryTheSnail said:
Anyone moving to Bitwarden will not regret it. Either self hosted is free or £10 a year for the server version. Absolutely perfect pricing.

I will check it out.

Apple keychain looks just perfect for my use though, and having just apple devices.

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Dec 2022 at 13:14

beachBOYken said:
I will check it out.

Apple keychain looks just perfect for my use though, and having just apple devices.

Until you ever get mixed devices and want to move away.

beachBOYken · 19 Dec 2022 at 13:17

GaryTheSnail said:
Until you ever get mixed devices and want to move away.

Indeed. But I have had apple devices for years and can't see myself ever moving away from them for the foreseeable.

That's like anything really though, some things don't last forever, even a password manager.

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Dec 2022 at 13:24

beachBOYken said:
Indeed. But I have had apple devices for years and can't see myself ever moving away from them for the foreseeable.

That's like anything really though, some things don't last forever, even a password manager.

That’s what I said until my MacBook Air stopped supported stuff I couldn’t justify spending the amount on another laptop. Work purchased me a zenbook to keep so I ended up with a mixed environment again.

If you don’t think you will move away that’s fair. I personally would even say Bitwarden is better. It’s a browser extension that’s all rather than built in. I’ve had 0 problems been using it for 2 years self hosted. Not even had a problem with upgrades.

beachBOYken · 19 Dec 2022 at 13:27

GaryTheSnail said:
That’s what I said until my MacBook Air stopped supported stuff I couldn’t justify spending the amount on another laptop. Work purchased me a zenbook to keep so I ended up with a mixed environment again.

If you don’t think you will move away that’s fair. I personally would even say Bitwarden is better. It’s a browser extension that’s all rather than built in. I’ve had 0 problems been using it for 2 years self hosted. Not even had a problem with upgrades.

I personally don't want to pay a penny for a password manager and looking at Bitwarden I would need to for the 2fa support.

My use is extremely basic, the reason I think keychain will be fine for me.

I think there is a way on Mac to export passwords if I ever need to as well.

Cromulent · 19 Dec 2022 at 14:01

Delete. Misread something.

beachBOYken · 19 Dec 2022 at 14:05

Cromulent said:
Why? You only need the premium version for 2FA if you use a Yubikey or similar USB 2FA device. If you just use auth apps like Authy the free version works fine.

Oh good point, used to using 2fa within 1p, forgot about separate 2fa apps.

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Dec 2022 at 14:17

beachBOYken said:
Oh good point, used to using 2fa within 1p, forgot about separate 2fa apps.

Authy FTW.

Feek · 19 Dec 2022 at 15:07

Whatever you choose, save your backup codes.