KeePass itself comes with a nifty feature that shows how many key transformation rounds can be set for those prepared to live with a 1-second delay. Indeed, a modern desktop or laptop could easily be set to between 10 million to 20 million rounds for those who can live with a very slight delay when opening (and saving) the password database. The default value is set at 6,000 rounds, though this could be configured to a much higher value to make it orders of multitude harder to pull off a successful brute force attack. The simplest relies on having KeePass run the encryption key through additional iterative rounds of encryption. Strong master password aside, KeePass offers two other main ways to ratchet up the security of the password database. KeePass comes with the built-in capability to calculate the number of key transformation rounds that your current PC can do in a second. Still, a password length of more than 12 characters may be a good start with a non-dictionary-based password, though some recommend at least 20 characters. So what length of password is good enough to properly secure a KeePass database? There is no clear consensus on this, mainly due to highly divergent factors such as complexity of password and speed of computers tasked to perform any brute force attempt. Your mileage may vary with some of the ports, though the top mobile platforms such as Android and iOS appear to be well-supported with apps that are maintained. Overall, the KeePass project is mature and well-supported, and the download page on the official website lists contributed ports for mobile platforms ranging from Windows Phone, Android, iOS, BlackBerry and even Palm OS. A cross-platform port called KeePassX is also available for those who prefer not to use Mono, though it lacks in certain features such as support for plugins and auto-typing of passwords on non-Linux systems. NET, can be made to run on Linux, OS X, Linux and BSD with Mono. KeePass is available on Windows and because it is written in. Of course, having to remember just one extra-strong password to protect all other passwords is what makes the use of a password manager appealing in the first place. The use of strong encryption does not detract from the need for a sufficiently complex password, since an attacker with a pilfered copy the KeePass database can attempt to crack it using dictionary and password guessing tools. And AES-256 is mathematical equivalent of 2 256 key possibilities. ![]() AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a cipher (secret code, in other words) used widely across the internet, and is, in theory, uncrackable, given the number of keys used. SHA-256 is an almost unique 256-bit hash. It’s a one-way state: It can’t be decrypted. ![]() To unpack that a bit for the layperson, SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) is a type of cryptographic hash, or “signature” for a computer file (text or data). ![]() A master key generated from the user password is hashed using SHA-256, which is subsequently used to encrypt the password database with AES-256. (There are two versions of KeePass that are maintained concurrently we will be focusing our attention on KeePass 2.)Īt its core, KeePass is straightforward to understand. Here, we take a closer look at how you can securely set up KeePass – a highly rated open-source password manager – in a way that keeps your passwords within easy reach. And, if you don’t mind putting in a modicum of effort, you can still establish a non-cloud-based password manager that can be utilized across multiple devices. Those incidents aside, password managers remain the best way to avoid reusing weak passwords which is as commonplace as the number of password leaks that happen every year, even on large, reputable websites. However, the compromise of at least one cloud-based password manager last year and recent actions by a government agency may have given you second thoughts about using the cloud for something that instinctively feels like it should be managed locally. Nothing helps strong passwords become a central tenet of your electronic life than conscientious use of a password manager.
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