Bitwarden overview: This free password manager has few restrictions, and shrimp polish

Most free password managers are supreme free up to a diploma. Most ceaselessly, they prohibit the possibility of passwords which will additionally be saved or devices which will additionally be synced for free customers. Bitwarden bucks that pattern, letting you save limitless vault gadgets and sync your vault across all of your devices with out spending a penny. There’s additionally a paid version that involves extra, but no longer trivial security facets, which charges supreme $10 a one year. There are some tradeoffs for that affordability—Bitdwarden isn’t as polished or turnkey as just a few of its more well-known opponents, and we bumped into some points the utilize of its browser extension. But, total, it’s a appropriate option for customers on a budget, and the most effective option among free password managers.

Existing: Be taught more concerning the complete password managers we’ve tested, including the most licensed paid alternatives, in our most effective password managers roundup. 

Environment up Bitwarden

To originate the utilize of Bitwarden, you first must register an yarn. You’ll be asked to enter your e mail and create a master password. This password has to be stable enough to safeguard all of your various passwords but easy enough to undergo in mind so that you just don’t catch locked out of your vault. Bitwarden helps with the principle phase by ranking your master password as archaic, appropriate, or stable as you create it. It no longer supreme looks for password measurement and a appropriate mix of letters, numbers, and characters, this can additionally ding you for passwords the utilize of with out bother crackable phrases treasure “ABC123” even within the event that they meet the complete measurement and character-mix requirements.

Bitwarden permits you to import passwords from greater than 50 various password managers and internet browsers including LastPass, Keeper, 1Password, Dashlane, Firefox, and Chrome. All the accessible import alternatives are presented in a tumble-down menu within the Instruments share of your vault, and each helpfully lists the sort of file (json, csv, xml, etc.) you wish to export from that tool to import into Bitwarden.

Michael Ansaldo/IDG

It’s seemingly you will seemingly create and edit password entries the utilize of Bitwarden’s internet interface, desktop apps, or browser extension. The online and desktop layouts are practically the same, with your vault entries listed within the guts and a menu working down the left sidebar. From the menu, that it is seemingly you’ll form entries by form—password, card, identification, or stable display cowl—or by favorites. At the bottom of the menu is an approach to put collectively your entries into folders. Unfortunately, the folder desires to be created before time and each entry added manually—drag-and-tumble is no longer supported.

The browser extension simplifies the format whereas providing most of the same tools and facets. It permits you to filter, form, and half entries; generate passwords; import gadgets from various tools; and more.

Many of the paid password managers I’ve mature scramble you thru the route of of inserting within the browser extension, creating your first vault entry, including your deepest knowledge for auto manufacture filling, and various initiatives to catch the tool willing to utilize. Bitwarden doesn’t offer any prompts, which meant I needed to make investments essential time first exploring the interface and intuiting invent these things I glorious mentioned, and then more time basically doing them. In the end, it doesn’t affect the utility of the tool, but it’s moderately disorienting in case you’re mature to the friendly onboarding of managers treasure Keeper and LastPass.

Michael Ansaldo/IDG

Capturing and replaying passwords

One amongst the perks of password managers is their potential to robotically defend your credentials the principle time you log in to a affirm and replay them every time you come. Bitwarden became inconsistent about this. When it worked, a message box slid out asking if I needed to avoid losing the internet affirm credentials I glorious entered, and I glorious needed to click on a button to verify. But ceaselessly it didn’t offer to avoid losing my credentials in any respect, despite the truth that these were usual industrial internet sites that various password managers I’ve mature have not any considerations with.

When Bitwarden does defend your login credentials, it could seemingly perhaps robotically possess them within the subsequent time you come to the affirm. The mechanics are valuable treasure each various password manager. When Bitwarden recognizes the affirm, it surfaces the associated credentials within the browser extension and login fields, and you glorious click on to enter them. Alternately, that it is seemingly you’ll open an online affirm from the browser extension by buying for the suitable entry on your vault and clicking it.

Safety facets

Saving your login credentials and various foremost knowledge in one space is nice phase of a password manager’s job. It additionally desires to stable them. Bitwarden does this in just a few ways.

Michael Ansaldo/IDG

The first is by means of two-factor authentication (2FA). By requiring a 2d manufacture of identification for logins, you dramatically decrease the probability any individual can catch entry to your vault even within the event that they catch ahold of your master password. Customers of Bitwarden’s free version can utilize 2FA codes from authenticator apps similar to Google Authenticator and Authy or salvage them by means of e mail. The premium version of Bitwarden supports further 2FA techniques including YubiKey, FIDO2 WebAuthn-enabled security keys, and the Duo security platform.

Bitwarden additionally permits you to half passwords and various knowledge securely with a feature known as Send. It forwards an encrypted hyperlink to the recipient, who can catch entry to its affirm whether or no longer or no longer they’re a Bitwarden client. Free customers can supreme half text notes but premium customers can half any type of file. When you put collectively to send a display cowl or file, that it is seemingly you’ll affirm expiration and deletion dates, restrict what number of folk can catch entry to it, and require a password. Top rate Bitwarden customers can additionally invite emergency contacts to catch entry to their vault under particular prerequisites.

Finally, Bitwarden helps reveal the strength of the passwords themselves by means of prognosis and reporting. These tools perceive archaic and reused passwords as wisely as these uncovered in a breach. They additionally say any URLs on your vault that don’t utilize TLS/SSL encryption, any passwords that strengthen 2FA but aren’t for the time being the utilize of it, and any deepest knowledge that’s grew to alter into up in an files breach. To have a study what Bitwarden has grew to alter into up on your vault, you glorious trail to the Instruments menu and identify out one of the six stories: Uncovered Passwords, Reused Passwords, Extinct Passwords, Unsecured Websites, Slothful 2FA, and Information Breach. All of these, moreover for the closing, are reserved for paid customers and all can supreme be accessed from the catch interface.

Verdict

Bitwarden isn’t the most client-friendly password manager. It requires essential time and handbook effort upfront to affirm it up, in particular because it has disaster shooting and filling credentials consistently. But its generous free view will tag it an appealing option for heaps of customers. Its premium view is additionally budget-friendly, but in case you’re willing to launch your pockets you’ll catch more evolved facets and a more in-depth journey spending moderately more on a paid password manager treasure LastPass, Dashlane, or Keeper.

• Bitwarden’s generous free view makes it a appropriate option for customers on a budget, but you are going to catch more polished journey and evolved facets with a paid password manager.

  Pros

  • Free view supplies limitless vaul entries and system syncing
  • Helps two-factor authentication
  • Send feature permits you to securely half notes and files with others

  Cons

  • Had disaster shooting and filling credentials on some internet sites
  • Requires more handbook setup than many paid password managers
  • Most evolved security facets are reserved for paid customers

Michael Ansaldo is a damaged-down client and exiguous-commercial know-how journalist. He contributes on a usual foundation to TechHive and writes the Max Productiveness column for PCWorld.