Keep All Your Passwords Safe YOU’LL NEED THIS

PASSWORD MANAGERS ARE DIME A DOZEN THESE DAYS, but BitWarden is an overlooked gem that deserves more attention. It has all the features you’d expect in a good password manager— easy and convenient to use, but locking your sensitive data away in a highly encrypted vault. It offers two-factor authentication (2FA) for extra security, and makes it easy to generate new random secure passwords for all your accounts. It also works across a wide range of devices.

What we love about BitWarden is that it’s open source, so more transparent than other password managers. It’s also free—no key features are locked away behind a paywall, although premium tiers exist if you need something extra or want to support it financially. We’ll explore its core features here, and get you started protecting your online accounts. –NICK PEERS

1

SIGN UP FOR FREE ACCOUNT

Open your web browser and go to https://bitwarden.com. Click “Create Account,” and provide your email address, name, and a Master Password [ Image A] to unlock everything else (length is more important than randomness when creating a strong Master Password—for example, “1Penzance4Harrison8Westerly”). If you use the “Password hint” field, make sure it’s a clue only you can guess. Click “Submit.”

2

INSTALL BITWARDEN

Next, log in through BitWarden’s web interface at https://

vault.bitwarden.com, and click “Send Email” to verify your email address and unlock all the features. Once done, click the icon in the top-right corner, and choose “Get the Apps.” Install the Windows app to manage sites outside your browser, plus the appropriate plugin for your web browser.

3

ADD YOUR FIRST PASSWORD

Look for the BitWarden icon in the browser toolbar, and click it to open a pop-up window. Log in to your account, so the icon turns blue, then close the pop-up for now. Navigate to your first website, and log in as normal—you may see a prompt to add the password to BitWarden (in which case do so); if not, click the “BitWarden” button to add it manually [ Image B].

4

IMPORT PASSWORDS

If you’re switching from another password manager, export your passwords in CSV format—if the contents open in a separate browser window, select all the data, then copy and paste it into a text editor. Log in to https://vault.bitwarden.

com in your browser, and choose “Tools > Import Data.” Select the import type and file, or paste the data from your text editor. Click “Import Data” [ Image C].

5

TIGHTEN SECURITY FURTHER

Each time you open your browser, you’ll see a padlock next to the BitWarden logo—this indicates you need to enter your master password to unlock the vault. Click “Settings” to change this behavior under “Lock Options,” if you wish [ Image D]. If you use two-factor authentication to protect other accounts, choose “Two-step Login” to set this up for BitWarden, too.

6

LOGINS MADE EASY

Now, whenever you visit a website where you’ve stored your password, you’ll see a number appear next to the BitWarden app icon, indicating the number of available logins for that site. Open the plug-in and click your desired login, which should autofill the username and password fields for you. You can also copy your credentials to the clipboard, plus view and edit the login details.

7

UPDATE YOUR PASSWORDS

If you have a weak password for a website, now is the time to update it. Log in to the site, and navigate to the section where you can update your password. Enter the current password, if prompted, then open the plug-in and click “Generator” to generate a new random password. Click “Copy Password” and update the password [ Image E]. If you’re not prompted to update it, do so manually.

8

STORE MORE SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Open the plug-in and click “My Vault.” You can add additional items here to speed up web browsing: Click “Card” to store credit card details [ Image F], and “Identity” to record personal details to quickly fill in forms. Store generic information under “Secure Notes.” Add as little or as much information as you wish—we recommend activating 2FA before storing this kind of data in your vault.

9

CHECK FOR BREACHES

BitWarden can be used to alert you to potential data breaches that might have exposed your password. Log in to the web vault and choose “Tools > Data Breach Report.” Enter one of your usernames or email addresses, and click “Check Breaches.” If any are found, BitWarden displays information about them

If you still use that site, now’s the time to change your password.

[ Image G]. 10

WEB BROWSING MADE EASY AND SECURE

Now you’ve tightened browser security and made things easier for yourself, it’s time to install BitWarden on all your other computers and mobile devices—including Apple and Android phones and tablets [ Image H]. Everything is free, and your vault is securely synched via the cloud using end-to-end encryption, to prevent it falling into the wrong hands.