Vaultwarden is a great piece of self hosted server software, which meshes with Bitwarden software perfectly. And for people who can't self host, IMO Bitwarden gives you more than enough bang for your buck with their own hosting plans.
It's one of the few examples of software being open source and ethically making money regardless. (For comparison, Standard Notes has tried pretty hard to make sure non-paying users have an inferior experience even if they self-host literally everything.)
They've already open-sourced all the best parts, and there are independent OSS projects based on that. If BE fucks with their user base, they'd be messing with their livelihood.
I use Bitwarden for passwords. Just works so well.
KeepassXC and KeePassium for TOTP codes. I keep the database in the cloud but sync a key with Syncthing that’s needed to unlock the database on the devices themselves.
Locally hosted bitwarden (vault warden) that is only accessible on your local network is the way to go. When a new sync is needed away from home, wireguard VPN to connect back in makes everything nice and secure. Otherwise most of the time the vault is cached to the device locally so you don't need to phone home to access passwords.
And with Syncthing's Untrusted Device Encryption feature I can use my VPS as an extra node for synchronization without worrying touch if it becomes compromised without me knowing.
If you are into the command line, pass is also neat. You can even have your keys in a git repo and access it with a FOSS Android app (requires some dedication to set it up). It's very useful to feed passwords to scripts without hardcoding them in the source.
KeePass for me. I keep my encrypted vault in my 2 factor encrypted gdrive. Get the best of both worlds. No traditional cloud that's a target for hackers and I have passes I can share across devices.
I really enjoy 1Password for easy vault sharing between family members. I was able to get my (not so technically literate) siblings and dad onto my family plan. Baby steps!
I know they recently published the code for their clients, so that's a plus. But I can't find any independent audits for their architecture or clients.
While all mentioned options does have independent audits done.
I've been using Proton Pass since it launched and I think it's really really good.
Positives:
Nice integration with both desktop and mobile
Integrated in the proton suite, which I was already using
Allows you to generate an email alias for each login automatically. Websites will never have your real email and you can easily generate a new alias if one has been compromised
Supports 2 factor authentication via TOTP, works really well
I guess a bunch of things, as they are specialized apps:
proper auth. I think with Firefox you can have a password, but a password manager will have multiple options for 2fa including security keys, and on phone fingerprint unlock etc. In general, password managers are more resistant to malicious users gaining access to your device.
store all kinds of stuff. Not everything happens in the browser, and it's just convenient to have an app just for credentials. Many password managers allow to store and autofill credit cards too, for example.
on the fly generation of aliases. Password managers have external integrations. For example proton and bitwarden can integrate with simplelogin.io to generate email aliases when you choose to generate a new username.
org-like features. Password managers can be also convenient for sharing with family (for example). I do manage a bitwardes organization used by all my immediate family, which means I can share credentials easily with any of them. Besides the sharing I can also ensure my (not tech savvy mom) won't lock herself out (emergency breakglass access configurable) and technically enforce policies on password strength etc.
as banal as it is, self-managing. I like to run my own services and running my own password manager with my own backups gives me peace of mind.
another perhaps obvious point. More compatibility? I can use my password manager on whatever device, whatever browser. For some, it might not change anything, but it's a convenient feature.
As a personal addition, I would say that I simply want the cornerstone of my online security to be a product for a company that is specialized in doing that. I have no idea how much effort goes into the password manager from Mozilla, for example.
I use the notes section alot. I can store all kinds of related info.
For example on sites that still use a username to login, I can put the email I used to sign up in the notes section.
I'll also do security questions answers here. Using a pasphrase generator for those is good. No one is going to check if your first dog's name really was "consoling-roving-activator-earflap" and no one can find it on your over sharing grandma's Facebook.
I'll also attach any license keys/relevant files for software, now those stay encrypted and backed up with the database instead of in a random folder of text files.
Pretty much in general for me now. I gave it an honest go for six years but there were at least four instances where a server upgrade required nontrivial intervention to bring it back.
Which one was that Passman or Nextcloud? I've run two instance of Nextcloud Password and one of Passman, for about the same time, with no issues.
Other people do seam to have issues running Nextcloud in general, but I've never had anything but PHP version stuff that is easier fixed. I love Nextcloud!
I get a good reason to stay away from lastpass is their dealing with getting hacked. Valid. However, bitching about not getting to use all the paid features as a free user is ridiculous.
I don't know if this is still the case, but we trialled LastPass enterprise around 10 years ago. They didn't have an API. They had no intention of ever introducing an API. So, the script could spin up a database, but couldn't store a break-glass su user into the vault without actually giving it to a human, first. Some enterprise solution. 🙄
StrongBox is just a client that uses keepass databases. I think it integrates well when using Apple devices and you can still use your databases on other platforms.
Ah thanks. Ya it’s Apple only but I like how it doesn’t sync to a central server but will still sync between your devices across your local network. Seems to minimize a lot of attack surface.
I have used 1Password with the annual plan for years across various browsers and operating systems and have found it to be perfect for everything I need. I will definitely take a look at Proton though.