Our current digital life is all about passwords. Virtually every service requires a username and password. But it is nearly impossible to remember all those different login details. Password managers, such as KeePass, have been devised precisely for this purpose. Managing passwords works with it as follows.
The principle behind a password manager is simple: create a securely encrypted database containing all your passwords. Lock that database and provide it with one master password. Only those who have that password can unlock the database and have access to all data stored in it.
Of course you can work with database software and put together such a safe yourself, but that takes a lot of time and effort. Those who do not feel like it (or lack the technical knowledge) can also contact password managers of others.
We look at it in this article KeePass, a free password manager for Windows (and macOS plus an array of Linux distros). After downloading and installing, start the program and click in the menu File on New. This will create the database for all your password data (and more!). In the info window, click on OK.
Browse to an easy to find folder and give the ‘container’ a name, followed by a click on Save.
Come up with master password
Now it is time to set that aforementioned master password. We recommend that you join our Tech Academy course secure passwords check it out. You can then be sure that your password meets all security requirements. Make a note of this password in a safe place: lost does not mean more access to the database in any way! It is no coincidence that KeePass will soon offer you to print an A4 with these entered data.
If you have entered the password and tapped it again to check the field below, click on OK. In the window that opens, enthusiasts can tweak various things a bit, but in principle only one click is sufficient again. OK.
Now you can click on Yes print the promised emergency sheet in another new dialog. This opens in the browser, where you can already enter the master password you just entered. Print it and hide it in a safe place.
Add items
KeePass is now ready to use. In the main window you will find a tree with categories in the column on the left. If there is nothing to your liking, right-click on it KeyPassDatabase and then in the opened context menu on Add Group. Give the group a name; If desired, enthusiasts can also assign an icon (icon). click on OK and the group is created.
To add an item to a group, click either in the menu Edit on Add Entry, or you use the appropriate button on the toolbar.
A nice detail about KeePass is that it creates a strong password by default for every item you add. This makes little sense for the bank card in our example, but if, for example, you want to create the login details for a (new) account, you can use the strong password provided with confidence.
In the window that opens, click the tab Advanced and you can add specific information about an item. To do this, click on the button Add and fill in the requested information. Think of something like Card number behind Name and then at Value the card number. In this way, other important things such as expiration date, PIN code, card number and so on can be added. Click on each added item OK.
Via the button Attach in the window Add Entry you can also add attachments; for example a scan of that bank card, passport or driver’s license. This way you can also keep it securely encrypted, always handy to have a copy at hand in the event of loss or theft. When you have finished entering data for – in this example – your bank card, click on OK. The pass has now been added to the database.
Select an item to get a quick preview in the horizontal bar at the bottom of the window; Press Enter to open a selected item for a detailed view.
Password generator
You will mainly use KeePass for storing website login data. To do this, click in the column on the left Internet (or create your own category with a catchier name). Click on the button to add an item. In fact, you now only have the tab Entry required. Enter your username for the site and the password you use there. As mentioned, KeePass generates a strong password by default, but you can – if you already use existing login data – overwrite that with that existing password.
However, if you sign up for a new service that requires a password to be created, you can simply select the suggested password and copy it to the password field of the service you are signing up for.
To view the automatically generated password, click the button behind the field Password. Select the password and copy it. Also add the web address of the service and any notes. Ready? Then click on OK and the item is saved.
While using KeePass – especially when adding many items in a row – don’t forget to save occasionally, via the diskette button. KeePass will also ask you to first save unwritten items when closing. Always do of course! And of course you will be asked for your master password at every start.
Last but not least: make sure you have a regular backup of the KeePass database file, you really don’t want to lose that!
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