Password manager

You need to manage a large number of different passwords for your online activities. Read here how password managers can help you with this task.

“A separate password for each service” is an important rule when it comes to passwords. The reason for this is that data leaks from service providers occur time and again, resulting in passwords being tapped and passed on on the darknet. If a compromised password has been used several times, an attacker has access to all accounts that were protected with this password.

“Choose a strong password!” is another rule. The longer and more complex the better. Passwords should also be chosen randomly if possible.

And how can you remember all those complex passwords? Password managers are helpful - not only for “remembering”, but also for creating secure passwords.

What password managers do

• They offer an easy way to create secure passwords using integrated password generators.
• They store a virtually unlimited number of secure passwords in a secure password database.
• Integrated auto-fill functions allow user names and password fields to be filled in automatically. The time-consuming and error-prone typing of long passwords is no longer necessary.
• They provide indirect protection against phishing: If you store the websites of the services you use in the password manager, you can use it to access the authentic login pages directly without accidentally ending up on a phishing page.

You only need to remember a single secure password: The password for securing the password database.

Choose a password manager with a local database

There are many password managers. Although cloud-based services offer simple synchronization between all your devices, they have one serious disadvantage: you entrust all your sensitive access data to the password manager provider and the use of such password managers is generally not compliant with data protection regulations. Bitwarden's password manager is an exception here.

We therefore only recommend the use of password managers with a local password database. A very good choice is KeePass. There is a whole ecosystem of tools that are all compatible with the KeePass database format, making your passwords usable on all your devices. You can also choose another of the compatible password managers at any time and switch from KeePass to KeePassXC, for example.

If you cannot or are not allowed to install any software for any reason, you can also use the password manager in your Firefox browser as an alternative. You will find step-by-step instructions below this section.