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    KeePass/LastPass versus Excel

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved IT Discussion
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    • C
      Carnival Boy
      last edited by

      So, I used to keep passwords in an Excel file, which was pretty dumb. I now use KeePass, which is pretty smart, right?

      However, I've just found out that since 2010, Excel now offers proper encryption, (I discovered this when searching for a way to crack a password protected spreadsheet).

      So, I'm wondering about going back to using Excel. Any views?

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      • scottalanmillerS
        scottalanmiller
        last edited by

        Excel should work fine. My only thought is.... is there any benefit to Excel over KeePass? KeePass is free and really well suited to storing passwords. Might not be worth switching away from Excel necessarily anymore, but not sure that there would be much value to switching back.

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        • C
          Carnival Boy
          last edited by

          The main benefit is that you can massively customise Excel according to your needs.

          At the moment, I only run KeePass on my PCs, and store the files on a Microsoft OneDrive account for syncing across devices. I don't use password management on my iPhone or iPad. I need to try MiniKeePass for iOS, but haven't got round to it and I'm not sure if it would work with my OneDrive file location?

          scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • scottalanmillerS
            scottalanmiller @Carnival Boy
            last edited by

            @Carnival-Boy said:

            The main benefit is that you can massively customise Excel according to your needs.

            At the moment, I only run KeePass on my PCs, and store the files on a Microsoft OneDrive account for syncing across devices. I don't use password management on my iPhone or iPad. I need to try MiniKeePass for iOS, but haven't got round to it and I'm not sure if it would work with my OneDrive file location?

            Haven't tried it either, but it might. OneDrive works well on iOS.

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            • JaredBuschJ
              JaredBusch
              last edited by

              I would not switch back to excel if you have made the switch to keepass. Why spend the time customizing excel when you have an application DESIGNED for dealing with strong passwords and keeping them safe.

              I have never used KeePass past a short test to compare it with LastPass a long time ago. It worked well, but I wanted something I did not have to manage so LastPass was a better choice to me. With improvement in things like OneDrive, DropBox and such, that will make KeePass a much more flexible tool than it was in the past.
              Besides for USD $12 a year I really cannot complain that the cost is too much to bear for the convenience, because it is not.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • NicN
                Nic
                last edited by

                How good is the encryption? Also, if someone gets a copy of the file they can try to brute force the password at their leisure, whereas LastPass keeps it on their servers.

                Why not just put it in a text file and encrypt the whole disk instead?

                scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • scottalanmillerS
                  scottalanmiller @Nic
                  last edited by

                  @Nic said:

                  How good is the encryption? Also, if someone gets a copy of the file they can try to brute force the password at their leisure, whereas LastPass keeps it on their servers.

                  Why not just put it in a text file and encrypt the whole disk instead?

                  KeePass / Excel are portable and shareable as needed. And easy to back up still encrypted vs doing the whole disk.

                  Bill KindleB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JaredBuschJ
                    JaredBusch
                    last edited by

                    Or if you use the consumer Webroot you already have access to LastPass just with webroot's name on it.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                    • Bill KindleB
                      Bill Kindle
                      last edited by

                      As a user of KeePass, I wrote a how-to on using KeePass with Dropbox or a like service a while back. It works great and is what I use.

                      http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/show/33119-how-to-create-a-synchronized-secure-password-database-with-keepass-professional-and-a-service-such-as-dropbox-box-google-drive-or-local-network-share

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                      • Bill KindleB
                        Bill Kindle @scottalanmiller
                        last edited by

                        @scottalanmiller said:

                        @Nic said:

                        How good is the encryption? Also, if someone gets a copy of the file they can try to brute force the password at their leisure, whereas LastPass keeps it on their servers.

                        Why not just put it in a text file and encrypt the whole disk instead?

                        KeePass / Excel are portable and shareable as needed. And easy to back up still encrypted vs doing the whole disk.

                        Not only portable but at least with KeePass you get the added bonus of having a password generated and built in encryption.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • scottalanmillerS
                          scottalanmiller
                          last edited by

                          Yes. KeePass is super handy. And blind copy to clipboard too. I love that.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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