Keepass Touch Review

[Juan Navarro]

Hiall

I've had my kdbx masterfile located in Dropbox for a number of years & been able to auto synch the file between windows 10 desktop, an iPad & iphone utilising an app called Keypass touch (for IOS) - I've had no synching issues whatsoever with this approach.

I can no longer synch the kdbx file between iphone (keypass touch) & Windows desktop (keypass current version). Haven't progressed with iPad or Macbook until I can get this issue sorted (iphone to Win 10)

I don't do Apple, but the one I've heard most often and people like, and I've setup on macbooks is Strongbox and it seems to work well for syncing, but not necessarily via OneDrive. I haven't tried that. You could also check with forums for keypassTouch.

However, despite using Keepass myself, in your situation, I'd recommend dropping Keepass and using Bitwarden. It is open source, very good, has apps for all your platforms, reads keepass data, and maintains a database in the cloud which the various devices sync to. I think this is a better way to go for 4 devices, mixed platforms and syncing.

When you share a file between devices you should have one local copy that is not part of your cloud sync, and let KeePass sync that file with your cloud copy.

Backup the local copy regularly.

This guarantees that changes / cloud sync issues do not cause data loss.

See this trigger example for details.

_examples.html#dbsync

You probably won't need to worry about it disappearing anytime soon, despite the fact that it is free software. It's the best password manager option if you want to maintain complete control of your data.

KeePass' core version is missing a number of features when compared to the strongest offerings out there like Keeper, LastPass or Dashlane, although the many third-party plug-ins made for the service help fill in the gaps. The question is whether it is worth saving $35 to $60 per year.

As you'll see in our KeePass review, if you want a solution that you can just sign into and basically never have to worry about, then KeePass isn't for you. But if you don't mind spending some time to learn and manage a very powerful application, you can do a lot with KeePass.

The tradeoffs are that KeePass lacks the polished user interface of other password managers, and that you'll need to be comfortable tinkering with plugins and extensions to get the most out of KeePass.

The core KeePass desktop application supports password generation and management, syncing via local hard disks or network shares, auto-type form-filling and auto-type hot-key form filling. To unlock the full power of KeePass, you really need to install plugins and extensions.

I tested the "2.x" version of KeePass, which has a rich set of features and can be installed on platforms beyond Windows. KeePass also still develops the "1.x" version, which is simpler, Windows-only and uses a different codebase.

KeePass 2.x officially supports Windows Vista and later, macOS and Linux. However, if you visit the downloads page for KeePass you will see more than 30 additional versions of KeePass that extend support to Android, iOS, Blackberry, Chrome OS, PocketPC, J2ME and browser-based solutions. Browser extension plug-ins are available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari and Opera.

For this review, I used KeePass on a 2017 MacBook Pro 15 running Windows 10 and macOS 10.14 Mojave, an iPhone 7 Plus, and a Google Pixel 3. Google Chrome was my primary browser across all platforms but testing on macOS and iOS was also done with Safari.

Your first step is a visit to the KeePass downloads page. If you are running Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10, then this will be smooth sailing. Just hit the Download Now link on the Installer for Windows, and you'll have a choice between the 1.x and 2.x development streams.

MacOS and Linux are officially supported, but installing KeePass requires installing the supplemental platforms Mono and XQuartz and a bit more tinkering right off the bat. You'll need to download a KeePass version on the "2.x" development path.

If you are on any other platform, scroll down to the "Contributed/Unofficial" KeePass Ports and KeePass Packages sections to find your OS. You can also opt for KeePass Portable, a version that can be installed on a USB stick and plugged into a PC, Mac or Linux box.

To say that things look sparse when you first launch KeePass is an understatement. It's a basic utility framework with nothing in it. Virtually every option is greyed out until you create your database by clicking File > New, which is when you'll be prompted to create a master password, create a key file or use your Windows user account. If you opt for the key file, you will install the file on a USB drive and will need to plug in the drive when accessing KeePass.

Now, return to the File menu to import any passwords you may have stored with another password manager or in your browser. It's a safe bet that KeePass can import whatever you have, as KeePass has the longest list of supported services and browsers for import that I have seen.

If you want KeePass to sync your passwords across your various devices, you'll need to determine which cloud service or personal server you are going to use. Support for a number of cloud-syncing services, including Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft's OneDrive, are available via plugins.

Finally, you will want to install one of the unofficial mobile apps. Check the downloads page or search the iOS and Android app stores for KeePass, and you will find several choices. I opted for Keepass2Android Password Safe on Android and Strongbox on iOS.

KeePass is functionally solid, but you definitely get what you pay for with the user interface and experience. While some other password managers, such as 1Password, have a bit of a utility feel to them, KeePass feels like a utility from the late '90s.

You can create groups to sort your login information. By default, the application creates General, Windows, Network, Internet, eMail and Homebanking. You can drag and drop any set of credentials into any group and you can create, edit and delete groups.

By default, new entries automatically self-populate with a new password 20 characters in length. Tap on the key with the sun next to it to see additional password options or to jump into the full password generator.

The password generator gives you a ridiculous degree of control, with nine option toggles for different types of characters to include, the ability to exclude any specific characters you like, control over the length with no apparent upper limit and the ability to bring in custom password-generation algorithms.

KeePass doesn't integrate with your browser to capture login credentials as you create or update them. Hopefully, you should be able to import your existing passwords during setup, as adding new credentials must be done manually. You have to open a new entry as you log into an account, and then copy and paste the username and password into the entry form.

KeePass can natively sync your other devices using local network shares or the internet protocols FTP, HTTP and WebDAV. Plug-ins extend support to secure copy protocol (SCP), the FTP secure extensions SFTP and FTPS, and to well-known online storage providers such as Amazon AWS S3, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and One Drive.

I chose KeeAnywhere, which was both the most recently updated and most comprehensive of the available sync plugins. Once KeeAnywhere was installed, I transferred my database over to a cloud drive and then selected File > Open > Open from Cloud Drive to be up and running with my remote-syncing KeePass database.

Keepass2Android is one of the most popular Android options available and follows Google's Material Design template. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it actually adds some functionality to the core KeePass experience. Cloud syncing is built-in, with support for most major cloud-storage solutions, and I quickly and easily added my database from Google Drive.

Keepass2Android's main screen presents a very basic list of your login groups. Tapping a group displays the included accounts, with the URL and username for each. Tapping an account brings up a bit more information, and from there you can edit the entry with all the options found in the full app.

One nice touch: Keepass2Android has templates for new entries beyond just logins, such as credit cards, ID cards and secure notes. That's something the core KeePass application lacks, and which would greatly expand its utility and ease of use.

If you are on Android 8.0 or later, Keepass2Android will support form filling if you install a separate plugin from outside the Play Store, which might be a step too far for many users. I did run the plugin, which is written by Keepass2Android's developer, to confirm that it worked.

Turning to iOS, I went with Strongbox, which like Keepass2Android is free. There are quite a few KeePass-compatible options in the App Store, including some paid ones and an interesting option called Keepassium that was just entering beta during my testing, so it's worth looking them all over.

What I primarily needed was support for cloud syncing, which Strongbox offers. I simply had to indicate that I wanted to access an existing database. Then I selected Google Drive and signed into my Google account, and all of my data was imported and syncing.

The icons are a bit prettier in Strongbox than in Keepass2Android, but overall Strongbox remains a bare experience. The main screen is just your KeePass database listing your categories and a search box above them. The categories and logins are all in list views; there are no grid or website-logo displays as with some of the nicer password-manager mobile apps.

There isn't a lot of extra functionality baked into Strongbox, but you can access, edit and create new items in your database. The password generator supports up to 88 characters and has nearly as many options as the core KeePass app. While the app claims that form-filling is supported on Safari, I was unable to get that feature to work.

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