What About Bitwarden?

A reader has a question about the popular password manager Bitwarden:

“Cyn, I am in a computer club (Wisconsin All-computer Users Club) and we would like to teach our members about BitWarden. What are your thoughts on that program and can you offer any help? Thanks so much.”

Sure! Bitwarden is an open-source password manager available in both free and paid versions. The paid version is $10 a year. You can use it from your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Bitwarden is well-thought-of among security experts. It uses AES-256 encryption to store your passwords in a “vault” that’s accessible only with a master password. Bitwarden uses zero-knowledge encryption. That means no one except you can access the stored data. It also requires two-factor authentication, so you’ll need to confirm any log in via email or an authenticator app on your smartphone.

The free version also allows you to send encrypted text messages via the Bitwarden Send feature. Paid versions allow you to send up to 1 GB in encrypted files. It will also generate secure passwords for you.

To get started head to their website: https://bitwarden.com/pricing/

Then click the Personal tab and choose Create Free Account.

Provide your name, email address, and the master password you’d like to use for the account. Make sure you remember the password. There’s no way to recover it if you forget it.

You’ll get a confirmation email from Bitwarden.

Once confirmed, you can access Bitwarden.

Once confirmed, you can access Bitwarden. Access it online or install the browser extensions for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Vivaldi, Opera, Brave, or Tor browsers.

You can also install the app on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. The smartphone app is available for Android or iPhones in their app stores.

To get started, just click the + sign to add a password.

This field window will open.

Choose what type of information you’re saving and then enter the username and password for login.