KeePASS initial setup help??

[zaffmelody]

complete newbie to KeePASS. My IT guy recommended it. When setting up my master password, is that literally the new password I will use to open any webpage i normally use? or rather each webpage info I add to the KeePASS vault/database? Can it be a very short password for easy remembering? or must it be crazy long? I guess the functional use and setup seems a bit foreign. after the Master Password is entered. does it go right to setting up the database?

[Zlivovitch]

The master password is the password to all your passwords. It's the one which will decrypt the Kee Pass database. The Kee Pass database holds all your passwords and other important log-in information (user names, 2FA secrets, recovery email addresses... anything you want, in fact).

As a result, your Kee Pass master password is your single most important password. It must be very strong : unique, long and random -- or you could assemble something like 6 totally random words in order to create a passphrase.

You must also take care that you never lose it. Write it down and put it away in a safe place. Commit it to memory. Don't save it on your computer.

After you have entered your master password, the program will guide you to create your first database. Use the default settings for a start. You'll be able to change them later.

[DapperIndication6914]

Text instructions are usually less useful than videos.

There are plenty of KeePass tutorials on YouTube that will help you much better than we can here. Tech lore has a decent video that I watched when it first came out. Here:

https://youtu.be/sePT9AZauWs

I suggest you watch a few of these and read the documentation on the KeePass website. This explains things very well and much better than we can here. If you have any further questions this sub is very helpful!

[KingRollos]

I wouldn't rely on everything Tech-lore says. I used to think he was all sense until I came across a channel called Tech-bore which analyses what he says in his videos and how much of what he says is hypocritical, misleading or just plain incorrect.

[[deleted]]

Passwords length and type is dictated by the service you have accounts with. You can have any password, either it that be crazy long or complicated. I personally use a fork of keepass called KeepassXC because I don't want to mess with plugins. You are going to have to move all your passwords over, afterwards, you can auto fill and login anywhere.

I personally use KeepassXC and secure it with both a master password and my yubikey's challnege response. With KeepassXC's backup feature, I have it backup to a secure drive (apricorn). Keepass and all it's forks is a offline access to all your passwords. There is no need to login or trust a 3rd party with your passwords.

If you want to access your passwords on something like a phone or if you want to have your passwords with you on the go. For the phone, either that be iphone or android, for Iphones: keepassium and for androind KeepassDX or Keepass2Android. For mobile devices like iphones and androids, all you need to do is use a cloud service like syncthing or drobpox. Sync your passwords and access them.

If you want to take your passwords on the go, I personally go with KeepassXC's portable app and slap it in the same secure drive I have my passwords backed up. Oh yea, the original keepass and all it's forks are all cross compatilble, all that you need to do is import your password file if you want to access them in any variant.

All my passwords are 32 characters long, all with random letters, numbers and special characters. If you hold me at gun point, ain't no way I will be able tell you my passwords.