Robert Irvine recommends new programs that won’t cost you a thing
PASSWORD MANAGERKeePassXC 2.7.7
www.snipca.com/49708
What you need: Windows 10 or 11, macOS or Linux
Unlike online password managers such as LastPass and Bitwarden, which store your login details on their servers, KeePassXC keeps everything on your PC, so you always have complete control over your data. It’s free, with no options limited to a paid-for version, and is easier to use than the original KeePass software on which it’s based.
Though you wouldn’t guess from the version number, KeePassXC 2.7.7 is a major update that introduces three useful features. The first is the ability to import your passwords easily from Bitwarden and 1Password.
First, export your data from Bitwarden in JSON format or from 1Password in 1PUX or OPVault format, then click the Database menu in KeePassXC and choose Import. Select the relevant password manager, click Browse to find the passwords file and choose whether to add it to a new or existing database. Click ‘Continue’ then Done to import the passwords.
The second addition is support for passkeys, which were the subject of our ‘Stop using passwords’ Cover Feature in Issue 670 (get it from www.snipca.com/49712). When you import login data that contains passkeys, you can access the details by choosing Passkeys in the Database menu. To add a passkey manually, select Import Passkey and locate the file.
If you want to save new passkeys to KeePassXC, you’ll need to install its extension for Chromium browsers (www.snipca. com/49713) and Firefox (www.snipca.com/49714). Select ‘Enable Passkeys’ in the extension’s Settings, and when you create a passkey for a website, the extension will prompt you to click Register to save it to a KeePassXC database.
The third new feature is a simplified sign-in process when you’re using a USB security key such as YubiKey. KeePassXC now detects these devices automatically so you can unlock your password databases more quickly.
1To link KeePassXC’s browser extension with the desktop program (as mentioned above), click the Settings button and choose Browser Integration. Select ‘Enable browser integration’ and tick the browsers you want to use with KeePassXC.
2KeePassXC’s Health Check feature, which you can access by clicking Database Reports in the Database menu, uses colour-coding and health scores to highlight weak passwords such as those you’ve used several times and that are easy for hackers to
