Password Managers
Since back in 2008 or so, I had been using 1Password as my personal password manager. This had to come to an end when the software was switching to a subscription-only, enforced-cloud-storage model. I despise both of these ideas. While I’m perfectly fine with paying for software and major upgrades, subscriptions aren’t really my thing (one reason to call me old-fashioned maybe, but there it is). Also, I strongly disagree with the idea of storing my password vault on someone else’s server (another reason to call me old-fashioned, which I’ll gladly accept), even if encrypted (feel free to also call me paranoid).
My research took me across the landscape. Disappointingly, many password managers these days are really, really in love with that cloud storage model, and don’t allow offline storage. There are some interesting open-source ones, such as Bitwarden and KeePass, which allow this, but I didn’t want to use them for different reasons.
Bitwarden requires a server in all cases - it can be set up locally, but that requires Docker (or some such) and dancing around with containers. Just to have a local password manager? No thanks. As for KeePass (in its KeePassXC incarnation), the UX just put me off: it feels clunky to me.
Enter Enpass. It’s local storage first, with a sync option that I don’t plan to use but which allows for choosing what sync service to use (Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, you name it). Also, it can be used for free, or with a subscription, or with a one-time payment for a lifetime licence.
That sounded like just the thing for me, so I ended up trying it, and, satisfied, purchasing that licence. So far, I haven’t found a reason to complain: Enpass imported my 1Password vault without a hassle, and it’s been working smoothly with its Firefox plugin. Good.
Enpass does have some downsides. For several versions, the application wasn’t “in your face” about upgrades being available, and would just crash silently when the laptop was closed. The crashes don’t happen any more, but upgrade notifications still aren’t noticeable unless you open the main app window. I rarely do that, but rather use the tray icon or browser plugin.
The Enpass UX is also a tiny bit “noisy”, as in: too many clicks to get a simple thing done. Weighing this against all the advantages, it’s fine.
(This is, of course, not a paid ad.)
Tags: the-nerdy-bit