[Closed] LastPass Changes... Should I move?

Given the old adage that if your not the paying customer then your the service being sold, I wouldn't rely on a free security product without being extremely knowledgeable about exactly what it does and why a commercial company can offer it for free.

I just signed up to 3 years with Keeper - nothing to compare it to but seemed well rated and ok for what I need. Was about 60 quid for 3 years.

Free Bitwarden is awesome.

Can’t use Google Chrome password manager at work so that’s out the window.

What is work offering as an alternative then? Post-It notes?

I've switched to BitWarden Premium instead. Every time LogMeIn buy something, they seem to ruin it.

The transition has been flawless so far, it imports the exported data from LastPass perfectly, the app works perfectly on Android Windows and as an add-in for Firefox. So far well worth the £10/yr or whatever. I'm only using Premium as basically a donation to the project, nothing in there really adds much for my use.

So what happens when the password manager is hacked and you lose everything?

So what happens when the password manager is hacked and you lose everything?

That's kind of like keeping your money under the mattress, in case the bank goes bust. It is possible but you are multiple times safer using a decent password management application than any other method I can think of.

So what happens when the password manager is hacked and you lose everything?

As above, you are much more likely to be hacked by reusing passwords or using 'systems' for your passwords.  With 2FA it also just gets that bit harder even with you password

Personally I pay for LastPass family.  I want them to be properly funded so they can do the work necessary to keep themselves secure.

Bitwarden - the free is good, so is the premium
We also use it for our organisation

Google Chrome password manager at work

Our chrome and indeed all browsers are locked down from sign ins and plug ins.

I just look the password up on passwords.google.com on my phone and type it in. Not ideal, but it is free.

I pay for Keeper (family edition). It is one of the few bits of software that I pay for. I started of on the free trial version and then realised that I was starting to rely on it, so invested in it.

Last pass is on the naughty step here. I had to change a ton of compromised passwords so installed it on everything, and just got it to suggest difficult passwords and remember them.

Except it didn’t remember loads of them. Undoubtedly my fault but it made an annoying job take twice as long.

Three users of free LastPass across various devices here and having clocked the need to either pay or move have been thinking about it.

It’s really convenient and useful and I at least use it with 2fa. Read an article today saying it’s pretty near the top of the pile still and does promote for people to flag up any weaknesses so they can fix as opposed to just claiming to be unbreakable for ever.

This same CNEt article also said the encryption takes place at the user device end so I understand this to mean unless they hack the key from your device before then hacking LastPass they’ll only get encrypted data.....happy to stand corrected.

So I’m thinking invest in family LastPass for simplicity.

£34 a year for LastPass is reasonable IMHO

I use 1password, and bit the bullet and moved to the cloud-based/subscription model a while ago.

It does everything I want it to - I use the chrome extension at work, but if you can use that you can just access your passwords via the web browser I think.

I put it firmly in the dull/necessary/adequate category

Pay for it if it works for you as it sounds like it does exactly what you need it to do - work on pc and Android.

1Password here to, happy to pay the $36 a year

I have to use Lastpass at work and it is shocking to use compared to 1password.

Would you expand on that a bit please? I'd be interested to know in what way it's "shocking".

Thanks for all the comments people.

Keeper & 1Password are basically the same thing for basically the same price as LastPass so I don't see much reason to move there.

Bitwarden looks interesting, was concerned about the cloud / self host bit but after reading it seems OK. Their Premium is cheaper too.

Anyone that has swapped, how easy was it? I'm sure there are security issues but is it possible to import from one to another?

Anyone that has swapped, how easy was it? I’m sure there are security issues but is it possible to import from one to another?

https://bitwarden.com/help/article/import-from-lastpass/

note that the exported .csv is plain text, so don't print it off and leave it lying on your desk....

Moving from lastpass to 1password was painless, I assume shifting to any other service would be similar.

I had 5 years with Lastpass but I think I prefer 1password, though it's pretty close. Main reason for moving was that others on the family account found Lastpass over complicated and confusing for their needs, I personally found it fine but got fed up of others moaning. 1password definitely simpler and the others seem happy.

I have to use Lastpass at work and it is shocking to use compared to 1password.

Would you expand on that a bit please? I’d be interested to know in what way it’s “shocking”.

This is all on a Mac btw, maybe it's fine on other OS's.

- When I have to log in with a 2FA code, it makes me go through this weird dance where I enter my master password, enter the 2FA code, then it sort of hangs and takes me back to the master password screen where I may or may not need to enter my password again. This dance does not fill me with confidence.

- No matter how I set it, I can often navigate to Lastpass without needing to enter the master password unless I restart my laptop.

- 1Password lets me use fingerprint to unlock most of the time and just asks for my master password occasionally.

- The widgets and extensions are so poorly designed if the auto fill doesn't work. 1password allows you to "pin" details so that they don't disappear between entering a username and a password.

- Autofill support for the websites and apps I use is worse on Lastpass.

- The MacOS version is a horrendous place to be. It looks like something from the 80s and doesn't use any of the native UI.

- Sharing items seems to only work occasionally.

- A lot less features - no TOTP generator, not many options for different types of accounts and no field customisation. I can use 1password as a private filing cabinet and autofill most things for mortgage applications, government forms, etc etc. Lastpass is far more basic.

- They're owned by logmein

- The vulnerabilities discovered down the years are concerning to me. Basic stuff around their browser extensions and cloud storage. Other PW managers just seem to be better run and more trustworthy.

Thanks very much for the comprehensive reply @thebunk, that's very useful. I'm on LastPass free at the moment and haven't really done much in depth comparison so I'll have to have a look at some of your points as possible issues before I decide whether to pay for it or migrate. On Android and W10 now and haven't really had any issues, though the Android implementation is a bit shonky imo.

I got sick of the Android Lastpass glitches so switched to Bitwarden free a few months ago.  Flawless so as others have said above moved to Bitwarden Premium to support the developer. Honestly not had a single issue. Unlike Lastpass. I use it for Android Apps and Chrome Chromium and Firefox on various devices.

Question for those that moved from lastpass to Bitwarden.
I'm on lastpass free version and when I export my data to then upload to bitwarden it says data is not formatted correctly. Anyone else get this issue and found a fix?
I'm wondering if it's due to the notes I have saved on some accounts.

Si

multiple times safer using a decent password management application than any other method I can think of.

There are ways of writing down passwords that are more secure and don't involve going online and trusting third party software.

There are ways of writing down passwords that are more secure and don’t involve going online and trusting third party software.

Not sure how many passwords you have and how many different devices/locations you access them from but for me this approach is totally impractical. Most people doing this repeat or use personal related elements which weakens your password.

Couple of years ago but LastPass was recommended during a cyber security talk by experts based out of Malvern science park (contractors to GCHQ and the defence industries)

Question for those that moved from lastpass to Bitwarden.
I’m on lastpass free version and when I export my data to then upload to bitwarden it says data is not formatted correctly. Anyone else get this issue and found a fix?
I’m wondering if it’s due to the notes I have saved on some accounts.

Si

There is a link above that talks you through it and mentions poor formatting.

I moved across today and it did the export / import fine... well fine enough that 5 minutes of tidying sorted it out. Have had a slight problem that it couldn't find some find my details (right click > bitwarden > autofill > no details) but logging out of the site and the extension and switching off fixed it all, I assume it was just a minor sync error.

kennyp
There are ways of writing down passwords that are more secure and don’t involve going online and trusting third party software.

I have 283 logins, I guarantee that an online password manager is far safer than a book with them all written down in top secret code, what you going to do when your house gets burgled / burned / flooded / coffee spilled all over it?

Plus if you dont trust 3rd party software then what are using for online banking or any online purchases?

I have 283 logins, I guarantee that an online password manager is far safer than a book with them all written down in top secret code, what you going to do when your house gets burgled / burned / flooded / coffee spilled all over it?

Plus if you dont trust 3rd party software then what are using for online banking or any online purchases?

That is admittedly a huge number of things to log in to. My life has nothing like that hence the system I use. It isn't a book with them all written in top secret code so if the house was to burn down they wouldn't be lost. Most applications I log in to are from home. When I'm away from home I'm usually not spending lots of time on the Internet so passwords very rarely an issue.

Also, I didn't say I don't trust third party software. I use online banking and quite happily buy things online. I was just making the point that there are other ways (that maybe don't suit everyone) of keeping a secure record of passwords.

Oh and genuine question, how did you end up with 283 things to log in to? Is it work, or hobbies or......? I'm not looking for a list of them all!!

Oh and genuine question, how did you end up with 283 things to log in to? Is it work, or hobbies or……? I’m not looking for a list of them all!!

You'd probably be surprised by how many things have logins if you use unique passwords for everything.

I've got 40-50 just for cycling things.

There is a link above that talks you through it and mentions poor formatting.

I moved across today and it did the export / import fine… well fine enough that 5 minutes of tidying sorted it out. Have had a slight problem that it couldn’t find some find my details (right click > bitwarden > autofill > no details) but logging out of the site and the extension and switching off fixed it all, I assume it was just a minor sync error.

Thanks. I can't see any issues with the data other than I an seeing <square block character> in a lot of entries but that doesn't seem to correspond to any data I have stored in there.
Did you have any notes in Lastpass and did they get moved over?

Thanks

**EDIT Went through and deleted all the instances of the odd square character and it accepted the upload. Now going to go through and double check all the notes etc went over ok...

Si

Also, I didn’t say I don’t trust third party software. I use online banking and quite happily buy things online. I was just making the point that there are other ways (that maybe don’t suit everyone) of keeping a secure record of passwords.

Oh and genuine question, how did you end up with 283 things to log in to? Is it work, or hobbies or……? I’m not looking for a list of them all!!

No one was asking for offline alternatives so your comment was totally pointless.

As for the number, some work some home, 4 forums, 4 supermarkets, 5 banks, 2 for school, 4 for holiday clubs, 6 or 7 online bike shops, 5 airlines... Just for the TV I have BBC, ITV, C4, C5, NowTV, Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Vimeo, YouTube and Red Bull, all require a login and most have my payment details so all have super high password protection.

@scc999 I'm still getting a few oddities, it said there was no data for STW but there was and when I logged in it said did I want to save it meaning I'd have 2 instances, happened with my email too. I don't think its going to be as easy to switch as I would like but I guess I'll get there in the end.

No one was asking for offline alternatives so your comment was totally pointless.

Wow, you sound like a lovely chap!!

Oh I am.

Interesting read.
I have been with lastpass for years and have always put up with rubbish Android implementation as it was free (although I did have premium for a year or two) but after reading this have moved over to Bitwarden and so far so go.
Easy import (no errors) and the Win10/Firefox plug in works perfectly. Going to give it a week on the free version and the try the paid version if it all works.

Out of interest, how secure are the password managers built into iphones/ipads?

@leonthepro You may want to rethink LastPass on Android. There are a lot of trackers built into the software (article on The Register for reference). None on 1Password for comparison.