Submitted 6 months ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
Bitwarden Authenticator is a standalone app that is available for everyone, even non-Bitwarden customers.
In its current release, Bitwarden Authenticator generates time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) for users who want to add an extra layer of 2FA security to their logins.
There is a comprehensive roadmap planned with additional functionality.
Available for iOS and Android
with full Internet access (As show in Aurora Store)
Thanks but I pass, I’d rather use Aegis that doesn’t need internet connection at all.
How does 2FA work without an internet connection?
it’s basically just a shared random number generator on a timer (it’s slightly smarter than that but that’s the gist), so as long as you know the start time, the current time and the starting point for the RNG, both parties can get the same result without having to ever communicate
Thank goodness! I can finally get the hell away from Authy!
What’s wrong with Authy?
Not open source, and I believe an account is required.
I guess for me, it being closed-source and the fact that the Bitwarden password manager and now Bitwarden authenticator are open source. Truthfully, I just see how they handled the desktop version of their Authy software, giving no fucks if consumers wanted it or not, being a big red flag of what could come after. Having used Bitwarden for years now, and giving them $10 a year, makes me more biased and inclined to use their other software, since they’ve never let me down. :)
I use Aegis and it works well. FOSS and easy to use.
They discontinued the desktop client about a month ago, which is what made me stop using it.
Too many things use it, if it becomes compromised that is way too broad of an attack for me to opt into
You could have before. I moved from Authy to Aegis a few months ago
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Bitwarden client itself already does this. I store several of my TOTP’s in my self hosted Vaultwarden/Bitwarden install.
And where would you store your Bitwarden login TOTP if you used their service instead of self hosting?
And what happens if your Bitwarden account gets compromised? Now you’ve lost both factors at the same time.
No, I’ll keep my 2FA separate from my password manager, thank you very much.
You’re right, it does. This is a head-scratcher.
I guess they already had the TOTP code written, so creating a standalone app was trivial, but what’s the point?
Security-wise it’s not a good idea to keep passwords and 2FA codes in the same client as it then becomes a single point of failure. A standalone authenticator app resolves that as long as it’s not unlocked with the same master password. A standalone app also opens a venue for non-BW customers to get on their platform.
TOTP code is like 5 lines. The hardest part is writing the seed to disk.
TOTP in the Bitwarden Vault is a paid feature. The standalone app is free, and doesn’t even require a Bitwarden account.
This allows free tier users a way to use TOTP without upgrading, and without needing to trust Google Authenticator or something else.
thd totp in the default application is paid and that isn’t
Because you can enable totp on your Bitwarden account and it would be dumb to store the password and totp for your biwarden vault in your vault?
Also it can act as a stepping stone for non Bitwarden customers, before getting their own vault.
Glad these were answered:
Isn’t this the same as storing TOTP authentication codes in Bitwarden Password Manager?
Integrated TOTP authentication is a premium feature in Bitwarden Password Manager. Bitwarden Authenticator is a standalone mobile app that generates TOTP codes for any online service that supports them. Bitwarden Authenticator can be used without a Bitwarden account.
Should I use both? When should I use the integrated authentication feature? When should I use Bitwarden Authenticator?
Integrated authentication in Bitwarden Password Manager offers a convenient way for users to add 2FA to their online accounts. This popular feature will remain available across paid plans.
Bitwarden Authenticator can be used to store your verification codes to access your Bitwarden account, as well as other online applications you use.
They can be used together, or separately, depending on your security preferences.
After Authy scrapped its support for the desktop client, I’m looking for an alternative. Sadly, this does not look like it.
Sadly, this does not look like it.
Why?
I do not see a desktop client.
Ente.io is working on a desktop app. Whilst its experimental, you can get it from the releases page on their github
I use Authenticator on Linux. I’m not sure what OS you use, but perhaps there’s another, TOTP is a pretty easy protocol to implement (it’s basically just a hash of a key and timestamp).
I would like an app for desktop and phone/tablet that are syncing, just like Authy did, before they abandoned the desktop app.
So, for me that means: iOS/iPadOS and macOS
I’m in the same boat. I’m a paid Bitwarden user but I’d like to keep 2fa and passwords separated.
If no alternative soon, i’ll just bite the bullet and put everything in bitwarden (except itself, ofc)
Jesus fuck. How many more authentication apps do we need that all do the same thing?
At work I need at least 4-5 different authentication apps because every customer has something different.
We don’t need another.
You only need one app, as long as the totp is implemented in a standardized way.
Microsoft products would like a chat…
From a security perspective, it’s not a great idea to put 2 factor tokens together with your passwords. You effectively eliminate the security benefit that 2 factor provides if you do because if people get into your password manager, they have everything they need to access your accounts. The only people it helps having it all in one app are people who don’t understand the purpose of 2 factor and just see it as an inconvenience when services force it on them. I’m not sure that I’ll be changing from Aegis to BitWarden’s stand-alone authenticator, though, because Aegis is doing its job nicely.
4-5 TOTP apps? So far, when, e.g. Microsoft or Google have insisted use of their own Authenticator app is required, it’s worked fine for me using Ente Auth or similar just by entering the code / QR.
Yup, most 2FA is just TOTP, which is a pretty simple, open standard and is hardware independent. All you need is a key (the QR code or the numbers) and access to a reliable time source and bob’s your uncle.
This even works with some apps that hide the standard part - like Symantec VIP - it’s possible to extract what they are doing and use a standard TOTP app instead of VIP.
Random number generator 2fa?
Does this save to my cloud account with them or is it only local? I got screwed over by Aegis (my fault) when I got a new phone and forgot to back up Aegis and lost a lot of my logins. Some of them I can’t get unless I call the company and verify it’s me 🤦🏽♂️
Do backups kids. :)
I actually keep an authenticator app on my desktop, so I always have two places for everything. Aegis on my phone and “Authenticator” on my Linux desktop.
Wait, I’m a second child, am I a backup kid?
Then how do you secure the backup without 2FA?
Or is it 2FA all the way down?
I backup everything, but Aegis
How do I do the backup for Aegis? I looked at it and it’s set up but then at the bottom it says no backups have been made 🤔
Yubikey and yubico authenticator is king. Just need multiple keys. Stick it in a PC or tap it on your phones nfc… bam totp code pulls up.
Great. Now I have to make the effort of migrating from Authy.
Just like in the password manager, they ignored HOTP. Oh well.
Could you tell me more ?
OK, so one TOTP app more. What’s this one doing better than all the others like 2FAS?
one TOTP app more
You say this as a bad thing.
Yeah, they’re are a few open source TOTP apps that seem pretty interchangeable. I use Authenticator Pro because it has a Wear OS integration that is handy if you have a smart watch.
For now: Nothing. Pretty bare metal atm.
I’m not putting my totp with my password, same as I’m not putting my password with my email (proton)
It’s a separate app with no sync to Bitwarden accounts.
And seemingly reading beyond the headline is also not your thing.
This is a separate app unconnected to your bitwarden account…
Exactly, from a security perspective, it’s a bad idea to put 2 factor tokens together with your passwords. You effectively eliminate the security benefit that 2 factor provides if you do because if people get into your password manager, they have everything they need to access your accounts. The only people it helps having it all in one app are people who don’t understand the purpose of 2 factor and just see it as an inconvenience when services force it on them. Even though I use BitWarden for passwords, I don’t think that I’ll be changing from Aegis to BitWarden’s stand-alone authenticator because Aegis is doing its job nicely.
I personally have no use for this since I use Aegis and sync it with my synology drive
KeePassXC can do this as well. I had no idea until I saw a post on here where someone mentioned it. Here’s the documentation.
Nice! I currently have a couple of services on MS Authenticator that I can migrate over.
What makes you switch to this one rather than staying on MS?
Any reason to switch from Aegis?
Nice. But as a BitWarden user, it’s useless to me. I’ve never put all my eggs in one account basket.
Passwords on one service, MFA on another, email on yet another, etc.
Good. They make great stuff.
I assume its still absolutely impossible to migrate from one authenticator app to another without having to set it all up again?
Currently use Raivo on iOS. If this is offline only and has a way to export I may change.
Why not just use Strongbox? All of that’s built in and don’t have to store your vault on their cloud.
Why not just use KeePassXC? It’s completely free amd works great.
cyrus@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
To those that are confused about this:
Bitwarden does indeed handle TOTP directly in the password manager, but only on paid accounts and only logged in.
This is a completely offline app, separate from your existing Bitwarden account, that is entirely free.
It might serve as an alternative to e.g Aegis to some.
revv@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 months ago
Is there a good reason I don’t know about to prefer this over Aegis?
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 months ago
No, they’re both ostensibly open source and standalone. I’m an avid Bitwarden Free user, but Aegis has been my go-to for a long time.
If it’s a standalone completely offline app, like Aegis, I’m at a loss to what they could offer that is any different than what Aegis already offers.
cmhe@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I used to use Aegis, but after setting up my own vaultwarden, I use the normal bitwarden app/plugin on all my systems for passwords and TOTP.
The advantages are that I don’t need my phone to login, the keys are synced and backuped in the encrypted vaultwarden database, which I can then handle with normal server backup tools. It still works offline, because bitwarden app caches the password.
This is IMO much more convenient and secure (in a way that loosing access to a device doesn’t shut you out, and you don’t need to trust third parties) then most other solutions.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 months ago
For now: No.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 months ago
At this moment Aegis is far superior to bitwarden auth. But it looks promising.
I really like the ability to “sideload” the icons for the codes and automatic encrypted backups to cloud storages.
zingo@lemmy.ca 6 months ago
Not switchin’ from Aegis. No sir’ee.
RecluseRamble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 months ago
Does it have any killer features in favor of using the free app of an for-profit company instead of an established FOSS app?
Tenkard@lemmy.ml 6 months ago
Bitwarden apps have been open source since the beginning, mobile + backend + web
lefixxx@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I use the TOPT features and i dont have a paid account
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Do you self-host? I think that’s another way to get the TOTP features w/o a paid account.
Serinus@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I haven’t been entirely happy with Bitwarden for other reasons. You can’t self host and share with one other person without paying them $40/year. Their advertising is deceptive, because they say you can do both for free. But that one or the other, not both.
jo3shmoo@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
I don’t think I realized that was a limitation because I’ve been using the Vaultwarden fork. github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden
cyrus@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
Have you heard if VaultWarden?
Vetinari@reddthat.com 6 months ago
As others have said vaultwarden is the solution here. It is free, you can manage multiple vaults, totp is free. All the platform bit warden apps & plugins work with it. Supposedly it is leaner and easier to set up. Don’t know for sure because it is all I have used.
For shared passwords, I have a family vault where I put my streaming pws and such and everyone has access without having to share my personal vault.