Password Safe is a free and open-source

password manager A password manager is a computer program that allows users to store and manage their passwords for local applications and online services. In many cases software used to manage passwords allow also generate strong passwords and fill forms. Pas ...

program originally written for Microsoft Windows but supporting wide area of operating systems with compatible clients available for

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...

, FreeBSD, Android,

IOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

and other operating systems as well. The Linux version is available for

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...

(including the Kubuntu and

Xubuntu Xubuntu () is a Canonical Ltd.–recognized, community-maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system. The name ''Xubuntu'' is a portmanteau of ''Xfce'' and ''Ubuntu'', as it uses the Xfce desktop environment, instead of Ubuntu's Unity a ...

derivatives) and Debian. A

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

-based version is also available on

SourceForge SourceForge is a web service that offers software consumers a centralized online location to control and manage open-source software projects and research business software. It provides source code repository hosting, bug tracking, mirroring ...

. On its page, users can find links to unofficial releases running under Android, BlackBerry, and other mobile operating systems.

History

The program was initiated by

Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (; born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security professional, privacy specialist, and writer. Schneier is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Cente ...

at Counterpane Systems, and is now hosted on

(Windows) and

GitHub GitHub, Inc. () is an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git. It provides the distributed version control of Git plus access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continu ...

(Linux) and developed by a group of volunteers.

Design

After filling in the master password the user has access to all account data entered and saved previously. The data can be organized by categories, searched, and sorted based on references which are easy for the user to remember. There are various key combinations and mouse clicks to copy parts of the stored data (password, email, username etc.), or use the autofill feature (for filling forms). The program can be set to minimize automatically after a period of idle time and clears the clipboard. It is possible to compare and synchronize (merge) two different password databases. The program can be set up to generate automatic backups. Password Safe does not support database sharing, but the single-file database can be shared by any external sharing method (for example Syncthing,

Dropbox Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, U.S. that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. Dropbox was founded in 2007 ...

etc.). Database is not stored online.

Features

:''Note: All uncited information in this section is sourced from the official Help file included with the application''

Password management

Stored passwords can be sectioned into groups and subgroups in a

tree structure A tree structure, tree diagram, or tree model is a way of representing the hierarchical nature of a structure in a graphical form. It is named a "tree structure" because the classic representation resembles a tree, although the chart is genera ...

. Changes to entries can be tracked, including a history of previous passwords, the creation time, modification time, last access time, and expiration time of each password stored. Text notes can be entered with the password details.

Import and export

The password list can be exported to various file formats including TXT,

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable ...

and previous versions of Password Safe. Password Safe also supports importing these files Password Safe supports importing TXT and CSV files which were exported from

KeePass KeePass Password Safe is a free and open-source password manager primarily for Windows. It officially supports macOS and Linux operating systems through the use of Mono. Additionally, there are several unofficial ports for Windows Phone, Andro ...

version 1.x (V1). KeePass version 2.x (V2) allows databases to be exported as a KeePass V1 database, which in turn can be imported to Password Safe. Password Safe cannot directly import an XML file exported by KeePass V1 or V2, as the fields are too different. However, the Help file provides instructions for processing an exported XML file with one of multiple XSLT files (included with Password Safe) which will produce a Password Safe compatible XML file that can then be imported.

File encryption

Password Safe can encrypt any file using a key derived from a passphrase provided by the user through the command-line interface.

Password generator

The software features a built-in password generator that generates random passwords. The user may also designate parameters for password generation (length, character set, etc.), creating a "Named Password Policy" by which different passwords can be created.

Cryptography

The original Password Safe was built on Bruce Schneier's

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encryption algorithm. Rony Shapiro implemented

Twofish In cryptography, Twofish is a symmetric key block cipher with a block size of 128 bits and key sizes up to 256 bits. It was one of the five finalists of the Advanced Encryption Standard contest, but it was not selected for standardization. T ...

encryption along with other improvements to the 3.xx series of Password Safe. The keys are derived using an equivalent of

PBKDF2 In cryptography, PBKDF1 and PBKDF2 (Password-Based Key Derivation Function 1 and 2) are key derivation functions with a sliding computational cost, used to reduce vulnerabilities of brute-force attacks. PBKDF2 is part of RSA Laboratories' Publ ...

with

SHA-256 SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) is a set of cryptographic hash functions designed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and first published in 2001. They are built using the Merkle–Damgård construction, from a one-way compressi ...

and a configurable number of iterations, currently set at 2048. In a paper analysing various database formats of password storage programs for security vulnerabilities the researchers have found that the format used by Password Safe (version 3 format) was the most resistant to various cryptographic attacks.

Reception

Reviewers have highlighted the program's simplicity as its best feature.

References

External links

*
Password Safe
at FileHare.com

at Schneier.com
pwSafe
Password Safe clone for OS X and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

Password Safe
at Softonline.net * {{Password managers Cryptographic software Personal information manager software for Windows Linux software Java platform software Free password managers Portable software Software that uses wxWidgets 2002 software Free software programmed in C++ Freeware Free and open-source Android software