Bitwarden Chrome extension is a password manager solution in the open-source category. Apart from the Chrome OS or browser, the user can also use extensions available for Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari, Vivaldi,
Brave and Tor Browser.
Using the AES-256 encryption the Bitwarden is one of the best open-source password managers that comes with an ability to not only store password in almost all major platforms but also allows to sync them across all devices free of cost.
Importing from other password managers such as 1Password, LastPass or Chrome is possible, but not via the Windows, macOS, Linux clients, or extensions, but only via the web interface. Therefore, the user has to log into the web vault at https://vault.bitwarden.com and then navigate to Tools → Import Data.
Apart from the regular login information and password, the software can also store secure notes, credit cards, and important identity information.
To enhance security further the free version also offers two-factor authentication, however, as compared to other best password manager options such as Dashlane, LastPass, Zoho Vault some features are missing such as security check on passwords. Here is the complete listof other password manager services from where the user can Import their all password to Bitwarden.
Well, here we are only to discuss the way to get the Bitwarden Chrome extension and how to use the same to save various passwords. Thus, let’s focus on that. The following tutorial will be the same for Windows, Linux, macOS, and other Desktop operating systems using the Chrome or Chromium browser. Also see: Best free Password managers
Bitwarden password manager setup. Most users will be installing a native Bitwarden app that’s available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. There are also browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge (currently broken), Opera, and some less popular picks. This means you get a wide selection of how you can access your stored credentials. Bitwarden is a highly sensitive security application managing 100 and more passwords. It is not a good idea to have this application require additional permissions to communicate with other applications. I rather take this as a worrying indication that the development of Bitwarden is turning into a bad and sad and wrong direction. Bitwarden offers a tempting free plan and substantially cheaper subscriptions, but 1Password has a cleaner design and additional features like password recovery, a Chrome OS app, and 24/7 support.
Step 1: Open Chrome browser and click on this link- browser extension, it will take you to the extension page of this product.
Step 2: Now, to install the Bitwarden chrome extension, just click on the “Add to Chrome” button. After that a pop-up will appear, click the “Add extension“.
Step 3: You will see a Shield icon in the Chrome Address bar. Click that to see further options of Bitwarden.
Step 4: If you already have an account with this open-source password manager service then use that by clicking on the Login option otherwise use the “Create Account“.
Step 5: A new account will require an email address and also ask you to create a password for your new account which will also be used as a Master password to access passwords, credit cards, Identity, and Secure Notes on other devices as well.
Step 6: Under the Vault, we can create a new Login entry to save some passwords and other items.
Password Generator is also there to create strong passwords and use them with various services.
Under the settings tab, the user can change security settings; auto logo out for the vault; can set up two-step authentication, and more…
During our usage Bitwarden chrome extension did a good job to autofill the saved login information for various social accounts and other websites, however, due to security reasons, the auto fill of login forms is not applicable for bank details, and for that, the user has to copy and paste them manually.
Bitwarden Pricing
Bitwarden is free and open-source software, but unlike community-developed alternatives such as KeePass, it is a commercial venture.
The core product is free and will stay free forever, but you can support the developer by paying a very reasonable $10 per year subscription fee for a premium personal account. Premium users enjoy some cool (non-core) additional features, as outlined below.
In addition to a premium personal plan, Bitwarden offers family plans and a couple of enterprise plans aimed at businesses.
In this review, we will focus on personal plans.
What features does Bitwarden offer?
The following features are available to free users:
- End-to-end encryption (e2ee) of passwords
- 100% open source
- Cross-platform apps for all major platforms
- Browser add-ons for all major browsers
- Web browser access from anywhere
- Command-line tools (CLI) to write and execute scripts on your Bitwarden vault
- Can self-host
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Paying $10 a year adds:
- 1GB encrypted file storage
- Additional 2FA options
- Priority customer support
What is important to note is that there is no account recovery feature.
How easy is Bitwarden to use?
To start using Bitwarden, just download the app for your platform and sign-up in-app. A password is requested, but this is not verified. You’ll need to think of a strong master password, and can choose a hint to help you remember it.
And that’s it! Just don’t forget your master password!
The desktop clients
The Bitwarden desktop clients are basically identical in Windows, macOS, and Linux. Most versions of Linux are supported thanks to the app being packaged in the AppImage format. It is also available through the Ubuntu Software Center and, of course, you can compile the open-source code yourself.
We find the interface to be smart looking and very easy to use. Four “Types” of data entry are supported: login, card, identity, and secure note.
Each entry Type is formatted in a way suitable to entering data of that kind, and which the app can use to auto-fill passwords, web forms, and card detail forms. using browser add-ons.
An interesting new feature is a button in the password field which checks if the password you input has been exposed. This works much like our very own data breach tool and compares the username and password you enter with a database of known password breaches.
A more secure option than thinking up your own all-too-fallible passwords is to let the Bitwarden app generate secure passwords for you. These passwords can be tailored to conform with any specific requirements a website insists on.
You can also create folders and add items to them. What more do you want? If you need group password management and sharing features then these are provided by Bitwarden’s organization accounts.
Autofill functionality on the desktop is provided by browser add-ons for Firefox and Chrome.
The Mobile Apps
The mobile Android and iOS apps are very similar, and share the same attractive and intuitive design philosophy as their desktop siblings.
Both apps do everything their desktop siblings can including generate secure random passwords. They also both support fingerprint unlocking on devices which have fingerprint sensors.
The Androids app uses the Autofill Framework Service on Android 8+ devices and the Auto-fill Accessibility Service on older Android devices to auto-fill forms in any browser window or app. In addition to this, the browser add-ons work with the mobile versions of Firefox and Chrome.
In iOS 12+ the Bitwarden app integrates with Apple’s new Authentication Services framework to provide instant autofill functionality in most browsers and apps.
Web Vault
In addition to using apps, it is possible to access your passwords via the “Web Vault” from any browser. This is handy, although the possibility of compromised servers pushing malicious JavaScript code directly to your browser window means that using browser-based e2ee cryptography will never be quite as secure as performing the cryptography in a stand-alone client.
Interestingly, the only way to import data is via the Web Vault, which accepts files exported from a huge range of password managers
Command-line interface CLI
In addition to graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for all major platforms, Bitwarden provides a powerful CLI client for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
It doesn’t really do anything the GUI clients don’t, but it is very lightweight and geeks will love it!
Browser add-ons
Browser add-ons are available Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, Opera, Brave, and Microsoft Edge. A Firefox link is provided for the Tor Browser, but we do not recommend this as using any browser add-on with Tor Browser makes it more susceptible to browser fingerprinting.
The add-ons look like the Bitwarden apps and provide the same core functionally.
They also make auto-filling logins, forms, and suchlike a breeze.
Bitwarden customer support
An extensive help section provides detailed documentation on most aspects of Bitwarden. If you have any additional questions you can email them in.
Bitwarden is basically a one-man show, so all responses we received were from its developer Kyle Spearrin himself. Responses typically arrived on the same day. Alternatively, the Bitwarden website hosts an active forum on which Kyle is an enthusiast participant.
Privacy and security
Bitwarden is a US company and is therefore subject to FISA, the Patriot Act, and very likely surveillance by the NSA. Which shouldn’t matter because…
Bitwarden uses fully audited open-source end-to-end encryption (e2ee). Which is as good a guarantee that it is secure and private as it’s possible to get. The only way to decrypt your data is by using the correct master password, which is not recoverable should you forget it. So don’t.
Because e2ee is used, it shouldn’t matter that Bitwarden uses Microsoft Azure cloud servers to host accounts, although if this really bugs you then you can self-host on a home or rented server of your choice using the open-source Docker framework.
Audit
In November 2018 a crowdfunded independent security audit by Cure53 found no major issues with the software. Some non-critical issues were discovered, the most important of which were patched immediately. We can only presume that developer Kyle has been working hard this last year to fix any additional issues raised by the audit.
Technical security
Data at rest is protected using an AES-256 cipher. PBKDF2 is used to derive the encryption key from your master password, which is then salted and hashed using HMAC SHA256. These are all respected third-party cryptographic libraries.
Bitwarden Chrome Addin
Data in transit is protected by regular TLS - which is fine. Even if your data was somehow intercepted in transit (via a MitM attack using fake SSL certificates) it could not be accessed because it is encrypted with AES-256 before leaving your device.
In 2018 a flaw was found in the Chrome add-on’s cryptography. This was largely fixed immediately, although you should never use the ‘never forget’ option of Bitwarden if you do not want your encryption key to exist on disk.
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Free users can secure their Bitwarden Vaults using a Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) or email verification for two-factor authentication. Premium users can also use 2FA methods such as Duo, YubiKeys, and other FIDO U2F-compatible USB or NFC devices.
Check out our 'what is 2FA' page if you are new to this.
Final thoughts
Bitwarden is a free and open-source password manager that can go head-to-head with any of its closed- source subscription-based rivals. It is powerful, looks good, is intuitive to use, and syncs seamlessly across all your devices.
In our view, Bitwarden’s only real rival is the similarly open-source KeePass and its various forks. Bitwarden looks prettier than KeePass and is easier to set up and use, but thanks to the huge number of add-ons available to KeePass, it is no-where near as powerful or flexible.
KeePass is also true community-developed software rather than a one-man for-profit product (albeit one which is open-source). Bottom line: Bitwarden is the ideal password manager for the less technically minded.
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