Episode 17: Upgrade Your Bitcoin and Online Privacy and Security With a Password Manager (Bitwarden)

The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews. Thanks to our hosts: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16 https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au References How to Upgrade Your Email Privacy https://learn.hardblock.com.au/how-to-upgrade-your-email-privacy/ How to Upgrade Your Bitcoin and Online Privacy and Security With a Password Manager https://learn.hardblock.com.au/how-to-upgrade-your-online-security-with-a-password-manager/ Opt Out Podcast with Bitwarden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj7YoZRsqJk Ian Coleman BIP39 Calculator https://iancoleman.io/bip39/ Check if your passwords have been exposed in a data breach https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords Notes - Why use a password manager? - Humans are a terrible source of entropy/randomness - Humans are forgetful (remembering unique passwords paired with unique email aliases for every site you use is impossible!) - Storing passwords in your web browser is not secure (e.g., these passwords are stored in clear text and are accessible if someone has remote or physical access to your browser) - Password managers protect against the most common "hacks" (i.e., a data breach/leak leading to credential stuffing attack) - You can store more than passwords in a password manager (e.g., secure notes, credit card details, account numbers, etc) - What's a good password? Either 12-16 characters combining letters, numbers, and symbols, or 5-7 words from the short or long word list - Comparing Bitwarden, LastPass, and KeepassXC - Bitwarden features (apart from password management): can send encrypted text and files; Bitwarden is free, open source, end-to-end encrypted, available across all browsers, devices, and operating systems; Bitwarden includes self-hosting options, online and offline storage options, and has more advanced features for paid version (e.g., sending encrypted files, emergency access or pseudo inheritance planning, etc) - Control + Shift + L for the win! - Backup your password manager master password as if it were your bitcoin mnemonic seed (e.g., store it physically, maybe in steel, possibly in more than one location) - It's best to set up your password manager with a two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security, but be sure to backup the 2FA recovery too (and ideally keep it separate from the backup of your master password!) - Password managers take a while to set up, but it'll make security much easier to maintain after that!