Password Managers
This workshop explains how to use the free Bitwarden software to store and use passwords for websites and other applications.
Instructions
Install Bitwarden desktop and browser extensions
- Navigate to https://www.Bitwarden.com/download/
- In your web browser, select the Bitwarden Desktop version matching your operating system:
- The Windows version will prompt you to download an EXE file. Locate and run this file from your Downloads folder.
- The MacOS version will redirect you to the Mac App Store. Select the Get button to install the application.
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In your web browser, select the Bitwarden Web Browser option matching your browser of choice. Follow on-screen instructions to add the extension to your browser.
The Bitwarden extension will appear in your web browser’s top bar as a blue shield icon. After installation, a Bitwarden welcome screen will appear, with a login option on the left-hand side.
Create a Bitwarden account
- Access Bitwarden’s account creation system in any of the following ways:
- Select the Create Account option on the left-hand side of the Bitwarden web browser extension’s welcome screen.
- Launch the Bitwarden desktop application, and select the Create Account button.
- Navigate to https://Bitwarden.com/ in your web browser and select Get Started from the upper right-hand corner.
- Provide an email address and name for your account.
- Provide a strong and memorable password. You may use a site like https://passwordcreator.org/ to help generate a strong password.
- Read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, if prompted
- Select Submit.
Add a username and password to Bitwarden
- Navigate to any website for which you’d like to store a username and password.
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Select the blue Bitwarden shield icon (it may be on the right or left-hand side of your browser window, near the top) and select Add a login.
A login creation form appears in a Bitwarden dropdown window.
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Enter your username and password information.
If you do not have a password for the site yet (for example, because you are creating an account for the first time), you can use the built-in password generator:
- Select the password generator icon on the right hand side of the password field.
- Choose whatever password options you prefer. Some websites have requirements for password length, use of special characters, etc. and those may be specified here.
- Once you have a password you’d like to use, choose Select in the upper right hand corner of the Bitwarden dropdown window.
- If you are creating an account on a new website, copy your new password so you can paste it into the website’s account creation fields.
- Select Save.
Use Bitwarden to log into a website
- Navigate to any website for which you’d like to use an existing username and password.
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Select the blue Bitwarden shield icon, and then select the current website from the dropdown list.
If no website appears in the dropdown, or if you see an Add a login message, you may need to store your login information in Bitwarden OR create a new account for the site. Do this using the steps in Add a username and password to Bitwarden.
Bitwarden will enter your username and password information into the website’s login fields.
- Select the submit, OK, or other button to send your login information to the website.
Review
Task for Learning
Successfully store and use an account password in Bitwarden.
Review Question
Password Managers © 2021 by Kris Joseph & Mish Boutet is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
