Proton
Empowering you to choose a better internet where privacy is the default. Protect yourself online with Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive. Proton Pass and SimpleLogin.
Proton Mail is the world's largest secure email provider. Swiss, end-to-end encrypted, private, and free.
Proton VPN is the world’s only open-source, publicly audited, unlimited and free VPN. Swiss-based, no-ads, and no-logs.
Proton Calendar is the world's first end-to-end encrypted calendar that allows you to keep your life private.
Proton Drive is a free end-to-end encrypted cloud storage that allows you to securely backup and share your files. It's open source, publicly audited, and Swiss-based.
Proton Pass Proton Pass is a free and open-source password manager which brings a higher level of security with rigorous end-to-end encryption of all data (including usernames, URLs, notes, and more) and email alias support.
SimpleLogin lets you send and receive emails anonymously via easily-generated unique email aliases.
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As a rule of thumb, do not put all your eggs into one basket. No software is infallible and vulnerabilities can be uncovered and exploited in both open and closed sourced applications.
That’s being said, as long as you don’t store all information necessary for a successful login in your password manager, you should be fine.
So storing credentials for your bank account is fine, as long as it is also protected by MFA and you do not use the same password manager for handling that.
You can store PIN codes from your debit cards in the password manager as long as you do not store card number / expiration / CVV2 there too.
Personally, I keep passwords in a password manager, MFA tokens in a separate authenticator, MFA recovery codes go to FIPS 140-2 certified encrypted USB sticks (3 separate copies). I do store debit card PIN codes in my password manager, but only alongside the last 4 digits of the card number.
This. Saving 2FA codes in password managers is one of the dumbest trends in security for sure. Like, ok, take the 2 out of 2FA, great job T_T
This is also largely based on threat model as something is better than nothing. I don't believe the average person is going to, much less successfully, implement full layered security.
If more people could just:
It would solve a large majority of the issues. It's important to note that most stolen logins are actually from data breaches and malware. Before Proton Pass I stored everything in KeePass, we're talking many years. I have yet to ever have unauthorized activity or login on any of my accounts, I've even been lucky not to show up on any data breaches.
Sure, I got a "FIPS 140-2 certified encrypted USB" which really can just be done with VeraCrypt for FREE (Supply Chain Prevention), used for archive backups, but otherwise just not clicking on links in random emails or visiting sketchy websites.
I agree with you on most of the points. Some security is better than nothing. More security is better than less, layers and all.
Regarding data breaches and malware, and threat models in general. We should not forget phishing too. People voluntarily entering their credentials on a website masquerading as their bank etc.
With all of that, having your credentials split over multiple applications and devices actually saves you from an endpoint compromise and evil maid attacks, at least in a sense of limiting the fallout.
Regarding VeraCrypt and “FREE”. While it is, again, better than nothing, VeraCrypt is fiddly, not always works consistently on all operating systems (I look at you, MacOS), and is susceptible to key logging. I prefer actual certified hardware with physical keypads instead. It is not free and has its own downsides, but it is just something I find more appealing.
that are good suggestions. my bank accounts all require two steps authentications, with the second one being mostly auth via mobile app, so that part is enforced and always keeps the account secured better.
I do have one concern with the Proton account itself, as you wrote "no all eggs in one basket" rule of thumb. With the Pass, I have the 2FA integrated together with passwords (not for bank accounts) - a little risk in here with a gain on convenience.
Though I certainly do not store my Proton password in it, keeping it memorable and more than 40 characters long makes me feel safe. Im not sure what 2FA app to use for the Proton tho, would you recommend anything? I cannot use a physical key, as my devices have different USB connectors and I cannot have a one key for all.
For MFA apps, Google Authenticator seems to be the norm.
I personally use OTPAuth with sync disabled and regular backups. Mostly because it is easier to organise and back up.
Regarding hardware security keys as part of MFA, you can either get yourself dual USB-C / Lightning or USB-C / USB-A keys from Yubikey. Then just buy a USB-A to USB-C dongle (or vice versa) and keep it on your key chain. That’s mostly what I do, not ideal but does the job.
I also use OnlyKey for some passwords, especially encryption passphrases on some servers and laptops. I usually need to enter them on boot, and it just takes too long to do that manually and I’m lazy.
I personally use Aegis for Android (https://getaegis.app/) and FreeOTP for iOS (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/freeotp-authenticator/id872559395) both open source.
YubiKey makes several models for physical keys but I could understand not wanting it. I use NFC for my mobile device and USB-C on my computers.
that are two separate keys? or that's one key that has USB + NFC on it? cause that would be kinda good, as all my devices have USB except for the iPhone, but it has NFC so that would be sufficient enough
It's one key with NFC for mobile devices plus a port of your choice. I'd check out there main site for this model, https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-5-series/yubikey-5c-nfc/
It is kinda pricey but they work well and they are well built, very easy for setup and use. I've almost always had better luck finding it a bit cheaper on Amazon.
ok, I see some on my country sites with a reasonable price. thanks for the tips! if you don't mind I would like to ask one more question in regards to the keys.
How does they work in pairs? Like, I see an auction where I can buy one key separately, but to dont get locked out of account I would rather want to buy two. Should I look for auction with bundle of two? or I can set up two separate keys to be used for the same authorizaion?
Yes, it is recommended to purchase 2. It literally makes them identical in case you lose your primary. 1 in a safe and 1 on your key ring kinda thing.
Some websites may not allow recovery if you lose your key, so yes a 2nd one is useful if possible. And yes, you would be able to use both interchangeably.
thanks for your help! gotta get them then for my Proton account to keep it safe and handle all the other auths with passwords and TOTPs I guess.