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Schnier's pwsafe vs Huvisoft

Adelatorre

I am using Bruce Schnier's version of pwsafe on windows.  I am able to open my pw database (which lives on an Apricorn FIPs 140-2 USB stick) on either windows or using your app on my mac.  If I enable yubico support on the mac, will that interfere with opening the database on windows?

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Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • Richard H.

    Good question! The YubiKey support is fully compatible between Windows and Mac, so if you enable that on Mac, you will need the YubiKey on Windows too, and vice versa.

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  • Adelatorre

    Is this a setting that “sticks” to your app, or is some change made to the database?

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  • Richard H.

    The database is changed, even better: the encryption key of your database is changed, which is why you will need the YubiKey to unlock the database on any platform.

    Make sure to create a backup copy of your YubiKey as advised, if you loose the YubiKey you will loose access to the database.

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  • Adelatorre

    I opened pwsafe, checked the box and purchased yubico support.  Now I can't open the database with either the password or the yubico.  How do I fix this?

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  • Adelatorre

    OK, I am able to get into the db w/password.  

    What is the sequence of steps to enable, and then use Yubikey?  Couldn't find any how-to on this in the help center.

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  • Richard H.

    If you just enabled the YubiKey checkbox on the password input dialog, then nothing has changed yet. It is best to uncheck the YubiKey checkbox there. That should allow you to unlock your safe as usual (just a password).

    After unlock, you need to change the password (Safe - Change Password) which will allow you to enable YubiKey support. This process will update your safe encryption key.

    After doing that you need to enable the YubiKey checkbox in the password dialog.

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  • Richard H.

    And here is a link to the documentation:

    https://pwsafe.app/manual-mac/yubikey/

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  • Adelatorre

    After doing the above, will I need to enter pw+yubikey, or will touching the yubikey do the authentication?

     

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  • Richard H.

    You will need both (that is the two-factor authentication).

    If you enable Touch ID, then that will save the password for you.

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  • Adelatorre

    Also, is there any way to use a 2nd yubikey as a backup or alternate for this?  Use case is USB-C yubikey on mac, and USB-A on windows.  So I've got separate yubikeys.

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  • Richard H.

    Yes, pwSafe will guide you into making a backup copy.

    This is also explained in the documentation.

    You'll need to connect the USB-A one on Mac to make a copy of course, so you'll need an adapter for that if your Mac does not have USB-A.

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