How to Use KeePass

Let’s save your passwords. Here’s how.

Once you’ve loaded the software on your computer, click on the File menu and choose New. The prompt will tell you instructions about saving in a specific location. Make a note of where you save your database. Remember, it’s one file with all the data.

Next, create a master password. This pass will allow the user access to the database of passwords. In other words, make this sucker strong. Use random strings of letters, numbers, and symbols with the occasional capital letter. Write the sequence down somewhere or memorize it. It’s the key to everything. Try to make it long and complicated enough to hit the green zone on the Estimated Quality field.

You can choose Expert options to create a key file. (I’m not sure how this one works. Even the help files at KeePass didn’t make it clear.) Under Expert, users can also link to their Windows account for version 2.0 and higher. It also comes with a warning to only use the option if you really know what you are doing. I chose neither as I’m a newbie.

Once your master password has passed the mustard, name the database on the first tab and add a description. If you plan to have multiple databases (i.e., one for banking, one for social media, etc.), name as needed and write the description below. On the Security tab, you can fiddle with the degree of security on this database. On the Compression tab, moderate the level of space the database takes up by changing the settings. The recycle bin tab lets you turn on/off this function. I recommend keeping the recycle bin, just in case. Let’s skip Advanced for now.

Last, the program allows you to print an emergency sheet. The sheet contains the location of where you saved the file. It has a space to write the backup file’s location and a field to write out your password. It’s a handy backup for when your machine goes kerflooey.

KeePass will now show your current database. Check the name on the top of the window to ensure you are inside the right set of data. Click on the yellow key icon or the menu, Entry, Add Entry to put in new information. The Add Entry pop-up asks for a title, username, password, URL, and notes. Fill in at least the username and password. A title can be helpful when sorting the data later. Also, you can change the icon for the entry. The default is a yellow key. You can add more information with the other tabs, but you probably won’t need these advanced options. Changing an entry is easy. Either double-click on it or go back to the Entry menu and choose Edit Entry.

Searching for passwords is easy in KeePass. Users can sort the displayed form by clicking on the column titles. Too many passwords for a simple sort to work? No problem. Click on the Find menu. You can search the current database for keywords. It also displays the last used entries. The bottom of the menu lets users see the strength of the passwords, and you can edit as necessary. Under Tool, KeePass can generate sample passwords you can cut and paste to use.

When you exit KeePass and reload it, the software will prompt you for the master password.

Next week, we will look at how authors can best use this software.