Bitwarden Authenticator is a standalone app that is available for everyone, even non-Bitwarden customers.
In its current release, Bitwarden Authenticator generates time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) for users who want to add an extra layer of 2FA security to their logins.
There is a comprehensive roadmap planned with additional functionality.
You can use Authenticator Pro (android, opensesource) and Proton Pass, both let you copy the TOTP generation code to paste into another without problem. Both generate exact code
In fact that’s how I am using them right now, with Authenticator Pro is my on-device, offline, encrypted backup offline backup TOTP for Pass.
I guess it is not as straight forward as export import as you hope, but it’s not as bad as other options used to be.
As long as you can access the keys, you can swap authenticator apps.
I tried a few until I landed in Aegis, and I have two on my desktop that I’m trying out as well. Just get something that allows exporting the keys and there will be a path to switching apps.
Is there anything about Aegis that makes it better than Authy? Just looking at the page for Aegis, I’m not seeing a lot of difference. And it being Android only limits it.
It’s also free in the Bitwarden app if you self-host with Vaultwarden. It’s only a paid feature if you’re using their hosting, and seemingly only so they can dangle it as a “premium” benefit.
Exactly. I don’t pay for Bitwarden because I need all of its features. I pay because I want to support them and the job that they are doing. The extra features are just a side-effect of that.
HOTP is an HMAC-based OTP, whereas TOTP is a time-based OTP. Basically, this is how each works:
HOTP - based on a key + a counter, which increments with each code generated
TOTP - based on a key + time, so you get a new key every N seconds
TOTP is quite common and honestly is all I use, whereas HOTP may be more common in certain enterprises. Main criticisms:
HOTP - longer time window for a key to be valid for the entire time between logins (i.e. potentially easier to brute force)
TOTP - less user-friendly due to the time window; also, you just need a clock, you don’t need to know the counter value (if someone gets the key, they can generate keys whenever)
Isn’t this the same as storing TOTP authentication codes in Bitwarden Password Manager?
Integrated TOTP authentication is a premium feature in Bitwarden Password Manager. Bitwarden Authenticator is a standalone mobile app that generates TOTP codes for any online service that supports them. Bitwarden Authenticator can be used without a Bitwarden account.
Should I use both? When should I use the integrated authentication feature? When should I use Bitwarden Authenticator?
Integrated authentication in Bitwarden Password Manager offers a convenient way for users to add 2FA to their online accounts. This popular feature will remain available across paid plans.
Bitwarden Authenticator can be used to store your verification codes to access your Bitwarden account, as well as other online applications you use.
They can be used together, or separately, depending on your security preferences.
Exactly, from a security perspective, it’s a bad idea to put 2 factor tokens together with your passwords. You effectively eliminate the security benefit that 2 factor provides if you do because if people get into your password manager, they have everything they need to access your accounts. The only people it “helps” having it all in one app are people who don’t understand the purpose of 2 factor and just see it as an inconvenience when services force it on them. Even though I use BitWarden for passwords, I don’t think that I’ll be changing from Aegis to BitWarden’s stand-alone authenticator because Aegis is doing its job nicely.
It really depends on your threat model. It’s not a one size fits all thing.
For instance in some threat models you shouldn’t have TOTP auth and passwords on the same device, let alone the same app, but the vast majority of people are not going to carry two devices because of how inconvenient it is.
4-5 TOTP apps? So far, when, e.g. Microsoft or Google have insisted use of their own Authenticator app is required, it’s worked fine for me using Ente Auth or similar just by entering the code / QR.
This even works with some apps that hide the standard part - like Symantec VIP - it’s possible to extract what they are doing and use a standard TOTP app instead of VIP.
Yup, most 2FA is just TOTP, which is a pretty simple, open standard and is hardware independent. All you need is a key (the QR code or the numbers) and access to a reliable time source and you can make a TOTP app on anything.
I use Aegis on my phone and Authenticator on Linux (some GTK app), and they both produce identical codes for the same key.
They must now require HOTP or something now. TOTP doesn’t care what machine it’s on, whereas HOTP does (well, you could spoof it if you really wanted).
Is that a thing? Usually those have a fallback to a regular TOTP code.
I use Okta for work because we integrate SSO with it everywhere, but I could technically enter a code every time and swap out the Okta app for the other TOTP app I use.
My company is a MS shop, but they use TOTP as the second factor, and even that is optional. My department uses Okta, which is a completely separate system (we’re a weird, separate unit entirely from most of the rest of the company).
They’re probably using HOTP or something else, not TOTP. TOTP is literally just the key + any clock. Or maybe it’s the “click button to authenticate” and not the “enter code to authenticate,” which might not be HOTP or TOTP, but something else entirely (e.g. Steam’s system is neither AFAIK).
If it’s TOTP, you just need to get the key and can use any authenticator app.
it’s basically just a shared random number generator on a timer (it’s slightly smarter than that but that’s the gist), so as long as you know the start time, the current time and the starting point for the RNG, both parties can get the same result without having to ever communicate
Does this save to my cloud account with them or is it only local? I got screwed over by Aegis (my fault) when I got a new phone and forgot to back up Aegis and lost a lot of my logins. Some of them I can’t get unless I call the company and verify it’s me 🤦🏽♂️
I actually keep an authenticator app on my desktop, so I always have two places for everything. Aegis on my phone and “Authenticator” on my Linux desktop.
This dumps it to a file, then it’s on you to copy it somewhere else.
Or
Settings > Backups
I think this one is automated, but I personally don’t use it, I just back it up manually when I add something new. I keep a completely functional 2FA app on my desktop, so I always have a backup in a pinch.
Aegis encrypts it with a password, then you copy it somewhere. It’s just a set of keys and you can have as many copies as you want (I have three, one phone and two desktops).
No, I use a different authenticator app (called Authenticator in the Flatpak store), but it does use the same keys. So I import the keys from an Aegis dump so I can generate exactly the same keys on my desktop app that I do on my phone.
TOTP is a really simple system, as long as I have access to the secret key and a reliable time source, I can generate the exact same tokens as any TOTP app would.
Also they have weird behind the scenes integrations into accounts even if they are just supposed to be regular 2FA. You can read stories about Twitch not playing well with other 2FA until 30 days after you remove Authy. I don’t want those kind of shadow integrations and I should be allowed to switch apps as I see fit
I guess for me, it being closed-source and the fact that the Bitwarden password manager and now Bitwarden authenticator are open source. Truthfully, I just see how they handled the desktop version of their Authy software, giving no fucks if consumers wanted it or not, being a big red flag of what could come after. Having used Bitwarden for years now, and giving them $10 a year, makes me more biased and inclined to use their other software, since they’ve never let me down. :)
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