KeePass Tip: access the password history

[harlan4096]

KeePass is a powerful password manager for the desktop that is available for Windows officially and through forks for other operating systems as well.

I used to use online password managers like LastPass but switched to KeePass for a number of reasons, one being that I wanted to be in full control over my passwords. I simply did not want them to be stored on a remote server.

KeePass offers lots of features, some native, others can be added by installing plugins. You may check all passwords against the Have I Been Pwned database for instance, or use a system-wide shortcut to fill out username and/or password automatically in other programs.

KeePass: password history

KeePass keeps a record of passwords that you add to its database. Just create a new entry and save the database afterward. What some users may not know is that KeePass is also keeping track of the password history.

It is easy enough to change a password, e.g. after a breach, when it expired, or when you want to improve password security by selecting a more secure password. If you checked your passwords against the breach database, you may have stumbled upon some that you may want to change because they were leaked and could potentially be decrypted.

You can look up older entries in KeePass, restore a previous dataset or delete old records. Could be useful if a password change did not go through somehow, or if you need to use passwords for old local accounts or archives.

Here is how you access the information:

* Open KeePass on your system.
* Select the entry by double-clicking it; this opens the Edit Entry menu.
* Go to the History tab.
* There you find listed all previous versions of that entry. Each is listed with date and time.

Buttons are provided to view that entry (useful to copy information, e.g. the password), to delete it, or to restore it. Note that restore adds the current entry to the history when you select the option so that no information is lost.

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