I self-host Vaultwarden but I use a VPS where I keep things stable. My VPSes run Debian Stable and have unattended-upgrades installed and configured to automatically install security updates. My home server runs Unraid and is more experimental - I'm not running anything of critical importance on it.
Always self-host anything you can (reasonably).
In this case, don't self-host a password vault. Use a locally encrypted password storage app, and keep it in a self-hosted storage solution (which should also be encrypted).
People want to put too much shit online, opens you wide up for attempted hacking (especially if you use what everyone else uses).
Self-hosting removes the risk of somebody compromising Bitwarden’s servers and adding malicious javascript to send off your master password to a bad actor instead of just processing it locally like it’s designed to.
I think the chances of such a breach are vanishingly small. I wonder if I'm right though.
I think anyone capable of pulling off such a feat is not interested in my data, and probably more likely looking for government employee access etc..
They don’t need to be interested though. You could conceivably dump all the password you collect in an attack and just start trying them automatically like you would any other breach. Find a bunch of bank accounts and your chances you getting away with millions are high. Not to mention: a breach like this means changing all your saved passwords to re-secure them which is a multi-day affair.
I've used cloud based services for password managers for work and "self host" my personal stuff. I barely consider it self hosting since I use Keepass and on every machine it's configured to keep a local cached copy of the database but primarily to pull from the database file on my in-home NAS.
Two issues I've had:
Logging into an account on a device currently not on my home network is brutal. I often resort to simply viewing the needed password and painstakingly type it in (and I run with loooooong passwords)
If I add or change a password on a desktop and don't sync my phone before I leave, I get locked out of accounts. Two years rocking this setup it's happened three times, twice I just said meh I don't really need to do this now, a third time I went through account recovery and set a new password from my phone.
Minor complaint:
Sometimes Keepass2Android gets stuck trying to open the remote database and I have to let it sit and timeout (5 minutes!!!) which gets really annoying but happens very infrequently which is why I say just minor complaint
All in all, I find the inconvenience of doing the personal setup so low that to me even a $10 annual subscription is not worth it
The way I get around the syncing issue is to set my syncthing to sync when my phone is charging so it's very unlikely to not be in sync, or if I change a password on the PC I'll plug my phone into a USB and it syncs straight away.
I also use KeepassDX on Android and never have those issues.
I run a similar setup, but with syncthing as the syncing system. Every time I connect the phone to the charger it just syncs the database and I can even sync it outside the home network. Works like a charm. Worst case you get a sync conflict which is easy to solve.
Premium features for free. There are no benefits in relying on a third-party
Well 'no benefits' is a bit of a stretch.
I have bitwarden family SaaS. So I can share password with my group.
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