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Usability rant: why doesn't KeePass have a Read-Only mode?
KeePass is an awesome password management utility. In fact, "awesome" is an understatement. It has transformed my computing experience and made my online life significantly more secure. I run KeePass and enter my obscenely long pass phrase multiple times every day; I trust KeePass so much that I don't even know the passwords to most websites I frequent. This includes some really important passwords, too.
There's one thing that bugs me about the perfection that is KeePass, though: There is no read-only mode.
Over 95 percent of the time, all I want to do is get a password, paste it, and close KeePass. While KeePass has protection against accidentally deleting passwords (a Recycle Bin feature), I can pretty easily change a password, accidentally save the file with the modified password, and lose my "real" password completely.
Granted, I need to enter the same password twice before I can hit OK. But what about adding a single character by mistake or any other freak accident that could happen? Keystroke, Tab, keystroke, Enter, and it's bye bye old password! And the "double-entry" feature is for passwords only; what about URLs, or notes, or usernames?
Once I've made the change, I'm screwed. Except for closing the file without saving it, there's no "Undo" function, and KeePass can autosave the file on numerous events (when losing focus, when locking the workspace after a timeout, when minimizing, etc. -- you configure it). Once the file is saved ... well, let's hope that site has easy password recovery options.
What's really crazy is that KeePass had this option! KeePass 1.x had an easy, simple, read-only command line switch that you could run it with, and you could change nothing while it was running; KeePass 2.x no longer has it.
Here's hoping that someone hears my cry and resurrects this feature. In case I ran KeePass in read-only mode and now wanted to create a new entry, I could just have a menu item that allows me to "switch to read/write mode." That option would close the database and reopen it in read/write mode (requiring my password again).
Comments
13
Subscribe to commentsAnthonyJul 23rd 2010 1:20PM
If the file isn't supposed to have been modified, why are you saving it?
Also, DataBaseBackup Plugin (http://keepass.info/plugins.html#databasebackup) FTW.
mazzthepianomanJul 23rd 2010 1:27PM
Well until that feature is added what about just right clicking the file and toggling the "read only" attribute?
stinlen56Jul 23rd 2010 1:36PM
I've changed stuff on accident plenty of times, I just don't have any of the auto save conditions set and if I've screwed up, I close, elect not to save, and open again.
insourcerobJul 23rd 2010 2:13PM
I keep my keepass in my dropbox account. I can get previous versions if I screw up and I can access the same keepass database from all my computers.
Pedro VeraAug 14th 2010 1:37AM
This is exactly how I solved that issue, by keeping the file in my dropbox account. If I screw it up all I have to do is pull a previous version of the file off dropbox.
MikeJul 23rd 2010 2:04PM
LastPass has a password history for updated entries.
ChristianJul 23rd 2010 2:19PM
It is possible to load the database from an web-address. This is (clearly) only possible if you got web access. But if you do so, the file cannot be saved.
Another way to be on the save side, is do put the database on a dropbox folder. In thus, previous versions can be restored easily. This is my prefered way of storing passwords, since i use KeePass on multiple private and on my work computer. Its just awsome!
3tearJul 23rd 2010 2:14PM
Lastpass has an autofill feature. No more copy/paste. :)
http://lastpass.com/
AdamJul 23rd 2010 3:07PM
You could just change your keypass shortcut to:
C:\Program Files\KeePass Password Safe\KeePass.exe -readonly
(obviously your path may differ)
AdalanJul 23rd 2010 3:08PM
AND I should have finished reading the article. :-/
chmurliJul 23rd 2010 4:21PM
keepass 2 has excellent history feature. Each change you made is saved since forever.
Ariel HorwitzJul 24th 2010 10:02AM
Hey Erez,
KeePass has a cool little tab for each entry called "History". Just open up any entry, and check the right most tab. The only way you'd get screwed is if you accidentally had a freak accident and managed to change both password entries the same way /and/ went ahead and deleted the last version under the history tab.
Now, the feature I'm missing is to somehow not have to remember the password to my KeePass database! Why is there no KeePass feature for that?
Keep safe,
XD
mobyJul 28th 2010 1:17AM
If you access the kdb file via the web it is automatically opened as read only.
I don't recommend manually changing file attributes to read only if you log in from multiple locations.
I load an archive copy via FTP to my private domain and I can open in keepass. I use dropbox as well for updating my file for actual changes. The mobile version of keepass tracks multiple file locations as well. So it really comes down to how you tell keepass to access the file.