Month: August 2012

Adventures with Dropbox and KeePass…

Thanks to Eddie Awad, I’ve been using 2-step verification on my Google account for a while. Now Jake from The Appslab has scared me into using a password manager and revamping all my passwords…

We use KeePass (on Windows) at work to hold all our passwords, so I figured I’d go with that and see how I get on. Unlike work, I want to use a single store for all my devices, so I finally found a use for my Dropbox account.

Dropbox Installations

If you don’t already have it, you need to install Dropbox on your device(s). For mobiles, that means their respective app stores. For computers (Linux, Mac and Windows), you can get it from the Dropbox website.

Whichever KeePass variant you use, make sure you create the KeePass database file under the DropBox directory on your device, so it is visible from other computers or devices using DropBox.

KeePass Installation on Windows.

Download and unzip/install either KeePass Portable 2.x or KeePassXC Portable. I use the portable version and leave this on my Dropbox as well as the shared KeePass database file.

KeePass Installations on OS X

This section of the post originally included instructions for using the Windows version of KeePass Mono. It was then replaced by KeePassX. The best solution now is to use KeePassXC for Mac. It’s better than the alternatives.

KeePassXC Installations on Linux

This section of the post originally included instructions for using the Windows version of KeePass Mono. It’s been removed as you should now use KeePassXC for Linux. It’s better than the alternatives.

KeePass Installations on Android

For Android devices, I originally used the KeePassDroid app, but I now use KeePass2Android.

  • Install the Dropbox app if you don’t already have it. Connect to your Dropbox account and check you can see the “.kdbx” file in the “KeePass” directory.
  • Install the KeePass2Android app.
  • Open Dropbox, locate the “.kdbx” file and tap it.
  • Once the KeePass2Android app opens.

KeePass Installations on iPad/iPhone

For my iPad I used the MiniKeePass app.

  • Install the MiniKeePass app and open it.
  • Hit the “i” in the bottom-middle of the screen.
  • Click the “Dropbox Import/Export” option and follow the instructions.

It’s not a thrilling app, but it does the job.

So that’s it. I only have to remember my DropBox password and my KeePass password and I can now use unique and ridiculously long passwords for all my other logins…

Cheers

Tim…

Getting good at stuff…

Last night was a fantastic night for UK athletics. I have to admit I felt rather emotional during the medal ceremony for Jessica Ennis…

I really hope the message viewers (especially kids) take away from these events is that to get good at anything you’ve really got to work at it. In these days of instant fame on reality TV shows, it seems the world has forgotten that it takes time and effort to get good at stuff. It’s easy to brush this stuff off by saying, “they’ve got great genetics”, or, “they have natural ability”, but when Mo Farrah talks about doing 125 miles per week in training, you start to understand this isn’t just natural ability…

What’s this got to do with IT and Oracle?

Whether you’re training for an Olympic gold or trying to become the best DBA/developer you can be, you’ve got to put the hours in. You are not going to spend a few weeks cramming for an OCP exam, then suddenly be God’s gift to DBAs. Coding by Google is not going to turn you into God’s gift to developers.

You get good at what you do regularly!

Cheers

Tim…

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