Right now, I’m using Bitwarden’s official instance, and I am bothered that I have to use Google’s Authenticator app separately for TOTP. Yes, there’s also Aegis and 2FAS, but I have no idea about WebDAV servers and also don’t want to rely on Google Drive for backup, also because I’m moving away from Google services.
I’m planning to run Vaultwarden on a free instance of render.com, and I wanted to know if this was a good idea? Has anyone over here tried this?
What would happen if Render changes their plans and I lose access to the database? Will I still have access to the last-stored cache on my browser extension and mobile phone? And since I’m running a Rust infrastructure, would it use less of the free plan bandwidth that Render assigns?
Do I also need to purchase a domain? Or can I access the app with Render-affixed URL?
If your issue is with the authenticator, then why not just switch authenticators? I’ve been quite happy with Authy over the years.
Sure, self hosting can be more secure, but if it’s not on your own hardware, I don’t see how moving to render is better. You’re still using a third party to host your most sensitive information.
Authy is lovely in that it just works, but it is hellacious to migrate off of if you change your mind.
I also don’t love that Authy is owned by Twilio, a communications/marketing service company.
This was my thought too. Why are you using Google Authenticator? It’s my understanding that it’s only required to use 2FA with Google specifically because, like Apple, they use their own system.
Just grab any authenticator, like Authy. Problem solved.
I’ll second Authy, I’ve never had any issues and it’s simple in design which I like.
A password manager can be considered critical infrastructure; beyond privacy and uptime/access considerations, you should also consider what happens if you lose all of your data - Do you have backups? Are the backups 3-2-1 redundant? Do you have a ready-to-go docker compose to get yourself up and running locally in a pinch?
I self-hosted bitwarden (vaultwarden) for several years and it became evident to me that it was important enough to use the hosted service - especially as I was already paying Bitwarden to support their open source business.
Have you considered using Bitwarden Premium? It has TOTP support and is $10/year currently.
Also, regardless of how your hosting your data, it’s probably good to keep a secured backup of your vault or two just in case something unexpected happens.
Quite tight on money right now. $10 is about ₹840, and I have hardly any money in the bank, and unemployed atm. I guess I can live with Bitwarden and Aegis for now.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend having your passwords with your 2FA tokens anyway. The second factor should be something separated from the other factor, and if they’re both in the same place, I think that’s a problem.
there’s also Aegis and 2FAS, but I have no idea about WebDAV servers and also don’t want to rely on Google Drive for backup, also because I’m moving away from Google services.
If your only issue are the backups, then you can still use aegis with automatic encrypted backup to a folder in your device and then use syncthing to automatically send it to your machine. From there use any other backup solution like duplicati or restic.
(Remember that syncthing is not a backup solution, it should only be used as a way to automatically sync files between devices) (People have had many issues with duplicate, but I’ve only seen posts about huge amounts of data, for something like aegis backups has been working fine for me)I’d also recommend you asking in !selfhosted@lemmy.world
What would happen if Render changes their plans and I lose access to the database? Will I still have access to the last-stored cache on my browser extension and mobile phone?
Yes, the bitwarden client will simply treat it as being offline. You should check the docs on how to migrate to a new server so you can be prepared.
And since I’m running a Rust infrastructure, would it use less of the free plan bandwidth that Render assigns?
No.
Bandwidth is up to the network stack to determine, not the programming language. Generally, your app and OS will use as much as avalable unless otherwise throttled.I just looked it up, and their “bandwidth” is not a measure of bandwidth, but a data quota. The answer is still “no” because it’s about how much data is transferred in total, which has also little to do with the language in this case. Despite the difference of some negligible amount of bytes of overhead, vaultwarden’s limited by the format the database is in. To lower data usage, try reducing how often you automatically sync the clients with your server.
I’m planning to run Vaultwarden on a free instance of render.com, and I wanted to know if this was a good idea? Has anyone over here tried this?
I have not tried this, but i am opinionated: on one hand, self-hosting will always be your most reliable and private option. However, if you have judged other pursuits a more valuable use of your time and mental energy, then it’s probably worth the $20/month (or whatever) if and when your server lands in reorganization jail.
The biggest issue would be your privacy, which almost always goes out the door when money comes into the picture.
I can’t answer most of these except that as long as the render-affixed URL supports https you should have no issues and if it does die you ahould have the last synced cache in your browser. Been able to use my vaultwarden extensions offline no problem.
