# Password Safe > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Password_Safe > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Password_Safe.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_Safe > Source revision: 1338181243 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Free and open-source password manager by Bruce Schneier Password Safe The About box of Password Safe Original author Bruce Schneier Developers Rony Shapiro, volunteers[1] Release January 15, 2002 (2002-01-15) Stable release 3.69.0 / June 29, 2025; 11 months ago (2025-06-29)[2] Written in C++ Operating system Microsoft Windows, Android, Linux (beta) Size 17.0 MB Available in 17 languages Type Password manager License Artistic-2.0 Website www.pwsafe.org Repository github.com/pwsafe/pwsafe **Password Safe** is a [free and open-source](/source/Free_and_open-source_software) [password manager](/source/Password_manager) program originally written for [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows) but supporting a wide array of operating systems, with compatible clients available for [Linux](/source/Linux), [FreeBSD](/source/FreeBSD), [Android](/source/Android_(operating_system)), [IOS](/source/IOS), [BlackBerry](/source/BlackBerry) and other operating systems. ## History The program was initiated by [Bruce Schneier](/source/Bruce_Schneier) at [Counterpane Systems](/source/BT_Managed_Security_Solutions).[3] As of 2025[\[update\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Password_Safe&action=edit) the program is maintained on [GitHub](/source/GitHub) by a group of volunteers.[4][5] ## Design After filling in the master password the user has access to all account data entered and saved previously. The data can be organized by categories, searched, and sorted based on references which are easy for the user to remember.[6] There are various key combinations and mouse clicks to copy parts of the stored data (password, email, username etc.), or use the autofill feature (for filling forms). The program can be set to minimize automatically after a period of idle time and clear the clipboard. It is possible to compare and synchronize (merge) two different password databases. The program can be set up to generate automatic backups. Password Safe does not support database sharing, but the single-file database can be shared by any external sharing method (for example [Syncthing](/source/Syncthing), [Dropbox](/source/Dropbox_(service)) etc.). The password database is not stored online. ## Features - *Note: All uncited information in this section is sourced from the official Help file included with the application* ### Password management Stored passwords can be sectioned into groups and subgroups in a [tree structure](/source/Tree_structure). Changes to entries can be tracked, including a history of previous passwords, the creation time, modification time, last access time, and expiration time of each password stored. Text notes can be entered with the password details. ### Import and export The password list can be exported to various [file formats](/source/File_format) including [TXT](/source/.txt), [XML](/source/XML) and previous versions of Password Safe. Password Safe also supports importing these files. Password Safe supports importing TXT and [CSV](/source/Comma-separated_values) files which were exported from [KeePass](/source/KeePass) version 1.x (V1). KeePass version 2.x (V2) allows databases to be exported as a KeePass V1 database, which in turn can be imported to Password Safe.[*[needs update](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*] Password Safe cannot directly import an XML file exported by KeePass V1 or V2, as the fields are too different. However, the Help file provides instructions for processing an exported XML file with one of multiple [XSLT](/source/XSLT) files (included with Password Safe) which will produce a Password Safe compatible XML file that can then be imported.[*[needs update](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*] ### File encryption Password Safe can encrypt any file using a key derived from a passphrase provided by the user through the [command-line interface](/source/Command-line_interface). ### Password generator The software features a built-in [password generator](/source/Random_password_generator) that generates random passwords. The user may also designate parameters for password generation (length, character set, etc.), creating a "Named Password Policy" by which different passwords can be created. ## Cryptography The original Password Safe was built on Bruce Schneier's [Blowfish](/source/Blowfish_(cipher)) encryption algorithm. Rony Shapiro implemented [Twofish](/source/Twofish) encryption along with other improvements to the 3.xx series of Password Safe.[7] The keys are derived using an equivalent of [PBKDF2](/source/PBKDF2) with [SHA-256](/source/SHA-256) and a configurable number of iterations, currently set at 2048.[8][9] In a 2012 paper analysing various database formats of password storage programs for security vulnerabilities the researchers found that the format used by Password Safe (version 3 format) was the most resistant to various cryptographic attacks.[10] ## Reception Reviewers have highlighted the program's simplicity as its best feature.[11] ## See also - [Free and open-source software portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_and_open-source_software) - [List of password managers](/source/List_of_password_managers) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Members"](https://sourceforge.net/p/passwordsafe/_members/). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Password Safe - Latest News"](https://pwsafe.org/news.shtml). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Password Safe Product Review"](http://www.nmrc.org/pub/review/psafe-1.7.html). NMRC. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205013/http://www.nmrc.org/pub/review/psafe-1.7.html) from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-ghrepo_4-0)** ["PasswordSafe"](https://github.com/pwsafe/pwsafe). GitHub. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210420022635/https://github.com/pwsafe/pwsafe) from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-03-31. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Password Safe | Encryption Download"](https://web.archive.org/web/20101027160352/http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23779-order,4-c,encryption/description.html). PCWorld. Archived from [the original](http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23779-order,4-c,encryption/description.html) on 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Password Safe Review: Make Password Retrieval Easier"](http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/reviews/54432.aspx). Brighthub.com. 2009-10-31. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190344/http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/reviews/54432.aspx) from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["WineHQ – Password Safe"](http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iAppId=4017). WineHQ.org. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120816075453/http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iAppId=4017) from the original on 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2013-02-07. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Shapiro, Rony (2013-02-05). ["Master Key Generation from Master Password"](https://sourceforge.net/p/passwordsafe/discussion/134800/thread/671fd0d4/#2a53). Retrieved November 29, 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Shapiro, Rony (2013-01-08). ["PasswordSafe database format description version 3.29"](https://sourceforge.net/p/passwordsafe/bugs/1097/attachment/formatV3.txt). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-dbformats_10-0)** Gasti, Paolo; Rasmussen, Kasper B. (2012). ["On the Security of Password Manager Database Formats"](https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/files/6487/pwvault.pdf) (PDF). *Computer Security – ESORICS 2012*. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 7459. pp. 770–787. [CiteSeerX](/source/CiteSeerX_(identifier)) [10.1.1.933.5924](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.933.5924). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/978-3-642-33167-1_44](https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-642-33167-1_44). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-642-33166-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-642-33166-4). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Password Safe review"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716102357/http://software-today.com/password-safe-review). Software-Today.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-08-01. ## External links - [Official website](https://www.pwsafe.org) - [Password Safe](https://filehare.com/password-safe-download/) at FileHare.com - [Password Safe](https://www.schneier.com/passsafe.html) at Schneier.com - [pwSafe](https://pwsafe.info/) Password Safe clone for [OS X](/source/OS_X) and [iOS](/source/IOS) - [Password Safe](https://softonline.net/password-safe-windows/) at Softonline.net - [PasswdSafe](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jefftharris.passwdsafe) on [Google Play](/source/Google_Play) v t e Password managers Proprietary 1Password Apple Passwords Dashlane Enpass Intuitive Password Keeper LastPass Myki NordPass Pleasant Password Server RoboForm SafeInCloud Norton Open source Bitwarden Factotum GNOME Keyring KeePass KeePassDX KeePassXC KeeWeb Keychain KWallet Pass Password Safe Proton Pass Seahorse Discontinued Encryptr Firefox Lockwise Gator eWallet KeePassX KYPS Microsoft Authenticator Mitro Offer Assistant Category List of password managers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Password Safe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_Safe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_Safe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.