Master Password and 2FA

[devNull2and1]

first of all, thank you very much for the great program that we have been using for a long time now and are always happy when there are nightly builds.

with increasing cyber attacks and a world, sinking into chaos, would it be possible to add a master password and optionally a two-factor authentication (challenge response with yubikey, alternative key files for usb stick)?

this way mRemoteNG would not be directly accessible if there is a threat of compromise

[devNull2and1]

@Kvarkas @xRushG would be very nice to hear what you think about that idea. at least, i would donate a yubikey for testing? :O)

[xRushG]

I believe the point is that mRemoteNG is designed and should remain designed for both private users and businesses. In private settings, usability is crucial, often allowing passwords to be stored easily. While it would be advisable for users to set up a "Master Password" if they desire, the majority would likely not undertake the complexity and potential costs of implementing 2FA.

From a business perspective, security holds much greater importance. However, one might question why mRemoteNG needs to surpass or even compete with a separate tool. The primary focus of mRemoteNG lies in its function as a Connection Manager, not as a password vault. For instance, a project like KeePass possesses far more expertise regarding security matters, especially in password protection. KeePass would probably never intend to become a remote management tool.

Here, conflicting interests collide, and as previously described, implementing 2FA would indeed be highly demanding in terms of both complexity and maintenance. It's amusing how a 2FA feature sounds appealing, yet I probably wouldn't use it myself! :D But indeed, having a Master Password is fantastic. It provides a layer of protection, particularly for connections, and doesn't expose all the DNS names or IPs on a silver platter. As an administrator I strictly forbid saving passwords to Windows Credential Manager and mRemoteNG, except in programs explicitly designated for such purposes.

[devNull2and1]

private or business perspective. even if the (optional) second factor is a simple usb stick with keyfiles or the hardware-challenge with yubi.
when someone get the config file he is not able to open it with the master password, cause keyfiles / challenge is missing.
if i can decide: i would always prefer the password + keyfiles / challenge.

no one was talking about that mRmoteNG should surpass or compete with other tools like keepass. it was an example how other tools implement a simple second factor with offline challange-respsone without the complex totp integration.

[xRushG]

I just wanted to emphasize what @My1 said about the master key, which implies using an extra-long password. Combining a simple password for typing with a large key in the key file results in the overall password. However, for the less tech-savvy users (Stupidest Assumed User), all of this effort would be in **** if the key remains on the system. 😄

From a technical perspective, there are some adjustments are still needed before 2FA could be considered. But at the moment, I'm not deep enough into the project to be able to judge and it's not my responsibility. For sure, it would be nice to have, if possible. <3

[devNull2and1]

Would be awesome 👍

However, for the less tech-savvy users (Stupidest Assumed User), all of this effort would be in **** if the key remains on the system. 😄

Yes, just leave the key directly in the key lock to protect your house/car effectifly.

[My1]

Frankly i think yubikey could be interesting with per-credential encryption or heck yubikey aside any hmac-secret enabled fido2 key (which is most of them) could also be abused for that, as hmac secret more or less does the same (although granted you can backup a yubi better although mrem should not be used as primary credential storage anyway

[Kvarkas]

Just to FYI - technically changes I am try to implement are exactly to avoid storing any passwords within an app :) but, yes for home users its will be still possible to store them in a local db (app will handle it) at this moment we allow password protection of connection string but negative factor is if user forget it where is no recovery! So what you said is absolutely right but we need to discus more about in what format you perhaps expecting that to be implemented

[devNull2and1]

At the moment i just put mRemoteNG in a VeraCrypt Container with Password + Yubikey. And im fine.
Don't know where the problem is to implement a master password or keyfiles. Sorry don't know the project.
When i loose my password or yubikey, everything is gone. Yes. Thats fine. I like it that way.

You already have encryption. At this point it would be possible to add a master password.

[My1]

At the moment i just put mRemoteNG in a VeraCrypt Container with Password + Yubikey. And im fine. Don't know where the problem is to implement a master password or keyfiles. Sorry don't know the project. When i loose my password or yubikey, everything is gone. Yes. Thats fine. I like it that way.

You already have encryption. At this point it would be possible to add a master password.

what does it use for encryption? it needs to have some key, doesnt it.

one basically frictionless thing that might be neat would be encrypting with DPAPI (#2189) so you dont need a password for the program but the windows account takes care of the encryption.