KeePass is one of my favourite software. It is a password manager which allows to store secure passwords and forget about them. All you need to do is to remember one single (strong) password to open the software and that’s it. Considering the amount of passwords one has to remember these days, there is a bad tendency to use weak memorable passwords – or even worse always the same password! KeePass is good choice since it is cross-platform, uses strong encryption algorithms, and can store data offline.

I’m currently using KeePass2 (update: I now use KeePassX) However, I noticed that if you install KeePass via the Ubuntu Software Center you won’t necessarily install the latest version and you won’t get the latest updates automatically. So here is the procedure to overcome this problem.

First, add the KeePass repository. For example, in Ubuntu:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/jtaylor/keepass/ubuntu precise main"

where precise is the codename of the Ubuntu version (here 12.04 Precise Pangolin). If you don’t know the codename of the Linux version find it out with:

lsb_release -a

Then update the repository directory and install KeePass2:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install keepass2

Finally, open KeePass, click on on Help -> Check for updates and KeePass2 will update to the latest stable version. From now on, Ubuntu will update it automatically.

Update: I’m now using KeePassX which is a native port of KeePass for Linux and Mac OS.