BlackBerry Password keeper to KeePass Tool

December 19th at 12:00am

I used to be a big BlackBerry fan and have used the company's devices for about 5 years. While BB10 was awesome, The BB Priv and it's android implementation were lacking. I recently migrated to a new Android device and faced a dilemma: what do I do with the over 600 passwords that have accumulated in the BB standard 'Password Keeper' tool?

To address this password migration situation I created the BB to KeePass Converter. This tool converts CSV exports from the BlackBerry Password Keeper tool and processes what it can (there are limitations) to save someone the hassle of re-entering all their passwords


References



System Requirements

  • Microsoft .NET 4.0 Client Profile
  • 15MB of Available RAM
  • KeePass version 2.34
  • Visual Studio Community Edition 2015 (If you want to build the solution)



SECURITY NOTE

Migrating passwords between managers can be risky and time consuming. So while every effort has been made to ensure that this automated tool performs as expected, it is HIGHLY ADVISED that you take appropriately secured (encrypted) backups of your source and destination files and databases before continuing. YMMV.

How to use the Utility

  • Export passwords in CSV format from your BlackBerry Device
  • Copy/Store the password CSV on secure media (Your passwords are most exposed at this time!)
  • Open the BB to KeePass Utility located in BB_Password_Keeper_to_KeePass\BB_Password_Keeper_to_KeePass\bin\Debug

  • Select the CSV file you want to convert
  • Ensure that the KeePass Output file name meets your specifications (it defaults to adding a _keepass.csv suffix to the file)


Now what do I do?

You may have a converted CSV file, so you may be wondering what to do next. At this point you will need to use KeePass

  • Start the KeePass tool
  • Open or create a new database
  • Select "File -> Import..."

  • Select Generic CSV Importer, enter a file name and continue

  • Click through the Encoding, Structure and Preview tabs to make sure things look right

  • On the Preview tab click the Finish button
  • Be sure to Save your database to not lose your work


What gotchas are there?

I just ran this against my 600+ passwords and the only 'gotcha' I can see is that BlackBerry (in their infinite wisdom, no doubt), does not export Security Questions when you export from Password Keeper.

This means that I have to go through each and every password entry to see which ones use the dedicated 'security questions' feature and which do not. Fortunately for me, VERY FEW of my passwords use the dedicated security question feature (instead I've just placed them in the comments). However, that may not be true for you.

I could have avoided all this hassle if I had been willing to pay BlackBerry $1 per month for 'BlackBerry Services' on my new Samsung Galaxy S7. I didn't feel like being held hostage which is why I've chosen this approach. If you just want things to work and don't mind spending $12/year, you can get Password Keeper to work on your Android device.


Download

Download the BB_to_KeePass.zip [GPL Open Source]

Or, Visit us on GitHub BB Password Keeper to KeePass Utility