1Password to Rule Them All
In this post not only am I going to tell you all about this amazing application, I’m giving you a chance to win 1 of 2 copies, kindly donated by the amazing folks over at Agile Web Solutions.
So, you have about a dozen email accounts, a list of forums longer than your arm, your online banking, all those must have members only sites and just about every other website under the sun that in some way wants you to remember some form of authentication to get through the gates. The simple, and by far the most insecure, way of handling this would be to have a single password to all these sites, even worse it’s a dictionary password or something so obvious even a dog could guess it (yes that’s right Beiju, I do mean you!)
So, the best way to handle all those logins is to have multiple passwords, all über secure and all so hard to remember you’ll have to reset your password on said site every time you visit, well that’s where 1Password from Agile Web Solutions comes in.
1Password is an application for OS X Tiger and Leopard that lets you manage your passwords for multiple sites, stores secure notes, financial details, your personal details to fill in forms and much more. It contains a plug in for most modern browsers including Safari, Firefox, Camino, Fluid and even the browser component of NetNewsWire.
The name 1Password comes from the way the application secures all these various details. You have a single password (called the Master Password) which unlocks the 1Password Keychain and grants you access to all your sensitive data. Obviously it’s important to make this password secure, if someone gets hold of your Mac and you have a weak password protecting your 1Password keychain, then it’s pretty much game over.
So how does 1Password collect and store your details? Well there’s a browser component to 1Password, in Safari it’s just a little icon on the toolbar, but in Firefox you get the button plus the extra 1Password Toolbar which gives you access to some of the best features, including the very simple to use ‘Generate Password’ toolbox. Whenever you sign into a website that uses a standard <form> method of collecting your login details 1Password will ask you if you want to save these details to it’s keychain, you can name the entry and even file the login under different folders for various groupings of login details.
Once you start to build up a library of logins in your 1Password keychain you’ll want to manage these easily, and Agile have really thought this out, you just a launch the 1Password application itself and once you unlock the keychain you are presented with the amazingly simple, yet still powerful, main window
As you can see the main window gives you access to all the features of 1Password and lets you manage the secure information you have stored within, you’ll also notice the features to sync to both an iPhone / iPod Touch running the corresponding free 1Password app (App Store link) and a Palm OS based device (nice to see a bit of nostalgia there, I admit to being a former Palm Tungsten T2 owner).
You can see the sort of things you can store securely, and in most cases restore into web sites very simply, the fact I no longer have to keep fishing out my debit or credit card when I need to fill them in non-PayPal enabled sites is just one of the reasons I love this app. 1Password really does take password management far beyond the scope of the built in tools in your browser and, at least for me, is my complete solution for storing secure data in an easy to access way and with the syncronisation with 1Password on my iPhone I can easily carry that data around with me, knowing it’s safe from prying eyes.
Oh and one other awesome feature I really must mention, with a little bit of setup you can get your 1Password keychain syncing across multiple machines using the awesome DropBox service, and of course MobileMe if you have an account. This has saved my bacon on so many ocassions when I’ve moved back to the family iMac for various reasons and have needed to login to the uber secure website I needed at the time but couldn’t remember the password for the life of me.
I could spend all month writing a detailed how-to guide on 1Password, and I honeslty doubt I’d scratch the surface of what it can do. So I think I’ll hand you over to my good friend and fellow podcaster Don McAllister from from ScreenCastsOnline to show you a bit more about the App in his two screencasts SCO078 and SCO129, of course if you want to get the full versions of the shows make sure you go and sign up using the nice banner on our sidebar, which helps both IMP and Don.
So, I hinted that you may be able to win one of two copies of this amazing application kindly donated by the folks at Agile Web Solutions, well I didn’t just write that to entice you to read the rest of the post, but hey that’s not a bad idea for future posts, I kid of course! So what do you need to do, well I liked Sebastian’s idea of making you interact with the post by leaving a comment on this post telling us why you think you should get one of the copies, and for a bit of fun why not tell us the most obvious and most obscure passwords you could think of (obviously don’t tell us one that you actually use, or we’ll have to send Bart to deal with you for such behaviour!)
Our usual terms and conditions apply (cue Connor’s sound byte!) : one entry per human being, IMP team members are prohibited from taking part in the competition, oh and of course keep the comments clean any naughtiness will result in your comment not being aproved and you wouldn’t want that now would you?
I’ve 10′s of dozens of emails and social networks longer than my arms. So… I think I deserve the copy.
1Password has been a godsend for managing all the various sites and forums I belong too. OpenID is a wonderful solution, but not everyone implements it on their sites, so 1Password is the next line of defense in keeping my passwords suitably random and secure.
1Password is a god send. OpenID is a great solution as well but many websites do not use it, so 1Password allows me to suitably randomize my passwords and stay secure easily.
I think I should be eligible for a copy of 1Password because it actually won't be for me! I'm trying to win it for my friend who just picked up his FIRST Mac!
He got an aluminum MacBook and I'm heading to his birthday party tonight. I have a small present but would love to follow up later that I have a FREE copy of 1Password for him to use! That would make my day and make his new Mac experience even better.
As for obscure passwords here's my list of the top 3:
1. 12345
2. password
3. (insert your first/last name)
Thanks for the contest!
Cheers, Stu and the rest of the IMPodcast team! We're thrilled about the write-up and very pleased to be featured here. Good luck with the contest, everyone. =)
–
Gita Lal
AWS Customer Care
http://agile.ws
http://support.agile.ws
http://twitter.com/1Password
I currently work as ICT Technician within a high school in Norfolk, UK. 1Password has been an application that I have considered buying in the past but have never realised the potential of the app. As fairly recent switcher of about 3 years ago I have been trying to first get used to the wonders of OSX Leopard’s built in apps and utilities. The built in Key Chain in Leopard just amazed me, coming from windows where there is just nothing that comes close to being the windows version of Key Chain.
I have listened to Merlin Mann and Adam Christianson on Mac related podcasts talk highly about 1Password. At the time I did not think that it was that much better than the built in Key Chain. After using Key Chain for a few years I have started realise it’s limitations. The limitations are:
- That it does not help generate unique secure non dictionary passwords.
- Does not have cross browser support (only works in Safari).
- Form auto fill is a bit flaky (fails to fill forms and add passwords on some financial sites etc).
- No app on the iPhone / iPod touch to sync passwords etc onto the device.
1Password has none of the above limitations as it has all those features included and more in the app. I have heard of people say that 1Password is Key Chain on steroids and I have to say they are totally right. This app has so many features that I could use that if I went through them all, this comment would turn into a blog post of it’s own.
I really need this app because working in IT there are hundreds of usernames, passwords and forms to remember and fill in. Although I have a great memory it is nearly impossible at times to remember all of these passwords and details. Because of this I have left myself less secure than I would like to be by using the same password on multiple sites. 1Password would enable me to have very secure unique passwords and leave me to concentrate on the job that I am doing instead of a list of passwords. The peace of mind it would give just knowing that I only need to know 1Password.
Working in IT you come across loads of dumb passwords to use. The most obvious password used by users regularly is there own name. What’s even more worrying is the amount of people I see with a sticky note on their computer with their username and password on it. Also the same on a bit of paper kept inside a closed notebook. What are these people thinking? (nothing I suppose).
1Password is an amazing app that is indispensable. Looking at it, I love how it can create long obscure STRONG passwords for you, and then remember them all. It makes me feel more secure knowing that someone's not going to guess my password. Ever. *I* can't even guess my password. Scary…
The best passwords are those that take parts of words of phrases. Those help me remember. The worst/obvious ones are – password, admin, *username*, and the infamous *username123*. If they'd at LEAST throw in a capitalization!! *UserName123*…please, make it a little difficult! LOL
1Password should be installed on every Mac sold. It's that good and that necessary.
The worst passwords are password and 12345. With 1Password you can use something like: jD-k3=5,d):;q<M73,0
1Password should be on every mac. It is that important and I think apple should build it in OSX. Then again, maybe not.
Obscure passwords of mine
login
password
qwerty
I think I should use 1Password. 1Password is really usful to keep you secrity high. I think I should use it because I use the same password for post things.
Hello IMP
I have looked at 1password with regard to buying it for my imac, but have not done so yet just in case I win a copy in your fantastic competition
If I was fortunate enough to win my master password will be
StuConnorChrisBartJasonKeatonBrandonNickNateRobMichaelSebastionNickPaulWillPhelimEvanOllyJoelHelm
Love the show guys keep 'em coming.
Cheers
Mike
http://www.brightphotos.co.uk
I learned of this app from dalison, will probably give it a try and perhaps write it up for our MUG (Wash Apple Pi). Password discussion reminds me a while back – a big office rollout of new OS/machines accompanied by training in how important to have separate pws for machine log-in, network log-in, database log-in, etc., etc. After a couple of weeks fielding too many calls by people forgetting their multiple pws, the word came down, 'OK, use 1 pw for all of these but PLEASE change it periodically…
Meanwhile, I vote for first Gary to get a free copy.
I am new switcher so I missed 1Password in MacHeist Bundle and I am so sorry because of it. Maybe you can help me?
I think that a stupid password would be "password".
God just told me that you should give me a free copy
In my opinion the forename and the surname of a person is a really bad password. I would like to receive a copy of 1Password, because I need a license for my second Mac
Most obvious password – blank, so many users I support can't think of one and just press enter!
Most obscure – $±§!__+=?/(*)(*)?=+__!§±$ try remembering that one off the top of your head!
I would like to win a copy because I am so poor, I had to sell my brain for charity (therefore can't remember passwords) just to feed the 400 kids I look after and support my 7 wives, 40 servants and a huge amount of houses and gardens. So you can see I am a very needy person and you will take pity on me and think – yes I wanna help that great guy!