Is 1Password worth it?

[dyn]

Indeed. There aren't that many companies any more that use e-mail for support. Quite a lot use forums and a self service portal instead and/or let you create tickets directly in their issue tracking system.

In other words, make sure you understand how a company's support system works. That solves issues like this where people use a means that the company doesn't support. Do understand that this isn't done to make things more difficult but to make things more easy and quicker. The less means of contacting support you have, the easier and quicker the queue can be managed and addressed.

 

[Les Kern]

Depends. I used it when I was in the IT field and got around a lot. Now that I'm retired it's of no use to me at all. Apple's (and even Windows) solution is just fine. Like anything else it depends on if you need it or just want it.

 

[cobracnvt]

1Password is a great product. I like that you have control of where your encrypted password database is stored and the synching to iPhone works really well.

 

[Max Portakabin]

1Password is a great product. I like that you have control of where your encrypted password database is stored and the synching to iPhone works really well.

Unless you use their account/subscription when you have no control over it.

And this is all they are selling now.

 

[zooby]

.

 

[nzcatfood]

I've used 1Password for about three years on iPhone, iPad and Mac and prefer the iOS version. Its a fantastic app and I use it all the time. However, the new subscription pricing is ridiculously expensive and definitely not worth it when there are alternatives. I would look for alternatives now.

 

[Max Portakabin]

I think you can still get the legacy one-time license. At least earlier this year I could?

It's very difficult to find and reading all of the stuff from AgileBits, they no longer "market" nor "recommend" a single license. That implies it's on life support.

Find it strange a security company is encouraging people to store sensitive data in the cloud, no questions asked. Kinda makes their other advice questionable in the long run.

 

[dragje]

Same here. I love it. I prefer not storing passwords in the cloud, and it works great for the paranoid geeks among us (wifi sync).

it's been stored with the use of encryption in the cloud.

 

[dyn]

Encryption or no encryption, this is data one never should store in the cloud, especially with a service one cannot control whatsoever. This simply makes 1Password no longer an option for business use, especially for those implementing some kind of certification such as ISO 27001 (usually cloud services like these aren't allowed due to not being able to control it and/or not having a certification that is in line with the certification(s) the business uses).

 

[AlexH]

it's been stored with the use of encryption in the cloud.

And that's great. I still like keeping my data local.

 

[Primejimbo]

Encryption or no encryption, this is data one never should store in the cloud, especially with a service one cannot control whatsoever. This simply makes 1Password no longer an option for business use, especially for those implementing some kind of certification such as ISO 27001 (usually cloud services like these aren't allowed due to not being able to control it and/or not having a certification that is in line with the certification(s) the business uses).

Says who? They have a whole support area for business and businesses are using it. I got introduced to these kind of passwords managers when I saw companies using LastPass and Dashlane, and they use a cloud too.

 

[dragje]

And that's great. I still like keeping my data local.

If it helps why not? I've got many devices and more then 1 iPhone and several iPods within my household here, holding passwords data local would be very inconvenient for me.

 

[AlexH]

If it helps why not? I've got many devices and more then 1 iPhone and several iPods within my household here, holding passwords data local would be very inconvenient for me.

I've got three iPads, an iPhone, and a Mac in the house. They all sync automatically via 1Password's local wifi sync feature. Not inconvenient at all for me. It's seamless, and I've never even given it a second thought after an initial 5 min. setup.

 

[mdlyen]

I've got three iPads, an iPhone, and a Mac in the house. They all sync automatically via 1Password's local wifi sync feature. Not inconvenient at all for me. It's seamless, and I've never even given it a second thought after an initial 5 min. setup.

Any Windows machines? I looked at 1Password and it worked great between my MacBookPro, iPhone, iPad but the experience on my Windows machine was less than ideal. There may not be much that can be done about it though, I think the issue is that due to security issues, there are limitations on what files a browser are able to read/write on the local hard drive. Because of that, they have to implement a windows service that the browser can talk to and for some reason, this seems very clunky and hacky to me.

 

[TraderScooter]

I've got three iPads, an iPhone, and a Mac in the house. They all sync automatically via 1Password's local wifi sync feature. Not inconvenient at all for me. It's seamless, and I've never even given it a second thought after an initial 5 min. setup.

Wow, I didn't know about the local wifi sync feature. I've been a 1Password user for years and have been generally happy with it, but the local sync makes me happier...

 

[Mixolyd]

Any Windows machines? I looked at 1Password and it worked great between my MacBookPro, iPhone, iPad but the experience on my Windows machine was less than ideal. There may not be much that can be done about it though, I think the issue is that due to security issues, there are limitations on what files a browser are able to read/write on the local hard drive. Because of that, they have to implement a windows service that the browser can talk to and for some reason, this seems very clunky and hacky to me.

I use it with Win 10. Works fine mostly. They're always updating and improving it. I'm sure soon it will be to the level of Mac app

 

[dyn]

Says who? They have a whole support area for business and businesses are using it. I got introduced to these kind of passwords managers when I saw companies using LastPass and Dashlane, and they use a cloud too.

Say the standards that companies have implemented. However, not every company will implement these standards, because they don't apply to them (if you are not a medical facility you don't have to implement the medical standards, same when you don't do millions of payment transactions and so on). And guess what...I never said anything about this applying to all companies, only to those using those standards. For those companies the use of 1Password, LastPass, Dashlane (which is an abysmal password manager), etc. is forbidden. They need to turn to other alternatives such as KeePass, Enpass, etc. that allow them to store the data on their own systems.

Btw, this isn't limited to standards, laws and regulations also have a say in this. In many cases this rules out storage on American servers/with American companies.

The point you missed is the fact that any form of cloud storage means that it is available 24/7 to anyone. From a security standpoint that increases the risk tremendously. A password protected Word file on your own secured storage might actually be more secure than those online password managers. Businesses really need to take a very good look at their security risks and for those that do, these kind of online password managers are a big no.

 

[AlexH]

Any Windows machines? I looked at 1Password and it worked great between my MacBookPro, iPhone, iPad but the experience on my Windows machine was less than ideal. There may not be much that can be done about it though, I think the issue is that due to security issues, there are limitations on what files a browser are able to read/write on the local hard drive. Because of that, they have to implement a windows service that the browser can talk to and for some reason, this seems very clunky and hacky to me.

I don't have any Windows machines in the mix. Right now, just Apple devices.

 

[Primejimbo]

This simply makes 1Password no longer an option for business use,

And guess what...I never said anything about this applying to all companies,

Yeah...

For those companies the use of 1Password, LastPass, Dashlane (which is an abysmal password manager), etc. is forbidden. They need to turn to other alternatives such as KeePass, Enpass, etc. that allow them to store the data on their own systems.

So anyways, most companies of those calibers that you mentioned don't allow password managers period.

You also would be amazed which companies are of to use them. The ones we work for and work for us are hudge names (fortune 500 companies), and we use them. I know insurance companies (again big name ones) that use them as wall, and yes, the cloud ones.

 

[Bubble99]

Never used it, but heard great things about it. The only thing that worries me is not being able to remember my password say I need to log in on a public computer of something of the sort.

I love it. You don't have to use their password generator. You can use your own passwords, if you are worried about remembering them while traveling.

But common password would still be easy to hack. If you use password of name of favorite animal, food names, TV show, friends names, city, cool names so on would be easy to hack than password like MDCR5%&8Bbv23G!#

But you will never remember MDCR5%&8Bbv23G!#

A password like cupcake may be cool and easier for you to member and sound cool but would be really easy to hack.

 

[Doctor Q]

That's good advice, Bubble99.

When I had only a handful of accounts to keep track of, I made up passwords out of pairs of words, with a digit or punctuation character or two, and memorized them all. When my password collection grew to dozens of accounts, I had to give up that habit. I memorized only the ones I used most, and kept the rest in an encrypted text file.

Then I bought 1Password, and now all of my passwords are long and completely random. On the rare occasion when I have to type one manually, it's a pain, but I have no more concern that a password of mine can be guessed.

 

[tweak25]

I'm looking at 1Password, but am not entirely convinced I need the subscription model.

Enpass seems to provide most of the functionality the "buy once" version of 1Password has at a fraction of the price. Is there any reason to go for 1Password regardless?

 

[Doctor Q]

Here's another article about making strong passwords that you can remember.

I think it's a losing battle. In my opinion, anyone with more than a few password-protected accounts (i.e., just about everyone) can't expect to remember all of their passwords while keeping them strong and, most importantly, not following a pattern that would make it easier to guess one of your passwords if another one is compromised.

I think a smarter strategy is to use a password manager or to keep list of your passwords in a safe place, so that you don't care what the passwords are. That way you won't have an incentive to use short or low-entropy passwords in an effort to memorize them.

 

[Primejimbo]

Say the standards that companies have implemented. However, not every company will implement these standards, because they don't apply to them (if you are not a medical facility you don't have to implement the medical standards, same when you don't do millions of payment transactions and so on). And guess what...I never said anything about this applying to all companies, only to those using those standards. For those companies the use of 1Password, LastPass, Dashlane (which is an abysmal password manager), etc. is forbidden. They need to turn to other alternatives such as KeePass, Enpass, etc. that allow them to store the data on their own systems.

Btw, this isn't limited to standards, laws and regulations also have a say in this. In many cases this rules out storage on American servers/with American companies.

The point you missed is the fact that any form of cloud storage means that it is available 24/7 to anyone. From a security standpoint that increases the risk tremendously. A password protected Word file on your own secured storage might actually be more secure than those online password managers. Businesses really need to take a very good look at their security risks and for those that do, these kind of online password managers are a big no.

I just saw this and thought you would find it interesting.

https://support.1password.com/hipaa/

 

[TonyK]

Here's another article about making strong passwords that you can remember.

I think it's a losing battle. In my opinion, anyone with more than a few password-protected accounts (i.e., just about everyone) can't expect to remember all of their passwords while keeping them strong and, most importantly, not following a pattern that would make it easier to guess one of your passwords if another one is compromised.

I think a smarter strategy is to use a password manager or to keep list of your passwords in a safe place, so that you don't care what the passwords are. That way you won't have an incentive to use short or low-entropy passwords in an effort to memorize them.

This has been my philosophy for a long time, just use a password manager and remember only a few passwords.