1Password 3 Overview

November 19, 2009 in Apps, Featured by David John

I have always been nervous about the concept of a single password or code that unlocks all my website passwords my banking information and my software license keys but after a month of using the amazing 1Password application in terms of what it offers in both convenience and security has resulted in a definite change of mind.

As a former Windows and PocketPC user I stored all my software license keys in a little application called CodeData. When I moved to Mac I was able to export this data as a text file and for the last five years this simple unencrypted text file has been my software license bank.

I had around fifty software license keys, I had a dozen website passwords and around twenty encrypted zips containing confidential data that now have moved over to the really easy to use 1Password application.

The Concept

The concept of 1Password is very simple. It stored your Banking, Website passwords, software keys and secure notes in an encrypted database that is accessibly using a single password. 1Password then integrates with your browser and will enter the appropriate password automatically.

If you browse to a new website that involves username and password 1Password will also ask if you want to save the site to its database. If the site is already in the application you can click the 1Password button in the browser toolbar to autocomplete and execute the form.

After a few days or use 1Password was populated with my regular website usernames and password and after a week I found it had really taken the pain out of remembering site credentials. For added security the software can also generate secure passwords that would be impossible to predict.

As well as the ability to handle software license codes (and pretty much every bit of information about an application you will ever need) you can also add license files as attachments. I have a number of applications (eg FXHome) that use a license file rather than an a key. This feature is handy for storing not only license keys but also receipts for Software or other items.

Secure Notes

The fact that 1Password has the ability to support the attaching of files offers a really nice information encryption & storage system. I have been using 1Password to store registration information and personal files for a few weeks now and I have to say I am accessing these more often than my software keys.

The fact that everything stored in 1Password can be tagged means software licences, websites, and notes can be found really easily through the powerful search feature.

Browser Support

1Password is fully compatible with all the popular web browsers so you are not just restricted to Safari. Browser integration means you don’t have to leave Safari to add or retrieve your username and passwords from your favourite websites. A single 1Password button means all the essential site credentials can be passed to the appropriate form instantly.

As is the case for the software license view you can view your stored website passwords in shelf like view or as a list, better still 1Password automatically adds a thumbnail of the site for easy recognition.

Banking and Forms

1 Password has the ability to automatically fill Credit Card information in while shopping and also automatically complete your address and contact information. I have no doubt that 1Password has the ability to securely store my credit card information yet it is one area of life I can’t bring myself to store in a piece of software.

When using 1Password your data is stored in your 1Password database which on your local computer but for me storing financial data is a step too far.

Strong Password Generator

If you find it difficult to come up with strong passwords or find you end up using the same password over and over again 1Password offers a nifty feature to generate and store passwords automatically. This method means the passwords used are not only strong and very difficult to remember they are also only accessible from within 1Password.

Access Your Data Anywhere

1Password touch for iPhone and iPod touch is great for viewing and editing all your private information. For read-only and low-security sites, however, 1Password Touch allows you to login directly in Safari.

The Safari Login Bookmarklet makes this possible by allowing you to selectively sync your data to Safari as a bookmarklet. Once synced, simply click the bookmarklet from Mobile Safari’s bookmarks window, enter your access code, and 1Password will fill in your login information

Automatically Keep Your Data in Sync Between Macs

It is easy to sync your 1Password encrypted database between two Macs using the popular dropbox service. 1Password make setting up this service very easy but check out our guide on Dropbox and Things for an overview of the concept.  As you can see in the screenshot below my 1password database is stored in my 1Password storage area that is synced on both Macs.

The user interface is stunning with the software license icons, website thumbnails making 1Password very easy to navigate and use. 1Password 3 is a particularly significant upgrade offering  a number of improvements and over 50 new features. There is three-finger multi-touch swiping for MacBook owners, spell checking in Secure Notes, and many more.

If you store your license keys in text files or frequently forget a password for a website you visit then 1Password 3 will definitely make your life considerably easier.