Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2018/06/18/1password-7-for-mac-offers-a-fresh-look-for-an-upgrade-price/
AgileBits has released 1Password 7, the company’s first paid upgrade in many years. Are the changes to 1Password mini and many visual improvements worth the cost of admission?
I installed 1Password 7 on my Macs a month ago and I enjoy the changes. Mostly interface improvements. I like it enough to bite the bullet and switch to the family account rather than purchase a one time license. It is simply nicer to use than 1Password 6. I find that some bugs when using the mini app have gone away. Works fine with vaults shared with the iOS version using iCloud and I assume DropBox so you can keep your data under your control if you wish.
You can install version 7 and keep version 6 on your Mac if you decide not to try it out for a month and leave yourself the option to stay with 6.
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I tried 1Password a few years back and really did not like it. So I went back to PasswordWallet which is more intuitive and ergonomic for me. Each to his own I guess.
Bought the standalone version for my Mac’s. I also bought the beta version for Windows as well, I just wish they would update it since there are pieces missing in it.
- You can only sync via Dropbox not iCloud which makes if difficult to sync with the Mac’s. I have asked them to maybe think on giving the option of exporting the vault that is uploaded to Dropbox so I could import it rather than using Dropbox. Well see what happens
1Password was the replacement for my Palm Pilot password keeper. I’ve been using it forever, and I haven’t had to pay for an upgrade since 2013. (I know that because I keep my software licenses in 1Password, too.)
I installed 1PW7 on my office iMac 2 weeks ago, and opted to try the account option, trial for 30 days. In the end the subscription is not at all compelling, and I’m going to bail out of it. To do that, I’ve gleaned that I’ll have to ask AgileBits for support help. I’ll likely also have to install v7 on another Mac, and choose the “standalone” option from there.
I like the interface changes. A point you didn’t mention in your article, Josh, is that AgileBits applies security fixes only by rolling out a complete file of the latest version. So if you stay on v.6, you risk vulnerability to possible security holes.
I’ve been synching via Dropbox for years, and the only issue I’ve ever encountered involves sometimes waiting a moment if I’ve just woken up a device for the 1PW file to sync. I’ve synced across multiple Macs, iPhone, and iPad, and everything always works. Couldn’t do without it.
I came in to post the same thing. The 1Password support people were friendly and supportive, but it just wasn’t working well on certain sites because 1Passwords tries to guess where to paste stuff.
On the other hand, I’ve been using PasswordWallet for years, and I find it “just works” and I don’t run into all the problems I did when trying 1Password.
I’m surprised PasswordWallet is not talked about more. It’s great.
I couldn’t find how to buy a standalone license a couple of weeks ago, in spite of the website copy clearly indicating that it was an option. I spent a good 5 minutes trying to do it. In the end I decided I would stick with v6 rather than pay an annual use tax.
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A year ago, after having never used a password manager in twenty plus years of Mac, I purchased the 1P app from the vendor. Because I am not a genius, it took two days of struggle to learn how make the 1P list of passwords, vendors, licenses, notes. It took awhile to realize what is being saved to Safari, and to 1P and how to identify the differences.
This year I moved 1P to yearly rental through Apple, found it much cheaper, and I try to get the majority of my apps from Apple now. Easier after a clean install.
I recommend 1P. It took awhile to figure out its use, but impossible to live without on all my devices.
I’ve been using Safari for passwords, etc. Had to turn off some Autofill preferences to get 1Password to work. But it doesn’t work automatically like Safari does. I have to go to the 1Password icon in the menubar to choose the login and password. It works fast once I select the right one. On the other hand, with Safari I have to place the cursor in the login field and select from a pulldown menu, which I can do with the arrow keys. Obviously 1Password has many more features—for the power user. But I’m not sure it makes enough difference for an average user like me. Though the new interface is attractive as is the ability to find out if my passwords have been stolen. But that’s probably more useful for a Yahoo user, whose passwords are stolen on a regular basis. On the other hand, one could avoid having to change passwords regularly if you know they haven’t been appropriated. The decision is a toss-up.
Then again, theoretically, anyone could use my passwords in Safari, if anyone else used my computer. Which they don’t. 1Password will only stay open for a specified period of time before you have to reenter your master password. So that is more secure in principle. Still…
I agree. It just works. One odd thing is I learned about PW from a TidBITs article many years ago.
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P.S: Well, I broke down and bought a 1Password 7 subscription. No easy task, involving as it did numerous misdirections. So, I started going through my passwords and improving the weak ones. The only problem is that you have to change the password at the specific web site. And that’s not an easy thing to do. My attempt at Citi was a bust. So I reverted the password. I may have to do the same with others, as well. My GitHub password is reported as compromised but GitHub offers no way to change the password. So while I find the added information useful, it’s not so easy to use. Can you spell “pain in the butt?”
I’ve been using 1Password for more than 10 years, and would not like to contemplate life without it. I will upgrade, but first I would really like to know what the options are, and what they cost. You mention that it’s possible to buy a license as opposed to a subscription. But I can find no information, anywhere, about the license option. Any thoughts?
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Funny though…I also used to use PW…but switched to 1PW because the browser integration actually worked. Maybe PW has improved that feature in the 4 years or so it’s been. My wife still uses PW…won’t switch… it then she doesn’t use the browser stuff, she looks up the password and types it in. I keep threatening as the head of family IT to make her switch…but decided it ain’t worth the grief I would get.
I’ve always found 1PW way more intuitive and it has categories, secure notes, etc.
There’s a checkbox in the entry for autofill in the macOS app IIRC…mine fill automatically. Laptop is in the other room so I can’t check.
In 1Password entries I can specify open and fill or just open for the url to the site I’m going to…that way it passes the correct url to Safari and then enters the credentials. You need to go through 1PS to get it to work that way though…if you go to the site directly in Safari then you need to click the toolbar button to fill in the credentials.
If you use LaunchBar or (probably) Alfred and allow it to scan the 1PW database…then you can use LaunchBar to choose the correct 1Password entry and then Safari gets the url and credentials passed directly.
Why use the menu when the command-backslash shortcut is available to fill the login info? (Can be set to submit immediately, or fill and wait for you to hit return.)
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I did a thorough testing of main password managers a few years back and decided for PW. Neither 1Pass nor LastPass (which my wife uses) made me satisfied. I am an avid and happy user of PW ever since. I actually use it to store all bunch of information besides just passwords (we are talking close to 800 records), so having it not integrated with any browser is a big plus for me. It has all functionality needed and I don’t mind 2 extra clicks. The only place it falls short is syncing multiple devices. PW uses dropbox-based sync which is not as reliable as a centrally-kept repository. At work, where I need passwords on multiple devices, I use KeyShade from Rayner. It is less in my face than 1Pass or LastPass. As John said: each to his own.
Safari’s autofill feature is great if all you use is Safari, but I often need to use other browsers, including browsers on Windows. 1Password allows me to maintain just one set of information, and it’s available to all browsers and on all platforms I use.
With the 1Password 7 upgrade, I decided to switch from standalone licenses to the family subscription. I don’t really mind a subscription for software that’s updated regularly like 1Password is. Cost-wise, it’s a pretty good deal for me since it includes version 7 for all platforms. It also spares a few of my family members from paying for the upgrade.
I thought I’d mention that AgileBits is selling $125 gift cards for $99 right now, for those interested in 1password.com accounts.
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In the 1P preferences, in the Browser tab, you can direct 1P to automatically sign in after entering the site credentials. But this behavior is not useful if you are checking logins and passwords. I use a Safari extension called ShowPass to reveal passwords when I press the Command key so that I can see what I’m entering. Coordinating 1Password with web sites is a tedious process and I need to see what I’m doing, especially when it’s not working.
This still doesn’t answer the question about autofill, which Safari does more easily. In 1P you have to access the mini app in the menu bar to get a password.
After more study (while I’m writing this) I’ve found that you can call the mini app with a keyboard shortcut, listed in the General tab in Preferences. The default is Option-Command-. The option to autofill is Command-, which works sometimes, when I have the credentials coordinated. Which I guess more or less works as an autofill, if I can remember the shortcut.
Using LaunchBar is a bit roundabout. I have bookmarks for the pages I access regularly so I don’t need a third-party app to get there. In any case, it will take me some time to get 1Password sorted out so that it works as well as Safari. It seems I can cancel my subscription if I’m not happy so we shall see. But then I spent a long time getting Safari to autofill the right information so I guess more patience is called for.
I did a thorough testing of several password managers a few years back and decided for PW. Neither 1Pass nor LastPass (which my wife uses) made me satisfied. I am an avid and happy user of PW ever since. I actually use it to store all bunch of information besides just passwords (we are talking close to 800 records), so having it not integrated with any browser is a big plus for me. It has all functionality I need and I don’t mind 2 extra clicks. The only place it falls short is syncing multiple devices. PW uses dropbox-based sync which is not as reliable as a centrally-kept repository. At work, where I need passwords on multiple devices, I opted for KeyShade from Rayner. It is less in my face than 1Pass or LastPass. As John said: each to his own.