1Password

What did I do before using a password wallet program on my computer? I can’t honestly remember. The horror of having to remember all the passwords for all the web sites, and yes, I’ve tried algorithms only to be bested by odd limitations that bump my perfect algorithm, like only 6 characters (not less or more) and other wacky things web sites do.

I’ve been using 1Password now for more than a year, gosh maybe two years and loving it.

1Password does a fantastic job of keeping my passwords in one place securely, but doesn’t rest there. The browser plug-in makes my logins one key stroke away – when I arrive at a login page of a site I’ve been to I press Cmd-\ and 1Password autofills the username and password and hits enter to submit. If I have multiple logins, like to gmail, it gives me a floating menu of options to choose from. So smooth. After using it for a while and starting to trust it I began to change my passwords away from my old algorithm to new long and complex passwords, using the password generation tool.

I make a lot of online purchases, mostly for work, but for home as well. 1Password allows me to save my credit card information in the same way that it saves the login information – when I am on the page to submit credit card information I choose which card from a pulldown and the plug-in intelligently fills in the necessary information. All the data is stored very securely.

They’ve recently enhanced their iPhone app which syncs wirelessly with the desktop and allows me access to all my secure information when away from the computer.  I also use the Notes and Identities and organizational folders to keep track of everything.