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1Password now available on Mac App Store
If you haven't already heard, AgileBits has unleashed their fantastic password manager 1Password upon the Mac App Store. Not only is it now available in a convenient easy-to-update form, but this new version will include new features and an easy upgrade path to 4.0. Not to mention it's also HALF off at the moment. For those of you who have somehow missed the 1Password boat, it is a password manager that lets you set a "master password" and then stash all sorts of sensitive info behind it: website logins, credit card numbers, software serial numbers, even secure notes. One of my favorite features is password generation: I can tell it my Facebook password needs to be 16 character and super high security and boom! As if by magic, I have a highly crack-resistent password. Thanks to the magic of browser add-ons I can fill in web forms with my credit card information or any other bit of stuff I have secreted away behind that master password. Did I mention they also have an iOS app and Dropbox syncing so all your goodies are available on all your Apple hardware? Well, there you go. (There's a Windows version too, should you need that sort of thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that.) If you're an existing customer, here are a few of the changes you'll want to know about in the new version: A new menubar icon for easy access from any application, full-screen support and 64-bit support. This new version requires Lion, so be sure you're all upgraded before you pull the trigger. We here at TUAW rather like 1Password, since it's a straightforward app that does what it does very well. If you haven't yet moved to some sort of password solution, this is a great opportunity to do so. Congratulations to AgileBits on getting to show off all the hard work they've been doing lately!
Our favorite tips and hints for 1Password, now out on Windows and Chrome
1Password is having a big week. The Windows version has arrived at version 1.0, and Google Chrome support has been added. In addition, there are a lot of new 1Password users this week, thanks to Agile's promotion that let users give away free licenses to friends. Not using 1Password yet? New customers can save 20% right now. You can also get a free copy of "Take Control of Passwords on Mac OS X" just by logging into Agile's Customer Center. It seemed like a good time to share some of my favorite 1Password tips and hints. First: Track your weak passwords. If you are like most people, you have a handful (hopefully more than one!) of passwords that you reuse at several different sites. 1Password can help by generating secure passwords for you, but at first, you might just want to tell 1Password to save your logins at all of the sites that you log into because you don't think you have time to change them all. If so, create a Smart Folder to track weak passwords. A "Smart Folder" will act much like saved Spotlight searches in Finder, Smart Mailboxes in Mail or Smart Playlists in iTunes: define some criteria, and 1Password will show you all the entries that match. For example, let's say that you use "billy1" as your password for a bunch of sites. Go to File » New Smart Folder, and tell 1Password to look for Passwords that contain "billy1," click the "Save" button and name the Smart Folder. When you are ready to start making secure passwords, use that folder to keep track of all of the websites where you used that same weak password. More tips after the break...
Agile Web Solutions takes over development of Knox
Years ago I started using Knox for securing files, folders and drives. It's an easy and very secure way to keep your private files private. This week, long-time developers Marko Karppinen & Co. handed it over to Agile Web Solutions. As Agile is behind the popular 1Password, I think it was a great choice. In fact, the two utilities work well together: Knox protects your files while 1Password protects your passwords. Knox employs the US Government's Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit or 128-bit key length. What that means is that your stuff is safe from the cranky teenager down the block as well as hostile nations. I've used it to secure USB flash drives, as they're so easy to misplace. Version 2 is available here. It's a useful application that's in good hands at Agile. A 30-day free trial is available, and a single license will run you US$34.95.
1Password for Windows beta available
For a lot of our readers, working with a Windows machine at the office is a way of life; in other words, you probably don't have a choice. Agile Web Solutions, developers of the popular 1Password and 1Password touch applications for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, have announced today that a Windows version of 1Password is available for beta testing. This means that for the first time, it will be possible to use 1Password for password syncing and storage of private information on the Windows platform as well as the various Apple platforms without resorting to the 1Password Anywhere web-based access feature. For those of you who have changed a password on a corporate system at work, only to find out when you're working from home on your Mac that you can't remember it, this is going to be a real help. No pricing or final release date has been announced, but you can join in on the fun of testing the Windows version by downloading a copy from the 1Password Windows forum.
1Password on your iPad
1Password, the oft-mentioned password manager and form filler, has just posted mockups of their in-the-works iPad version. Previously available on the desktop and for the iPhone, 1Password has undergone some visual overhauls already. The iPad version appears to take the current interface a little further with a few nice visual tweaks, and take full advantage of the large touch area of the iPad. The design looks great to me, and I especially like the main toolbar with its recessed icons. The developers (and their graphic designer) appear to be taking the new form factor into consideration and generating a very usable interface. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the iPad version, pending the purchase of an iPad, of course. Check out the post at the developer's blog for a better look!
1Password 3.0 out of beta
1Password 3.0 is available today for Leopard and Snow Leopard users, with a bunch of new features. Top of the list is 1PasswordAnywhere, which allows you to view 1Password data from any other computer --Windows, Mac, Linux, whatever -- with a modern browser like Safari or Firefox. (It should also allow you to use 1Password passwords on Mac browsers where the tool is not fully supported, such as Opera or Google Chrome.) I've been using the 3.0 betas since Snow Leopard was released, and they have been completely stable. It is also possible to sync your 1Password keychain data over Dropbox so that all of your password information is available on all of your Macs. (Dropbox users: you may want to read this article about slimming 1Password backups if you store your 1Password backups on Dropbox. It dropped my backups from 21MB to 1MB.) For those who aren't familiar with 1Password, let me tell you, it does more than just store passwords. It will generate them for you so you don't end up using the same lame password on a whole bunch of sites because it is the only one you can remember. All you have to remember is the password for 1Password (hence the name!). It will also manage multiple logins on the same page. My favorite feature? It will store credit card information and autofill forms for you with your billing/shipping address. I use this all the time, and whenever a website asks me if I want it to save my credit card information, I can say "No" and not have to worry about their security being compromised and my credit card information being exposed. Another new feature is the Vault for storing software licenses, as well as file attachments. iPhone sync has been redesigned, and 1Password items can now be edited in the browser. (See all new features here.) This is a very worthy "new version" release packed with a lot of bang for your buck. Which brings us to the "How much does it cost?" information. Agile is having a sale on upgrade licenses as part of the release: If you purchased 1Password 2 on or after February 1, 2009 you get a free upgrade to 1Password 3. For bonus points: your current license should "just work" in the new version. If you bought a license for any previous version of 1Password before February 1 (even if you got it through a bundle deal like MacHeist) single user license upgrades are $19.95, and Family 5-Pack licenses are $29.95. Note that this price is only good through November 30, 2009. For new users can try a fully-functioning 1Password 3 demo for 30 days. New single licenses are $39.95, and Family 5-Packs are $69.95. A 30-day money back guarantee is offered. 1Password is an essential addition to my life on the web. I bought my upgrade as soon as it was available. 1PasswordAnywhere is going to solve the biggest hurdle to using secure passwords everywhere (since I sometimes have to use Windows). The folks at Agile are very responsive to support requests, both via email and on Twitter, so your money is going to support active Mac and iPhone developers. If you haven't tried 1Password before, now is a good time to check it out.
Sneak Peek: 1Password 3.0 + secret beta-enabler tweak
As Christina mentioned a while ago, 1Password version 3 is on the horizon, and we've got some sneak peeks to show you. There are some great improvements to the core, but more immediately noticeable are the visual tweaks to the interface. The entire UI has been overhauled, and I'm impressed. Take a look at the gallery to see for yourself. Oh, and check the end of the post if you missed out on the private beta but want to play with version 3 on your machine! Haven't heard of 1Password? It's a form-filling, password-storing, iPhone-syncing, highly-secure information storage system. It handles software licenses, secure notes, credit cards and, of course, passwords. It can generate impossible-to-crack passwords on-the-fly, and then remember them for you. All you have to remember is, that's right, one password. Get it? Read on for a quick walkthrough of new 1Password features, and a little trick to get your hands on it early ...
WWDC Quick/Cut: Dave Teare of Agile Web Solutions on 1Password
We, of course, had lunch with our favorite Canadian developers at WWDC. Talking with Dave, Roustem and the rest of the crew from Agile Web Solutions is something I look forward to anytime we're all in San Francisco. I didn't film the whole lunch; being filmed eating is almost as awkward as eating alone in the cafeteria, I think. So here's a quick -- but very interesting -- clip of Dave Teare explaining how cut-and-paste in iPhone OS 3.0 is going to be used in 1Password. If you're a 1Password user, you'll probably want to check it out!
Agile Web Solutions at Macworld 2009
It's always a pleasure to see the guys from Agile Web Solutions. I spoke to them about three upcoming features for 1Password, their secure, password-collecting, form-filling application. I won't go into a lot of detail on 1Password, we've mentioned it a few times before. First, we talked a little about the new Agile Keychain format; being a package format, it opens up quite a few possibilities, including the (upcoming) ability to add encrypted notes in rich text format, complete with links and attachments. We also talked about what happened to my1Password, the web-based version of 1Password: it's evolving into a portable version which can be carried around on a USB stick or accessed through something like drop.io. Lastly, they're incorporating fingerprint scanning (0Password?), which will work with both wired and portable USB versions of the fingerprint scanner. Thanks to Dave and Roustem for their time! Note that I made it through this post without making a single reference to your Canadian colloquialisms, eh? Also note that it's Roustem on the left and Dave on the right at the beginning of the clip, even though I introduced them the other way around. Read on for the video.
Agile offering free licenses, 15% discount
Agile Web Solutions today offered its customers a Thanksgiving present: a free copy of 1Password. Existing customers are encouraged to give up to three extra licenses to their friends by visiting Agile's website and providing their information. New customers can also benefit: If you purchase 1Password today, you get two licenses for the price of one. Agile is also offering a discount to new orders, taking 15 percent off your final total. The promotion ends Sunday.
1Password 2.9 and the Agile Keychain
We may have mentioned it one or two (dozen) times, but 1Password is a great solution for securely managing passwords, credit cards and notes on a Mac (and recently the iPhone). If you're a 1Password fan, be sure to check out the 2.9 release from last weekend; it has a pretty huge new feature. For quite a while now there have been grumblings about the OS X Keychain being a bit of a beast, especially when handling large amounts of data. Rather than waiting out Apple for new improvements to the Keychain system, the stalwart coders at Agile Web Solutions decided to write their own. If you dig into the Keychain section of the preferences in 1Password 2.9, you'll find an option to "Switch to Agile Keychain Format." What's the difference? First, it allows easy file-based synchronization, making possible non-MobileMe solutions for syncing up multiple Macs. Further, it maintains speedy access even when it contains gigs of data, as well as supporting much higher levels of encryption. Sounds good to me. If you're ready to switch your keychain format, head over to the developer's blog for detailed instructions, and read up on the various options for automatic sync between Macs. 1Password 2.9 is a free upgrade for existing users, and new users can grab a free trial. A single license runs $39.95USD with a family pack available for $59.95USD. For the full changelog for this release, check the version history page.
1Password 2.7 gets a little sexier
I know we just mentioned the upcoming iPhone version of 1Password yesterday, so I'll make this quick. Version 2.7 (of the desktop variety) was just released and it adds a brand new feature: a fully keyboard-accessible HUD window which allows you to instantly navigate to a website and log in. According to the developers, this feature has been In the works for over a year. It integrates all of your "Go & Fill" 1Click bookmarks directly into your web browser. The HUD window (yes, I have a weak spot for those sexy, transparent black HUDs) has a search feature at the top of it which allows for speedy location of the bookmark you're looking for. So, please excuse the extra mention; I think this new feature is useful enough to warrant a quick note. Current users just need to check the auto-updates within the application. Curious parties can visit the 1Password page.
Sneak peek: 1Password iPhone pics
We stumbled upon some preview pictures of 1Password for the iPhone (see our WWDC chat with Agile Web Solutions), which were deleted almost as quickly as they surfaced on Dave Teare's photostream. Since we are, for the moment, playing by the rules of finders, keepers, we (gently) persuaded Dave to give us a little more info on what we were seeing. It looks like the PIN field shown will allow for quick access to "less sensitive" information, such as your Digg or Flickr logins. For more secure sites, such as your bank account, the usual Master Password is implemented. Dave says they considered using gestures and other creative methods for unlocking, but in the end a "PIN feels more natural and is a well-understood concept, and you can't beat a real password for security." Interesting to note is that the 1Password iPhone application will, itself, be a browser. Because of Apple's rules regarding "hacking" existing applications, they couldn't modify Safari to integrate 1Password. But Dave says that they're adding some "cool features" that will "make users not want to use Safari directly anyway." Personally, I'm more than willing to switch browsers for added security and convenience. It looks like the 1Password team is going to miss the big App Store opening day, but they plan to be in there shortly after. %Gallery-27031%
AllBookmarks in your menubar
AllBookmarks is a simple, free menubar application from the makers of 1Password. Basically it gives you one-click access to all your Safari, Firefox, OmniWeb, Camino and Flock bookmarks as well as your 1Password Bookmarks (if you have 1Password installed). The interface includes a live search box, though it doesn't seem to work as well as I would like. Nonetheless, it's relatively easy to navigate the hierarchical menus.AllBookmarks is a free download from Agile Web Solutions.
1Password 2.6.5 released
Agile Web Solutions has updated their 1Password product with support for 4 new browsers and better support for the newly released Firefox 3. 1Password now works on the following web-browsing applications: Safari 4 (Developer Preview), DEVONagent 2.3.1, latest OmniWeb, and Flock 2 beta.In addition to updated browser support, 1Password also boasts a higher level of stability while running in Camino on PPC Macs. You can see the full list of updates (all 21 of them) by visiting the Agile Web Solutions' website. In addition, you can download the update by going to 1Password > Check for Updates in the 1Password application.
WWDC '08: Agile Web Solutions (1Password)
Dave and Roustem from Agile Web Solutions, authors of the form-filling powerhouse known as 1Password, were happy to talk about WWDC, Mac development and the future of 1Password and its upcoming iPhone counterpart. We've taken quite a few notes as 1Password has developed, and while I love the iPhone bookmarklet, I'm excited to see work being done on a native app! There were laughs, tears and some pronounced (and lovable) Canadian colloquialisms. And that's just in the 10 minutes that survived the editing. Video after the jump. [Viddler Link | QuickTime Version]
1Password: same great taste, new price
Password concierge and form-filler extraordinaire 1Password was upped to version 2.5.12 today with more features, changes and fixes than we could possibly list. Of course, current bleeding-edge users probably noticed that 2.6 Beta 6 also came out today with its own improvements and fixes, including the missing Fluid extension from Beta 5. Did we mention it supports Fluid these days? Version 2.5.12 packs Safari 3.1 support, iPhone bookmarklet changes, better Firefox support and a plethora of fixes. While the price of this TUAW favorite has gone up a whole $5, so has the functionality. The current update is free for license holders, newcomers get it for $34.95. To each their own, but I personally consider this one worth every penny.Update: I'm quite obviously a month behind on my 1Password release notes. 2.6 Beta 6 did come out today, 2.5.12 came out... yes, a month ago. I apologize to anyone who was thrown into a time-warp due to my careless disregard of basic chronology.
1Password update fixes 10.5.2 Safari problems
OS X 10.5.2 threw a few curve balls at developers, and many of them are doing an admirable job of catching them with updates so timely you might think they were prescient. 1Password developer Dave Teare ranks high on that list, having put out an update yesterday that rapidly fixed the Safari problem that 10.5.2 introduced. 1Password is a favorite at TUAW, and it's possibly been mentioned previously for its time-saving, form-filling, credit card-remembering abilities. In addition to the Safari fix, there are several other enhancements to the application, such as user-assignable "restore form" shortcut keys in Firefox that should help keep my Services menu happy by avoiding conflicts, and an improved credit card fill should ease some frustrations with not-quite-filled forms and help speed up the draining of my available cash during the occasional online shopping spree. So that bleeding-edge surfers aren't left out, the release also adds support for the latest Firefox nightly builds, as well as Camino 1.6b2. And improvements to the new iPhone Logins bookmark should also be welcome for those surfing on the small but oh-so-touchable screen. 1Password runs $29.95 for new users and the update is free for current users. You can download the new version (free demo) at the 1Password site.
1Password updated to 2.5.8
Today, Agile Web Solutions updated their password manager, 1Password. As many Mac users may already know, 1Password is an indispensable application for managing passwords and browser auto-fill for Mac OS X. Now that it has been updated to version 2.5.8, it boasts some new features along with bug fixes. New in 1Password 2.5.8 is support for the Firefox 3 beta; you're now able to import from Passwords Plus and Password Safe 3, and you can now store UK bank account information.1Password is available for $29.95 from the 1Password website, and a demo is also available. [via Mac Update]
