Using 1Password to replace Apple's keychain

BikerBob

I read on a Mac site where the poster, responding to a question about Apple's Keychain, noted something to the effect that: I don't use Apple's Keychain, I use 1Password instead.



Do some 1Password users actually delete all their passwords from Apple's Keychain and use 1Password instead?



If so, what would be the pros and cons of this.

khad

I don't really store anything in the OS X keychain. The Agile Keychain Format is more robust and supports cross-platform syncing:



http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/keychain_comparison.html



There are some passwords (such as those for Wi-Fi networks I regularly connect to) that I have stored in the OS X keychain, but The Truth™ is always in 1Password. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



Let me know if you have any other questions after reviewing the document I linked above.



Cheers,

BikerBob

Thanks very much for the response, and I will check out the page at the URL you gave me.

khad

Sounds good. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



Cheers,

BikerBob

Am I missing something?



When I went to the URL [url="http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/keychain_comparison.html"]http://help.agilebit...comparison.html[/url], I was directed to another URL, http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/upgrade_to_agile_keychain.html for info on how to migrate one's data to the Agile Keychain.



Instructions there said: Make sure that you have the latest version of 1Password 2. I assumed that this was mistaken; why would one d/l an older version of 1Password???



Running 1Password 3.9.5, however, when I go to 1Password's Preferences, I see no Keychain tab in the resulting Preferences window.



So, I am guessing that I do indeed have to down 1Passwords 2 in order to migrate my data from the Apple Keychain to the Agile Keychain.



Would someone confirm this, please. Thanks.

khad

You must have clicked the link at the very bottom of the document intended for users of the much much older version 2 of 1Password. Long ago 1Password stored its data in the OS X Keychain format (although in a separate keychain from the default "login" keychain). Those are instructions for migrating 1Password data which was stored in the OS X Keychain by 1Password 2 to the current Agile Keychain format.



If you are using 1Password 3, you are already using the Agile Keychain Format. There is no need to migrate formats. All your 1Password data is stored in the Agile Keychain format.



Perhaps I grossly misunderstood your initial post. I thought you were wondering about the philosophical and technical differences between the OS X Keychain format and the Agile Keychain format.



Are you asking to import data you have already stored in "Keychain Access.app" into 1Password?

BikerBob

Sorry to be so tardy in responding and yes, I was essentially asking if there was a way to migrate data already stored in Keychain Access.app into 1Password.

DavidB

[quote name='khad' timestamp='1335853432' post='59684']

I don't really store anything in the OS X keychain. The Agile Keychain Format is more robust and supports cross-platform syncing:



[url="http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/keychain_comparison.html"]http://help.agilebit...comparison.html[/url]



There are some passwords (such as those for Wi-Fi networks I regularly connect to) that I have stored in the OS X keychain, but The Truth™ is always in 1Password. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

[/quote]



Where do you store your e-mail passwords?

BikerBob

I use Apple Mail and my email passwords are stored in Mail > Preferences > Account Information.



I have also stored them in 1Password.

DavidB

[quote name='BikerBob' timestamp='1336255751' post='59775']

I use Apple Mail and my email passwords are stored in Mail > Preferences > Account Information.



I have also stored them in 1Password.

[/quote]



It's not a question of using 1Password instead of the Apple keychain for all purposes, but of continuing to use the keychain where 1Password does not work. (1Password only works with a Web browser.)



Someone more knowledgeable please correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know, if you store your password in Mail without also checking "Remember this password in my keychain," your Mail can be retrieved by anyone who has access to your computer when you are logged in or who steals your computer and changes your login. (It's essentially as insecure as storing your password in a Web browser.) Storing it in your keychain--assuming you have a strong keychain password that is different from your login password--is much more secure.



Also of course, storing your Mail password in 1Password (in Secure Notes, for example, which I also do) is fine as a backup in case you forget the password, but Mail cannot access 1Password and so cannot retrieve your Mail password automatically from it the way it can from the keychain.



Another use of the Apple keychain is with FTP programs, which retrieve passwords from the keychain the same way as Mail.

khad

[quote]Someone more knowledgeable please correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know, if you store your password in Mail without also checking "Remember this password in my keychain," your Mail can be retrieved by anyone who has access to your computer[/quote]

Not sure what you mean by this. If you [b]don't check[/b] the option to store the password in the OS X keychain then the password [b]isn't[/b] stored anywhere. Mail will require authentication each time it checks for new messages. There isn't a way to store your password for Mail.app [i]without[/i] using the OS X keychain.



[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I use Apple Mail and my email passwords are stored in Mail > Preferences > Account Information. [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I have also stored them in 1Password.[/font][/color][/quote]

I do this as well. They are stored in the OS X keychain for present convenience and in 1Password for future access (if I lose my computer or otherwise get a new one). All of my data is in 1Password for setting up a brand new computer. I just install Dropbox, let it sync my data, and then fire up 1Password. Everything is there. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



Unfortunately, Apple [url="http://www.bfccomputing.com/2009/03/02/mac-os-x-keychain-export-tool/"]doesn't make it easy[/url] to export data other than certificates from the OS X keychain. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />



Fortunately, there is a way:



https://gist.github.com/1583781



It isn't "one-click simple", so we don't advertise it much, but instructions (and that link) are in the 1Password import assistant.

[img]https://img.skitch.com/20120508-epbk21ya5s7m6xis9ttdwskrf6.png[/img]