Switching from Keychain to 1password

daknecht

I am considering purchasing 1password for my Mac. I have several issues I am unsure of:

1. Most of my passwords are already stored in the system Keychain. When I switch over, I presume it will use those passwords. If so, what must be done to convert those to random secure passwords? Am I going to have to go to each site and do a password change? That sounds like a major headache.

2. Does Keychain continue to record passwords while 1Password is being used?

3. If I decide not to continue using 1password, what must be done to switch back to Keychain?

khad

Welcome the forums, daknecht! Thanks for considering 1Password.



[quote]1. Most of my passwords are already stored in the system Keychain. When I switch over, I presume it will use those passwords.[/quote]

1Password 3 neither stores its information in the OS X keychain nor imports data from the it unless you wish to do so ([b]File > Import > Mac OS X Keychain[/b]). Many folks prefer to use both the OS X keychain and 1Password in tandem for a while — letting the OS X keychain do the filling while 1Password does the saving — until all your logins are in 1Password. The choice wholesale import or gradual transition is left up to you. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-)' />



[quote]If so, what must be done to convert those to random secure passwords? Am I going to have to go to each site and do a password change? That sounds like a major headache.[/quote]

Unfortunately, there is no other way to do this. If you just change the password that is stored on your computer, the website won't know anything about it. There is no "standard password changing API" that 1Password can just "hook into". <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_worried.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':S' />



We try to make it is simple as possible, though. Take a look at the "[url="http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/change_password.html"]Changing Login Passwords[/url]" section of 1Password's User Guide for an overview.



[quote]2. Does Keychain continue to record passwords while 1Password is being used?[/quote]

Again, the choice is yours. This is controlled independently by Safari and Chrome (and Firefox as well, though it does not store its data in the OS X keychain). We recommend disabling browsers' password management for both ease of use ("I thought I already saved that?!") and security (Google "[url="http://www.google.com/search?q=browser+password+security"]browser password security[/url]"). Of course, if you are using the gradual method described above to make the transition, you will want to leave your browser's password manager enabled until you are done transitioning.



[quote]3. If I decide not to continue using 1password, what must be done to switch back to Keychain?[/quote]

That depends. Your data will still be in the OS X keychain. 1Password does not delete it. If you have not made any substantive changes, you can just uninstall 1Password and go back to using the OS X keychain. If you have been using 1Password for a long time, you can perform the reverse of the gradual transition I described above by using the OS X keychain and 1Password side by side. You can also export all your data from 1Password to a standard CSV file which can be imported into a multitude of applications. Unfortunately I don't think there is an easy way to get import data wholesale (from a CSV file for example) into the OS X keychain. Apple has not provided a simple means by which to do this.



We also have a [url="http://help.agile.ws/1Password3/keychain_comparison.html"]comparison between the Agile Keychain Format and the OS X keychain[/url] and the [url="http://help.agile.ws/1Password3/os_x_keychain_history.html"]reasons we switched away from using the OS X keychain[/url].



But don't take my word for it. We offer a [url="http://agilebits.com/downloads"]free trial of 1Password[/url], so you can see for yourself. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-)' />



I hope that helps. Please let me know.



Thanks!