It’s no secret that AgileBits’ 1Password is pretty much my favorite thing since ever. It’s the one app that I recommend to all Mac users, and I’m passionate about people using the program to generate and fill in unique passwords for all of their online accounts. Let’s face it, if you aren’t using an app like 1Password to manage your digital life, then you either have a notebook full of your login details (not safe!) or you’re using 75 variations of your dog’s name as passwords on the sites you visit (doubly not safe!).
If you already have 1Password, though, there are a few neat tricks to be aware of to get the most out of its awesomeness. My favorite tip is that in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox, the keyboard shortcut Command-\ will either automagically fill in the login for a page you’re on, or if you have multiple logins to pick from for that site, it’ll bring up the dialog box for you to choose between them. That’s much faster than clicking on the toolbar icon to open it!
Ummm, I apparently have an awful lot of Gmail accounts.
Secondly, if you drag a login from the 1Password app’s window into Safari’s bookmarks bar, you can create a bookmark that will take you to the page and log you in, all in one click. Here’s a simple way to do that: First, arrange your 1Password and browser windows so that it’ll be easy to drag things between them.
Then drag the login you’d like to create a bookmark for and drop it onto the favorites toolbar, positioned in any location that makes you happy.
Afterward, click your new bookmark to try it out! If this doesn’t work for you, be sure you have the page’s correct URL saved in 1Password. If the link listed for that site isn’t actually the login page, this trick may not work, and you might have to start over once the info’s corrected.
See? That’s where I’d log in to the CrashPlan site, so I know this bookmark will work if I add it to my browser.
Finally, if you haven’t checked out the Security Audit feature of 1Password versions 4 and 5, go do so right this minute. Right this SECOND.
If you click on any of the subsections underneath that Security Audit category in the sidebar, you’ll see all of the passwords you have that match those criteria. (The “Watchtower” section, by the way, is 1Password’s method of warning you if the sites you’ve saved logins for are vulnerable to recent security threats. Just in case you were curious.)
Anyway, Security Audit is an easy way to see which passwords are old enough or weak enough that you should change them, and if you select a login there and see a red banner, just click the banner to find out why 1Password is notifying you.
I guess I need to go change that one, eh?
This last bit isn’t part of the tip, really, but I think it’s handy anyway. AgileBits has excellent support, including a lengthy and helpful user guide for 1Password to get you started with everything the program can do. So, you know, there’s no excuse not to create stronger and safer login info. I know you love your little Fluffy von Hairybutt, but it’s time to stop using his widdle doggy name in all of your passwords, OK?