“I recommend regularly that people use some sort of password-management system that lets them set hard-to-crack passwords (whether short and complicated or long and easy to remember) uniquely for every site and service, and also lets them fill in those passwords everywhere they need to,” Glenn Fleishman writes for Macworld.
“Lowell Nelson emailed me a few weeks ago wondering why I’m so hot on third-party options, like 1Password, Dashlane, and LastPass, when Apple has a robust, multiplatform solution of its own that includes synchronization: Keychain,” Fleishman writes. “(Keychain more specifically describes the OS X part, while iCloud Keychain allows synchronization across devices and use with iOS.)”
Fleishman writes, “It’s a terrific question, and I prefer not telling people to buy into a paid service (whether a one-time fee or a subscription) unless the utility of that utility is so high that it outweighs the cost.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Which password-management system do you use, if any?
Keychain.
I think keychain doesn’t have the management features you get from 1Password or LastPass.
Plus third parties also keep track of licenses, and multiple independent vaults.
1Password for me.
I’ve been using mSecure for a couple years on my iPhone and have been very pleased. It backs up to my Mac every couple weeks, semi-automatically.
I’m not too keen on having my passwords in the cloud, no matter how secure the cloud-based system is. But then again, I’m the paranoid sort who keeps a sticky over the camera on my Mac.
I have used mSecure for a couple of years and feel the same way. It has a Mac client that is nice (and not too expensive) which was one of my requirements. I do have it backup to dropbox, but a while back it gained the ability to backup to iCloud.
I use Stashword. It is only $0.99 per year for sync across all devices. It is the easiest password manager I have used.
Keychain doesn’t let me share my Hulu password with my wife. Besides I need to look up my passwords from the terminal etc.
I have been using 1Password for a few years now.
I use 1Password because it is miles beyond the rest when it comes the to tools thats included.
I’ve been using 1Password on my MacBook and iOS devices for years, and have been quite happy. It is the only third-party solution I’ve tried, so I cannot speak to competitive products.
I will say, I like the password generator in KeyChain so well that I have it in my dock. Even though 1Password has robust password generator, I like what KeyChain does for me even more.
So I use KeyChain to generate new passwords – usually “Memorable” ones – and 1Password to keep track of it all. I’m very happy.
I am suspicious of free or low-cost third-party solutions with something so valuable as my passwords. I need those passwords to be around a long time and to be safe as best as possible. It seems to me that a developer that has a track record of supporting their app well improves my odds tremendously. That’s my theory, anyway…
For my use, I really see no benefit for buying some third-party solution when Keychain works perfectly. With an all-Apple ecosystem, I am blissfully ignorant of my various passwords across the diverse services and systems. Keychain diligently takes care of them, and the only trouble is when I step out of that ecosystem and have to remember the password for some service that I hadn’t had to type in for years.
1Password is used because it syncs across all my devices – Windows PCs (I know – no darts please), iPhones, MBA, iPads. Plus it has features Keychain is missing – 1 big one is CVV security codes.
1Password is used because it syncs across all my devices – Windows PCs (I know – no darts please), iPhones, MBA, iPads. Plus it has features Keychain is missing – 1 big one is CVV security codes.
Keychain all the way. Never had a problem with it and not sure if i’d want to trust yet another 3rd party vendor with my credentials….
1Password for me….love it! I have tried a couple of others in the past; 1Password is reasonably easy and intuitive…and the team is responsive and keeps on top of the product.
Count me as another satisfied 1Password customer. While I use Keychain to automate everything, 1Password is my database of all personal secure information.
None. All of my passwords are frequently rotated.
Love, love, love 1Password! Have been using it on iOS and Mac for just under 2 years and have recommended it to many Apple users. Awesome browser extension for Mac Safari auto-populates and logs-in for most sites, quick access via OS X menubar, encrypted synching between OS X and iOS via iCloud, extremely customizable, and more. I use it for website logins, FTP info, email settings, bank and credit card info. There’s also an Apple watch app for quick access to frequently used data.
OS X + iOS a bit pricey these days, but 40% off sales happen every so often.
1Password. Love it on all computers and devices.
Keychain already burned me bad once. One Password is the best for me.
Keychain can’t keep things right. I’m constantly having issues with keychain not keeping up with password changes. I’ve completely deleted keychain more than once and started over again only to have the same issue over and over again. This is just one example where Apple is not doing itself justice with poorly designed software. 1Password is the only way to go.
I use keychain, but like it better on the Mac because there’s a keyboard shortcut to activate it, but not one my iOS.
1Password here. Been using it for years with no intention of switching to a different product.
Both 1Password and Keychain.
1Password on all iOS/OS X devices.
Google and Facebook for me….there is a reason they have billions of users
I’ve used 1Password since it went public. But it’s not perfect. I’m consistently glad that I also do one other thing:
I also store all my myriad of passwords in a text file that I keep on my encrypted sparse bundle disk image that I have open when I boot my Macs. It is in simple alphabetic order according to the site, service or hardware requiring the password. I keep three things:
– The ID I use.
– The associated email address (of my several). This is often the ID as well.
– The password.
When I know I’m going to need to pull a particular password out of my head on a regular basis (such as for Apple’s iCloud), I create something ridiculous but memorable that uses whatever variety of characters the site allows, the more variety the better. I also make these passwords as long as I can stand.
I never write down hard core critical passwords, such as the password for my encrypted sparse bundle disk image, or the password to get into 1Password. It can’t be stolen or hacked unless someone drills into my skull. (^_^)
I’ve had 1Password demonstrate bugs, quirks and bungling that have had me rush to my text file for salvation. A couple examples:
(A) 1Password creates an initial login record, except registration page login page URL is not the same as the regular login URL. That may thoroughly stump 1Password and force you to edit its settings for that web service.
(B) You end up with duplicate entries for the same web service and have to decide which to keep.
(C) [Some other that I forgot thanks to my cat going mental].
Conclusion: Don’t rely on one solution to cover all the bases. Having a redundant record of passwords has proven to be critical.