Use 1Password on the Go - Take Control of 1Password (1.2.1) (2014)

Take Control of 1Password (1.2.1) (2014)

Chapter 9. Use 1Password on the Go

Most of this book has talked about the desktop versions of 1Password (for OS X and Windows). But 1Password also comes in versions for iOS and Android, both of which can sync data with a Mac or PC and enable you to access your crucial 1Password data from a smartphone or tablet. This chapter introduces you to those two versions, focusing on the key ways in which they differ from the desktop versions.

I also describe 1PasswordAnywhere, which enables you to access your 1Password data securely from almost any computer with an Internet connection and a modern Web browser.

iOS

1Password for iOS is a universal app that runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It has most of the features in 1Password 4 for Mac, with a few notable exceptions—and a reorganized user interface, to suit the needs of small, touchscreen devices. You can buy it from the App Store.

Note: This section covers 1Password 4.5 for iOS, released in April 2014. If you’re still using an older version, some of the descriptions and visual elements mentioned in this section won’t quite match, and not all the features mentioned here will be present. I recommend upgrading as soon as possible!

One of the first things you’ll probably want to do is sync the iOS version of 1Password with your Mac or PC; if you’ve already turned on Dropbox or iCloud sync, it’s a matter of a few taps. (I cover all the details—as well as what to do if you prefer to avoid cloud-based sync—in Set Up Syncing.)

Before you go any further, however, you should understand a few key concepts about the iOS app.

1Password for iOS: The Ins & Outs

Unlike OS X and Windows, iOS has no support for browser extensions or other mechanisms that enable one app to reach inside another to retrieve or enter data. Apple designed iOS this way for better security, but it also limits the ways in which apps can interact, and is especially problematic when it comes to tools like 1Password.

So, when you’re browsing the Web in Safari (or any other browser) on iOS and you come to a login page, you can’t grab your credentials from 1Password without leaving your browser. Although you could switch to 1Password, enter your master password, find the login item, copy your password, switch back to your browser, and paste it (possibly repeating these actions with your username), that’s more effort than most of us are willing to expend. Luckily, there are a few shortcuts, as I explain ahead, that make use of 1Password’s built-in browser.

Even so, you may prefer to stay in another browser most of the time, and I wouldn’t blame you. If you’re using iOS 7 along with a Mac running 10.9 Mavericks, iCloud Keychain may simplify your life—I discussed how that interacts with 1Password earlier, in1Password & the Apple Keychain. Even with iCloud Keychain, however, you may want to switch to 1Password to fill in identities, choose among multiple sets of credentials for a given site, or fill in credit card data including your CVV number—not to mention sync your password data across browsers and platforms.

Apart from Web browsing, 1Password for iOS lets you view, edit, add, and delete items, mark items as favorites, generate new passwords, and more.

One major difference from the desktop versions is the option to use a PIN code (previously called a Quick Unlock Code). This is a convenience feature to prevent you from having to enter your master password (which, let’s face it, can be a real pain on a tiny iPhone keyboard!) repeatedly in a short period of time. At your option, you can tell 1Password that if you leave the app and come back within a designated period of time (such as 2 minutes), you can unlock it with a much simpler, 4-digit code.

To set up a PIN code:

1. Tap the Settings icon.

2. Tap Security.

3. Turn on PIN Code and type in a 4-digit code.

4. Back on the Settings > Security panel, tap Request Code After and choose a time delay—the period of time between when you switch away from 1Password and switch back—during which you can unlock 1Password with just the 4-digit code.

When you switch away from and back to 1Password within the designated time delay, instead of suffering through entering a potentially lengthy passcode, you can simply tap the PIN code.

Note: To make PIN codes more reliable, 1Password stores your master password in the iOS keychain when a PIN code is enabled. If you prefer never to store your master password in the iOS keychain, go to Settings > Advanced and turn off Use iOS Keychain.

1Password 4.5 for iOS adds support for multiple vaults (see Use Multiple Vaults in iOS), adopts the iOS 7 look and feel, lets you add folders, and is more consistent between the iPhone and iPad versions.

You may, however, notice some missing features. The following are among features present in 1Password for Mac but not for iOS:

· Creating or removing tags

· Changing the sort order

· Performing advanced searches and creating smart folders

· Performing a security audit

· Editing Web form details

· Adding or modifying icons/thumbnails

In addition, although 1Password for OS X and Windows let you generate new passwords from within your browser, 1Password for iOS does not—not even in its built-in browser. (However, you can access the password generator while editing any login item.)

Find Your Way Around

The arrangement of icons and lists depends on your device’s screen size and orientation, but you’ll want to acquaint yourself with a few main controls, which should appear either on the left side or the bottom of your screen:

· Favorites: Tap the Favorites icon to display your favorites (see Figure 33, left).

· Categories: Tap the Categories icon to display a list of categories including All Items, Logins, Secure Notes, and so on (Figure 33, right); then, tap a category name to list its contents.

**Figure 33:** 1Password 4.5 on an iPhone. On the left, Favorites (showing individual items); on the right, the list of Categories. The main navigational controls are at the bottom in this view.

Figure 33: 1Password 4.5 on an iPhone. On the left, Favorites (showing individual items); on the right, the list of Categories. The main navigational controls are at the bottom in this view.

· Folders: Tap the Organize icon to display any folders (only regular folders, not smart folders) you set up on your Mac or PC.

· Settings: Tap the Settings icon to adjust your preferences.

· Mode icons: 1Password for iOS has two distinct modes—Vault mode (in which it displays the contents of your vault—and the controls mentioned earlier in this bullet list) and Web mode (in which it displays its built-in Web browser).

The mode-switching controls are in different locations on different devices. Switch to Web mode by tapping the Web icon, which is in the upper left on an iPad and in the lower right on an iPhone or iPod touch. Switch back to Vault mode by tapping the Vault icon, which appears in the upper right on an iPad and in the lower left on an iPhone.

Use the Built-in Browser

1Password for iOS has a complete Web browser built in, including support for multiple tabs; login items stand in for bookmarks. If you know before starting a browsing session that you’ll need access to 1Password, browsing in 1Password may be a good option. You open the browser automatically when you tap a URL in an item’s Website field; you can also switch to Web mode (or back to Vault mode) manually as described in the last bullet point before this paragraph.

The address bar—and pretty much everything else—works the same as in all browsers. Unfortunately, there’s no Search field, so if you want to look something up in your favorite search engine, you’ll have to go there manually. You can add a new tab by tapping the plus icon in the upper right on an iPad; on an iPhone, tap the tabs icon followed by the plus icon.

However, 1Password’s browser also displays a series of icons you can use to access your logins and other vault data while browsing:

· Fill a Login: Tap the key icon and then tap the login item you want; 1Password fills it in and attempts to submit the form. (To display a login’s details rather than fill them, tap the Info icon to the right of the login name.)

Note: The iOS version of 1Password doesn’t let you turn Autosubmit off—either globally or per login item.

· Fill an Identity: Tap the key and then tap the identity you want to use; 1Password fills it in. (To display an identity’s details rather than fill them in, tap the Info icon to the right of the identity name.)

· Fill Credit Card Information: Tap the key icon and then tap the credit card you want to use; Password fills in its details. (To display a credit card’s details rather than fill them in, tap the Info icon to the right of the credit card name.)

Use Another Browser

While browsing the Web in Safari, Chrome, or any of numerous other iOS browsers, you won’t have integrated 1Password features as you do on a Mac or PC because browser extensions aren’t allowed. However, when you want to fill in a form in one of those browsers that requires login, identity, or credit card info, you can use either of two shortcuts to open the same page in 1Password, after which you can unlock 1Password and tap the appropriate icon to fill in your information.

Method 1: Add “op” to the Beginning of the URL

In iOS 7, this first method works only for URLs that start with https://, not those that start with http:// (but fortunately, most login pages do start with https://). And, it may not work in all browsers (it works in Safari and iCab but not in Google Chrome, for instance). Follow these steps:

1. In your browser’s address bar, first tap the URL in the address field to select it. Then touch and hold your finger on the URL for a moment while the magnifying glass appears. Keeping your finger down, drag to the left, allowing the URL to scroll to the right if necessary, until the insertion point is at the very beginning of the URL—before http or https.

2. Type op (as in “one password”). For example, if the URL originally looked like https://example.com/login, you’d modify it to look like ophttps://example.com/login.

3. Tap Go on the keyboard. 1Password opens.

4. Unlock 1Password to load the same page you were viewing, but in 1Password’s built-in browser.

5. Tap the relevant icon to fill in your credentials, identity, or credit card information.

1Password uses the information in your vault to fill the form.

Method 2: Use a Bookmarklet

You can automate the above procedure to avoid tedious URL editing by creating a JavaScript bookmarklet that will do it for you. After the initial one-time setup, you can send a page to 1Password with just a couple of taps.

To set up the bookmarklet:

1. In your favorite iOS Web browser, go to any Web page and create a new bookmark; store the bookmark in any convenient place.

2. Now edit the bookmark. Rename it 1P (or something else short and obvious), and replace the entire URL (including the http:// part) for the Web page you’ve bookmarked with the following:

javascript:window.location='op'+(window.location.href);

I want to emphasize that every character in that line must be exactly correct—no http:// or https:// at the start; straight apostrophes, not curly ones, around op; no spaces; and a semicolon at the end.

3. Save the edited bookmark, which is now (thanks to its new JavaScript contents) called a bookmarklet.

To use the bookmarklet when you’re viewing a page that needs data from 1Password, tap your browser’s bookmarks icon, locate your 1P bookmarklet, and tap it. 1Password opens, just as if you had manually edited the URL.

Use 1Password for iOS with Other Apps

AgileBits offers several hooks that other apps can use to pass information to 1Password, making it easier to access your 1Password data. You can find a complete list of Apps That Love 1Password on the AgileBits Web site; it includes such noteworthy apps as Tweetbot, Mr. Reader, and iCab.

Third-party apps may tie into 1Password in any or all of the following ways:

· Browse: Open the current Web page in 1Password. This has the same effect as using the bookmarklet described earlier, except you don’t need the bookmarklet!

· Login: When the app displays a login form asking for your credentials to a site or service it communicates with (for example, your Google or Dropbox account), you can click a button to switch to 1Password and search for that login. Copy your password or other information, switch back, and paste.

· Search: Similar to login, it passes a search string to 1Password, allowing you to quickly find a particular item (of any kind).

· Web mode: Set 1Password to be the default browser for any URLs you may tap. That way, if you happen to open one that requires your credentials, they’ll be available for you.

Work with 1Password Items

When viewing a list of logins (Figure 34), you can swipe any item toward the right to reveal a Copy Password button; tap this as a shortcut to copy the item’s password. Or, tap the item name to see its main details. Similar to the Mac version, you can tap Saved Form Details to see (but not edit) the individual fields saved for that item. Tap any field to show a Copy button and, for passwords, a Reveal button.

**Figure 34:** A login item selected in 1Password on an iPad.

Figure 34: A login item selected in 1Password on an iPad.

To edit the item, tap Edit in the upper-right corner. You can also create a new item by tapping the plus icon and then tapping an item type.

An editing view appears (Figure 35).

**Figure 35:** Detail of a login item ready to be edited.

Figure 35: Detail of a login item ready to be edited.

The controls here should be self-explanatory, and largely familiar if you use 1Password on a Mac. Even so, I want to point out a few details:

· Password Generator: If the item includes a password (such as the login item in the figure above), tap the key icon to generate a new password; the password generator (Figure 36) appears.

**Figure 36:** The password generator in iOS (in its basic mode).

Figure 36: The password generator in iOS (in its basic mode).

For more controls, tap Show Password Recipe. You can then vary the number of digits and symbols, and toggle controls for Avoid Ambiguity (i.e., omit 1 l I 0 O), Allow Repeats (repeated characters), and Copy to Clipboard—all of which are enabled by default. (There’s no Pronounceable option, however, as there is in the Mac version of 1Password.)

· Sharing: Tap Share Login and then tap Message Login, Mail Login, Message as Plain Text, or Mail as Plain Text to share a URL that encodes the item’s content (see Share 1Password Data for details); or tap AirDrop to share this item with another iOS device via AirDrop.

· Folders: To move the current item into a different existing folder, tap Move to Folder and then tap a folder name. To create a new folder, make sure you’re in Vault mode. Tap the Organize icon, tap Edit, and then tap New Folder.

Tip: If you tap Settings > Vaults > Add Vault > Create Demo Vault, you get a new vault containing fake sample data (such as what I’ve shown in this book) so you can demonstrate it for your friends without revealing any of your personal information! Formerly, you unlocked the Demo vault using the password demo, but now you must unlock 1Password normally and then switch to the Demo vault.

Use Multiple Vaults in iOS

One of the coolest new features in 1Password 4.5 for iOS is support for multiple vaults. Back in Sync with the Cloud or a Folder, I explained how to sync an existing secondary vault with 1Password for iOS. You can also do the following:

· Add a new vault: Go to Settings > Vaults, tap Add Vault, choose how the vault will sync (either Sync with Dropbox or Import from iTunes), and follow the prompts.

Note: As a reminder, only your primary vault can sync via iCloud.

· Switch vaults: Go to Settings > Vaults and tap the vault you want to use.

· Change a vault’s sync settings: Go to Settings > Vaults, tap the Info icon next to a vault, tap Sync Service, tap the sync method you want to switch to, and follow the prompts.

· Remove a vault: Go to Settings > Vaults, tap the Info icon next to a vault, and tap Remove Vault. This removes the vault from your device, but not from Dropbox.

Android

Compared to the Mac, Windows, and iOS versions of 1Password, the current Android version is pretty lightweight (to put it kindly). The Android app’s official name is 1Password Reader, and that name pretty much says it all. On Android, 1Password can view data that you’ve entered on a Mac, PC, or iOS device and synced via Dropbox, but that’s it. You can’t edit data, add new passwords, create smart folders, or do any of the other fancy things you can on the other platforms.

So, I’m not saying much about the Android version, because there’s not much to say—yet. AgileBits is hard at work on a major new version of 1Password for Android (see Glimpse the Future of 1Password). At publication time, it’s in beta testing, and I expect that within a few months I’ll be able to tell you about much more extensive features. For the moment, however, think 1Password for Android as a way to keep your data with you in a semi-convenient but inflexible form.

You can obtain 1Password Reader free from the Google Play store; installation and setup are straightforward, but I should remind you that the only supported sync method at the moment uses Dropbox, so unless you want to manually copy your 1Password data to your Android device using a USB cable or SD card, I recommend Dropbox.
After you open the app and unlock it with your master password, you’ll see your usual 1Password data, including any folders you created on a Mac or PC (Figure 37, left). Tap an item to see its details (Figure 37, right).

**Figure 37:** 1Password Reader for Android shows your synced 1Password data, organized as on your Mac or PC (left). Tap to view a login item (right) and you can either copy your credentials or tap Autologin to open the URL in 1Password’s built-in browser and log in automatically.

Figure 37: 1Password Reader for Android shows your synced 1Password data, organized as on your Mac or PC (left). Tap to view a login item (right) and you can either copy your credentials or tap Autologin to open the URL in 1Password’s built-in browser and log in automatically.

For Web logins, the Autologin button opens the URL in 1Password’s built-in browser, fills in your credentials, and logs you in. If you want to use another browser or fill credentials into another app, you’ll have to copy and paste your credentials into the Web form manually—1Password Reader doesn’t directly integrate with any other Android browsers or apps.

To get more help with the Android version of 1Password, visit the AgileBits Android Forum.

1PasswordAnywhere

1PasswordAnywhere is an extremely clever mechanism that enables you to securely access your 1Password data—you guessed it—anywhere. Or, at the very least, anywhere you can access your Dropbox account from a Web browser.

Picture this: you’re on vacation without your computer and your smartphone is stolen. You need to log in to your bank account, email account, or some other resource for which 1Password (and not your brain) holds the password. But without access to your computer or smartphone, what can you do?

Well, you walk into the nearest Internet café, sit down at any old computer, and log in to your Dropbox account. (You did have your Dropbox password memorized or written down, right? Let’s hope so.) You open the 1Password.agilekeychain folder, inside which you’ll see a 1Password.html file. Open that file in your browser, and you see a familiar-looking prompt for your master password (Figure 38).

**Figure 38:** Yes, that’s your 1Password login screen—in a browser!

Figure 38: Yes, that’s your 1Password login screen—in a browser!

When you enter it and click Unlock, you get all your 1Password data right in your browser window (Figure 39).

**Figure 39:** 1PasswordAnywhere puts your entire 1Password vault securely in a Dropbox-accessible Web page.

Figure 39: 1PasswordAnywhere puts your entire 1Password vault securely in a Dropbox-accessible Web page.

How does 1PasswordAnywhere accomplish this magic—securely? That HTML page includes a full 1Password-compatible encryption engine written in JavaScript, plus controls to display your data. So, your data remains safely encrypted in your 1Password vault as always, but you’re using software built into a Web page, rather than a desktop or mobile app, to unlock it temporarily. It may not look very safe, but it is!

Since you’re already familiar with the 1Password app, everything in 1PasswordAnywhere should be self-explanatory. The sidebar categories and the Search field work the way you expect, and you can click a Reveal button next to any password to display it.

There are a few things you should know about 1PasswordAnywhere that may not be apparent:

· 1PasswordAnywhere is read-only; you can’t add or modify any data.

· 1PasswordAnywhere requires a reasonably modern browser. In particular, older versions of Internet Explorer don’t work.

· 1PasswordAnywhere currently works only with the .agilekeychain format, which 1Password 4 for Mac saves only when you choose Dropbox or folder sync. It isn’t available if sync is turned off, or if you use iCloud for sync, because the newer 1Password file format doesn’t yet incorporate 1PasswordAnywhere—though a future version might.

· Although 1PasswordAnywhere is easiest to use when your data is stored in Dropbox, you can copy your 1Password.agilekeychain folder (which appears in the OS X Finder as a single file) to a USB thumb drive or other portable storage device so that you can access it even without an Internet connection. However, some browsers (including Google Chrome) can’t access 1PasswordAnywhere from a local file, whereas they work fine when the file is hosted in your Dropbox or another Web-accessible location.

· Attachments aren’t displayed in 1PasswordAnywhere.

· Problems? Consult the 1PasswordAnywhere Troubleshooting Guide.

Solve Problems

Although I’ve found 1Password to be extremely reliable in the years I’ve used it, occasionally things go wrong. In particular, since 1Password 4 for Mac was a complete rewrite, it’s more likely to provoke those “Hey, wait a minute…” moments. So, I want to close the book with a few brief pieces of advice about solving problems in 1Password.

Don’t Panic

The first thing I want to say—notice the large, friendly letters—is that if something appears to be wonky, you shouldn’t freak out. I know a number of the folks who work for AgileBits, and I’d interacted with them numerous times as a customer before I started writing about their software. I’m here to tell you, they pay attention to customers.

If you have a problem that isn’t solved in this chapter, and for which you can’t find a solution on the 1Password support site—and especially if you’re on the verge of panicking—feel free to contact the AgileBits support department. A real live human being will read your message, take it seriously, and recommend steps to solve your problem.

If your query is less pressing, you may first want to peruse the AgileBits discussion forum, where thousands of 1Password users (including yours truly) hang out and try to help each other with questions and problems—and yes, the AgileBits support staff hangs out there too!

Deal with Version 4 Changes

During the beta test of 1Password 4 for Mac, I read hundreds upon hundreds of messages in the beta discussion forum, many of which amounted to a desperate “Oh no! What happened to (my favorite feature from version 3)?” If you’re having that reaction, this section is for you.

Although 1Password 4 is an upgrade in the sense of having a higher version number, a different interface, and new features, the AgileBits engineers didn’t create it by changing version 3.x. Instead, they rewrote the whole thing from scratch. Now, there were good reasons to do this, but my point is that if you notice a “missing” feature, it’s not because it was removed, it’s because it wasn’t added. In some cases, AgileBits decided to go down a different path and modify, rename, merge, or (sometimes) remove features, but most “missing” features aren’t there yet because there were higher priorities at first—and they will be back before long (see Glimpse the Future of 1Password).

Here are a few of the most commonly noticed “what about…?” features in 4 that still have not reappeared as of version 4.4:

· Accounts and Wallet groups: The item groups Accounts (of which there were 11 subtypes) and Wallet (of which there were 8 subtypes including Credit Card) no longer exist in 1Password 4.

In many cases, 1Password has merely promoted subtypes to full categories—for example, Database, Email Account, and Server, which were Account subtypes, are now full categories; and nearly all the Wallet subtypes (such as Bank Account, Driver’s License, and Passport) are also stand-alone categories now.

A few seldom-used item types (like FTP Account, MobileMe, and Membership) no longer exist as such, but when you upgrade from version 3 to 4, the data is preserved—anything that doesn’t match an existing category is converted to a generic login.

· Widescreen view: 1Password 4.1 added a Top layout, similar to the Traditional view in 1Password 3. However, it’s still missing the older version’s Widescreen view, which is similar to the Left layout except that item listings were more compressed so more items could appear in a column.

· Customizable Web fields: In Change Web Form Details I said that you can rename or delete Web form fields but you can’t add any new ones. So, if you need 1Password to fill in a particular field that it didn’t add to an item automatically when saving the login, you currently can’t make that happen. This feature is planned for a future version.

Troubleshoot Other Problems

A few other issues appear to be on the fast track to becoming FAQs, so let me address them here:

· 1Password mini not working in browsers: If the 1Password mini app works on its own but behaves weirdly (or not at all) in your browser, the cause might be an antivirus program.

One in particular, Sophos Antivirus for Mac, is known to interfere with communication between 1Password mini and Web browsers. AgileBits is working on a solution. In the meantime, try disabling the Web Intelligence feature in Sophos (or the entire Sophos app).

· Launcher utilities unable to see 1Password bookmarks: Make sure you have the latest version of the utility (such as Alfred, LaunchBar, or Quicksilver). Then go to 1Password > Preferences > Advanced, and select Enable Integration with 3rd Party Apps. Flip back to Launcher Utilities for more details.

· Clipboard utilities behaving incorrectly: Read Clipboard Managers for a discussion of this problem.

· 1Password mini flaking out: If 1Password mini starts acting erratically for any reason, open the main 1Password app and choose Help > Troubleshooting > Restart 1Password mini to restart it. That usually fixes the problem.

If you’re having another sort of problem, you can search for answers in the 1Password knowledge base; choose Help > Troubleshooting > Knowledge Base.

One final troubleshooting tip: AgileBits has a stand-alone diagnostic app called 1Password Troubleshooting. It can generate an extensive report about your computer that will help AgileBits techs solve your problems, and it includes a few maintenance functions. You can read about and download this app by choosing Help > Troubleshooting > Troubleshooting Utility.

Glimpse the Future of 1Password

I’ve told you in passing about a number of bug fixes and new features that you should expect in upcoming versions of 1Password. (And, I plan to update this book to cover those changes too!) In earlier versions of this book, I mentioned a number of “coming soon” changes, and I’ve already had to remove most of them from this section because they’ve now been added.

The biggest changes for the Mac and iOS versions are now complete; the future will see bug fixes, interface improvements, and the addition of numerous smaller but heavily requested features.

On the other hand, you may have noticed that the Windows and Android versions haven’t yet caught up to the new features and interface in 1Password for OS X and iOS. Work is well underway on updated versions for Windows and Android. In fact, both versions are in the late phases of beta testing as I write this, and I think you’ll like what you’ll see.

The Windows version is expected to gain multiple vaults, a demo vault, Wi-Fi syncing, new and improved browser extensions, automatic prompts to update logins when you change your passwords, custom fields, multiple URLs per item, and more.

And the new Android version will be an even bigger upgrade—in fact, it’ll be an entirely new app, more similar to the iOS app than to the current 1Password Reader for Android.

As I learn more about future versions that I’m permitted to tell you about, I plan to update this topic. Be sure to check for updates to this book regularly (see Ebook Extras for details). In the meantime, don’t forget to keep up with updates to the 1Password app itself! Refer back to Check for Updates for details.