Do not worry about the yellow highlighter effect for copying :) This was an experiment and we have already decided to change it. We have a new, simpler design that will be implemented before the final 3.0 release.

Please join us in the 1Password 3 Early Access forum where this topic has been discussed in depth.

Cheers!

--Dave Teare
Co-author of 1Password

We have received a few emails about the the my1Password Web Service. Questions ranged from what it is to why it has gotten slower recently.

The my1Password Web Service is a web service in Alpha (i.e. under development and still in testing) that allows you to sync your data between your Macs. 1Password for Mac, however, stores all your data on your local hard drive no information is sent to any web sites.

Recently many people have started to experience a "timed out" error when using the service. What has happened is the Web Service has experienced a surge in traffic recently and the performance has degraded considerably. I am sorry for the trouble. I had tried to keep the Alpha testing group small but I think what happened was people elected not to use their invitations immediately when I sent them, so each week I would send more, and I think people just recently started using them and overloaded the server.

We are at a cross roads with the my1Password web service at the moment. The my1Password service is a proof of concept that we used to "test the water" so-to-speak. The future of the service is uncertain and that is why we have not invested the resources to make the web server faster, at least until we decide on the direction we would like to take.

Please see The Future of the my1Password Web Service thread in the Alpha testers forum to see what we are currently planning:

http://support.agilewebsolutions.com/showthread.php?t=12325

Essentially the current line of thought is to shut down the my1Password Web Service and instead build its killer features directly into the 1Password and the new Agile Keychain.

Cheers!

--Dave Teare
Co-author of 1Password

The 1Passwd password manager is able to protect you from phishing attacks. I have made this claim before, and several people have questioned me exactly how a password manager can protect them from phishers. In fact, the majority of password managers cannot protect you. Any password manager that relies on you manually entering your information into a web page offers no protection whatsoever.

This is where 1Passwd shines. It automatically fills forms for you so you never need to manually type your login information again. This not only has the benefit of saving you time and allowing you to use stronger passwords, but it also protects you from phishing scams.

You can watch a high-resolution movie on how this works on the phishing protection[1] page (near the bottom), or the low-res version on Google Video[2].

Cheers!
--Dave Teare
Co-author of 1Passwd

[1] Phishing protection screencast: http://1passwd.com/features/phishing
[2] Low-res version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5143585783742483646&q=phishing

Many people ask why 1Passwd needs to have a Safari extension -- after all, Safari has an AutoFill feature and already uses the keychain. The reason 1Passwd is needed is because the AutoFill of Safari does not go far enough for most user's needs, and it only works in Safari (obviously). Our goal is to provide the best Password Manager and Form Filler that works *seamlessly* across browsers, without ever needing to manually transfer passwords or saved forms back-and-forth.

I detail how 1Passwd goes beyond Safari's autofill here: http://1passwd.com/guide/about/going_beyond_the_safari_autofill, but here are the highlights:

1. Multiple Identities: allows you to have a different persona based on who you are dealing with.
2. Seamless browser support: 1Passwd supports Safari, Firefox, and Flock. Camino support should be coming soon.
3. Simpler selection of Saved Forms, including Fill & Submit to save you several keystrokes and clicks.
4. Quickly Generate Strong Password
5. Safari Matches URLs **exactly**. 1Passwd allows you to fill a page from a saved form that doesn't have the exact same URL. This makes logging in after a registration possible.
6. 1Passwd Works on all Forms, including those with "autocomplete=no"

I hope that helps explain why 1Passwd is needed for Safari users.

Several users have asked about the built-in password manager in Firefox and how 1Passwd compares to it. While Firefox does come with a built in Password Manager that is quite nice, it has several limitations that 1Passwd aims to fix. You can read the full story of 1Passwd vs. Firefox password manager here: http://1passwd.com/documentation/onepasswd_vs_firefox. The following are the highlights:

- 1Passwd keeps information synchronized between Safari and Firefox to allow easy switching.
- 1Passwd integrates directly with the OS X keychain to allow easy backups and synchronization between machines.
- 1Passwd is secure by default — a password is mandatory and there is a built in inactivity timeout.
- 1Passwd can handle complete forms, not just user ids and passwords.
- 1Passwd has identities to allow automatic filling of form fields.

I hope this helps to clarify how 1Passwd goes a step beyond the Firefox Password Manager. As always, comments are welcome!

--Dave Teare
Co-creator of 1Passwd.