AgileBits aims to prevent "attacks that haven't even been dreamt of yet."
by Jon Brodkin
AgileBits today released 1Password 4 on the Mac App Store, a major upgrade to one of the best-known password management applications.
The application has a new design and various features aimed at making it easier to use, such as a menu bar utility. It also brings back Wi-Fi Sync, which lets users sync password data from a Mac to an iOS device without storing their encrypted keychain in Dropbox or iCloud.
AgileBits described security improvements including a new keychain design with 256-bit AES encryption keys and data integrity checks that increase resistance to tampering. The design "forestalls many attacks that haven’t even been dreamt of yet," AgileBits said. 1Password 4 development was helped along by 20,000 beta testers.
1Password 4's launch price is $39.99 on the Mac App Store, a price that will rise to $49.99. However, anyone who ever purchased 1Password 3 on the Mac App Store can upgrade for free.
1Password 4 will also be available on the AgileBits website in a day or two. Anyone who bought 1Password 3 directly from AgileBits in 2013 will get version 4 for free. Anyone who bought before 2013 can upgrade for $24.99 at launch. That will be increased to 1Password's regular upgrade pricing of $34.99 later on.
1Password has a Windows application too, but that hasn't been upgraded.
In general terms, password managers like 1Password automatically fill in your usernames and passwords across any website, automatically generating passwords that are far more secure than most people can remember. Your keychain is protected by a single master password, the only one you have to remember.
We described the importance of applications like 1Password in our feature "The secret to online safety: Lies, random characters, and a password manager." There are additional options, such as LastPass, Dashlane, KeePass, Password Safe, Kaspersky Password Manager, and Roboform. Apple is also planning to release a password manager called iCloud Keychain with OS X 10.9.
Password managers are popular tools among security experts, but they should be considered by anyone who uses the Internet. As noted, there are numerous options beyond 1Password. The important thing is finding one you're comfortable with and using it to replace all your simple passwords with long strings of random characters that can resist the password cracking tools used by criminals.
Courtesy: arstechnica
