Still Need To Upgrade Existing 1Password Data File To Take Advantage Of Improved PBKDF2?

irelander

Hello,

A couple of years ago I had written to ask if I needed to upgrade my existing 1Password data file to take advantage of improved PBKDF2 and was told that in order to do so at that time I would need to export my data, create a new file and import my data into the new file. I made a note to do so and just discovered the note, so I never followed through and did it. This was for 1Password 3 for Mac. Since I have upgraded to 1Password 4, would this still be necessary?

Thanks so much for the wonderful job you all do helping us protect our data especially in light of all the recent data breaches!

Sincerely,
Irelander

Megan

Hi @irelander,

Thanks so much for the kind words here. Happily, I have good news for you! You can read all the technical details in our article The continuing evolution of security in 1Password 4, but the relevant portion is this:

Everyone using 1Password 4 for any platform is already using the new data design for their data stored locally. This began with 1Password 4 for iOS in December, 2012 and continued with 1Password 4 for Mac in October, 2013. This will continue to be rolled out to other platforms.

Let me clarify what "data stored locally" means. In 1Password 4, your data is potentially stored in two locations: it is always stored in the Library on your harddrive, in the local store. This data format takes advantage of the increased PBKDF2 iterations. When you sync your data using Dropbox, iCloud or Folder Sync, a copy of your local data is made and stored in the sync store. This data will be encrypted in one of two ways:

• iCloud makes use of the new Cloud keychain design
• Dropbox and Folder Sync use the existing 1Password.agilekeychain design. Because these sync options are cross-version compatible, the 1Password.agilekeychain design will be used here until other platforms can be updated to 1Password 4. Then the Cloud keychain will be adopted across the board.

I hope this helps, but if you have any further questions, we're here for you :)

EnerJi

Hi @Megan, I know this post is old, but I wonder if there's been any update in the keychain for Dropbox users, or if this is still waiting on the final release of the new Android version? If I'm considering changing my password (from the 3.8 days) to take advantage of the new keychain format and increased PBKDF2 iterations, should I wait? I'm a Mac and Android (beta) user, in case that matters.

Thanks!

Megan

Hi @EnerJi,

Thanks for checking in on us. At this time keychains stored in Dropbox are still using the 1Password.agilekeychain format. You're right, we are waiting for the release of 1Password 4 on the Windows and Android platforms before we can do a full implementation of the new cloud keychain format. So you'll need to be a bit more patient before taking advantage of the increased iterations. :)