What to do when Dropbox is blocked at work

Artesian

I have a 1password database stored in dropbox and it works great to sync my 2 computers at home. One is windows, one is mac. But I also have a windows machine at work and of course they do not allow dropbox. So I copied the database from dropbox onto to the work PC and it is working, but now the passwords are out of sync when I change one, add a new one, etc.

Any helpful advice on how to live with this situation? I'm sure many other people are stuck in the same boat.

DBrown

Hi, @Artesian.

Here's the current state of sync options:

• Dropbox sync'ing allows 1Password for Mac, 1Password for Windows, 1Password 4 for iOS, and 1Password for Android to share and sync your 1Password data directly.
  

Mac←→PC, Mac←→mobile, PC←→mobile

• Wi-fi sync'ing (a manual process) allows 1Password 4 for Mac or 1Password 4 for Windows to share and sync your 1Password data with the 1Password app on a supported mobile device. 1Password on the Mac and PC will not be sync'ing directly.
  

Mac←→mobile, PC←→mobile

• Folder-based sync'ing, available in 1Password 4 for Mac, allows 1Password 4 for Mac and 1Password for Windows to share and sync your 1Password data directly but shuts the 1Password apps for mobile devices out of the picture.
  

Mac←→PC

• iCloud sync'ing, available in 1Password 4 for Mac, allows 1Password 4 for Mac and 1Password 4 for iOS to share and sync your 1Password data directly, shutting 1Password for Windows and 1Password for non-iOS mobile devices out of the picture.
  

Mac←→iOS

• Combining folder-based sync'ing in 1Password 4 for Mac (to sync with 1Password for Windows) with manual wi-fi sync'ing in either 1Password 4 for Mac or 1Password 4 for Windows allows you to share and sync your 1Password data among your Mac, PC, and supported mobile devices.

It sounds like folder-based sync'ing is the route for you. Choose a sync service (such as OneDrive) that can be used on your Mac, too, and make that the location of your 1Password data (in 1Password for Mac preferences).

Note that sync services like OneDrive don't differ from Dropbox, so your IT department may deny its use, too. In that case, you'll just have to copy your entire 1Password.agilekeychain to and from your work PC every day. If you do, keep these things in mind:

• Be sure to copy the entire 1Password.agilekeychain package, not just its contents, each time you copy your data from one machine to the other.

• Be sure to retain the .agilekeychain extension on the Windows copies (where it will be treated as a folder); otherwise, 1Password won’t recognize it as a valid 1Password data folder.

• DO NOT copy a .agilekeychain folder onto an existing .agilekeychian folder. The “merged” results will contain inconsistent metadata, and some or all of your data may be inaccessible to 1Password. (Delete the existing .agilekeychain folder from the target folder before copying the new one to it.)

I hope that helps, @Artesian. Please let us know how it goes.

Artesian

Through some miracle, OneDrive is allowed at work. Maybe because it's a Microsoft product? Who knows. But I do need to sync mobile devices as well, so I'll be a guinea pig for the last option - combining folder-based and wi-fi.

I'm a little surprised that 1password doesn't offer its own sync'ing service as part of the purchase price. (or maybe as a subscription service?) Is this a deliberate decision or a "why reinvent the wheel" type thing?

DBrown

Such decisions are way above my pay grade, @Artesian, but I assume it's a bit of both. Dropbox is a tested and reliable sync mechanism perfectly suited for the needs of 1Password users on all supported devices, whereas we've never held customer data on our servers and (here comes the assumption) would be loathe to start doing so. (As I said, though, such decisions are made by wiser folk than me, and we never say "never.")