How many backups do you need?
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Hi @jazzman
You're reasonably well covered in terms of just your vault at the moment. Both machines will have a copy of your vault and will be staying in sync via iCloud. Both copies of 1Password will be making regular backups of their vault to the local drive.
- So if for any reason iCloud messes up either one or both vaults you have two sets of backups you can use.
- If both machines were to fail you could sync another device to your iCloud and recover your vault that way.
So for you the ultimate failure would have to be iCloud failing catastrophically at the same time as both of your Macs failing. So it seems unlikely.
Now you probably have more than just 1Password on your Macs though. This is where Time Machine can be a very useful backup. It requires either an external hard drive or better yet (for complete automation) an Apple Time Capsule or equivalent. It creates backups and you can revert to any one of them depending on how far back you need to go. If one of your Macs was to fail you can restore the machine as it was to a new Mac and it works for all of your programs and not just 1Password.
Of course a Time Capsule or similar still is a local device. I don't use any myself but some people invest in an off-site backup service where it works similar to Time Machine but all of your data is stored in a data centre. That way even if a single disaster wipes out all of your machines and the local backups you can still get your information back.
The problem with disaster scenarios is where to draw the line between cautious but reasonable and over the top.
If your vault is all you're concerned about then having it on two machines and iCloud isn't too bad. If you were to add an iOS device into the mix you could have a copy of your vault even when you left the house. That might prove handy if you ever did stumble into the situation of both machines being destroyed at the same time. With 1Password already loaded on the device any passwords or information you needed you can instantly access without the hassle of requiring to set up a device and knowing your iCloud password.
Does that help at all? Backing up can be a hot topic so others may jump in too with their setups.
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Great answer and thanks. I have both Macs backed up to external hard drives through Time Machine. I have never had to restore anything with those drives. If I understand you correctly, my external drives, which back up each computer in full, back up my 1PW vault and all of the rest of my programs. Is that correct? So, my 1PW vault is not only in the cloud but also on these external drives? How foolproof is the vault? Is there any way for it to fail? I.e., is there any reason to keep a copy of all passwords and usernames at another location like in a bank safebox? Just trying to get a handle on what some of the rest of you are doing for security.
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My own practice is to rely on:
- 1P's own regular and archived backups;
- weekly Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner backups at home;
- less frequent Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner backups "off site" (i.e., away from home).
That said, in all the time I've been using 1P (since version 3) I've had to resort only once to a 1P backup (and never to any other backup)...and that was when I was beta testing 1P4.
The last thing I'd want to do is to keep a written or printed copy of my passwords anywhere at all—but that's just my view, of course.
Stephen
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If you enter 1Password's preferences and switch to the Backup tab there is a Show Files button. Clicking that will open a Finder window located handily at the folder where your backups are. Once your vault settles down a little if you kept a copy of that folder on a pen drive somewhere safe that would lend an extra layer of redundancy. The backups are encrypted so you don't have to worry about their contents being readable.
Carbon Copy Cloner is probably a lot like SuperDuper!. The neat thing about macs is you can make a bootable clone of your hard drive and if you ever need to simply use it or clone it back to the internal hard drive. It all stems from the fact that Apple make their money on the hardware, so they don't force all sorts of DRM nonsense down your throat in regards OS X.
Ever doing a big update e.g. Mavericks to Yosemite and worried? make a bootable copy of your hard drive and worst thing that can happen is you lose a couple of hours reverting back to the cloned image.
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1P's own backups can be found if you look in 1P > Preferences > Backup. Is that what you meant?
Carbon Copy Cloner is third party backup software which allows you to make bootable backups of your Mac (among other things). It is not free. I use it to complement Time Machine backups.
Stephen
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What can you use to open backup files in a readable format?
Can you simply copy them to a pen drive?
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Hi @Stephen_C
Do you keep a backup of your computer at another location? Do you have 1PW on an iOS device?
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Since I am now totally confused about 1Password, I've decided to use an old-fashioned backup. From 1Password, I made a printout which shows all logins and passwords (and all other stuff, also). The printout is in my safety deposit box.
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Hi @Stephen_C
You don't even like Plato's suggestion of keeping a hard copy in a safe deposit box at a bank?
I accessed the 1PW backups, but my computer wouldn't read them. What do I do?
Is your failsafe your iOS device or the backup system in 1PW?
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Regarding the safety deposit box...
Somehow a thief has to obtain my key. The thief has to know that the key is mine and he has to know which bank (and branch) to go to. Then, the thief risks exposure by going to the bank where he has to mimic my signature. Admittedly, the signature is probably the easy part but there's a good chance that he's never seen it prior to going to the bank. Finally, the thief has to convince the personnel at the bank that I've had plastic surgery since most of them have known me for some thirty years. Finally, I know that the information is there. I do not have that confidence in invisible electronic storage, especially with some of the nebulous responses I've seen on this forum.
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I have a Yosemite iMac and a Yosemite MacBook Pro, both of which have 1Password. I also have an up-to-date iPod with 1Password.
I kinda think of the storage in iCloud as being a backup for 1Password but admittedly that's a slight stretch. However, I also have a local external drive that uses Time Machine to back up everything on my iMac.
1Password on my MacBook is identical to that on my iMac so I don't need a separate backup for it. I don't keep any significant data resident on the MacBook so there's no need for any exhaustive backup. I'm retired and I consider the MacBook to be the "downstairs" computer.
I answer emails and browse the web with the MacBook and iCloud keeps everything synced with the iMac. Whenever I deal with data files, I do a WiFi connection to the iMac, browse its HD and copy the files that I need. When finished, I copy the revised files back to the iMac and trash them on the MacBook.
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@jazzman just so as not to leave your question to me unanswered....
I do not regard any of my five backups as failsafe—which is rather the reason I have five of them (plus of course the sync'd vaults on my iPhone and iPad).
My 1P vault is vital to me. I am not the slightest bit worried there is any material inadequacy in my backup system in that context. I can sleep at night...and am off right now to do just that. :)
Stephen
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Hi @Stephen_C
Well said.
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Hi @Stephen_C @Plato @littlebobbytables
Thanks to all of you for your help in getting me up and running with 1PW. Great advice.
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