1Password Firefox plugin compatibility
I am a user of 1Password for Windows 1.0.9. Until the recent update of FF, the plugin functioned well. After the well-known ver 40 update, it disappeared. I found a newer version of 1Password plugin and installed it, and it appears on the toolbar, but it tells me when clicked that 1Password Helper is not found, although the standalone copy of 1Password is up and running; and nothing changes after I restart the helper process from the standalone app.
It has to be mentioned that FF DID NOT disable the old plugin - it just mentions that it's not signed, as signatures will be mandatory only since the next year now. However, it is clear that something changed in the browser, and consequently the add-on is not working any more.
Am I correct in understanding that:
1. Your new FF plugin does not work with the old 1Password 1.0.* (Win).
2. Your old plugin does not work with new FF ver40+.
3. Your only solutions are:
- "Do not update to FF ver40+" - hearing things like that from representatives of an IT company (which assumes certain understanding of why updates of browsers are generally necessary) is somewhat disconcerting. Hopefully, the actual programmers are more knowledgeable, otherwise users should not trust the security of your solution...
- "Change your browser" - why should we change the browser, if all that needs changing is a single simple plugin?
- "Upgrade to the latest 1Password version" - Right. Now I have a Family license allowing me to use it on 5 devices, and you want me to dish out $25 to upgrade it to a single license?
If you're so hungry for money and don't care much for your paying users unless they keep paying, there's a better way that would be at least acceptable to those of us users who do not want to upgrade 1Password to RETAIN its usability as no real improvements warranting such an upgrade have materialized:
You can update the FF legacy plugin and sell it (if possible legally).
If legally impossible (e.g. if Mozilla prohibits sale of plugins) make a minor upgrade of 1Password 1.0.9 that has some sort of a flag that tells the latest FF plugin for 1Password 4 that it can work with the password database. Sell this update for $10 or so, which is a reasonable amount, considering that it is clear that the only reason the new FF plugin doesn't work with legacy 1Password db is for commercial reasons.
Before that happened, whenever asked on forums re password management software, I mentioned your product and its strengths.
Now you have a choice:
- you can either sell an update for a reasonable amount of money (not more that $10, and no degradation of family license to single license) - and get some cash and retain some of the goodwill;
- or you can keep telling "It's a FF problem they change, we're not obliged to maintain legacy software, and the new FF plugin won't work with old db's not because we want [a lot of] your money, but because it is really really necessary" - and lose me (and I assume a bunch of other customers) for life. There's no shortage of alternatives nowadays, and many will prefer switching to KeePass (which also has FF plugins \ Android apps) instead of succumbing to outright extortion.
1Password Version: 1.0.9.342
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: win 8.1
Sync Type: dropbox
Comments
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Hi @JohnSmith,
Thanks for writing in to share your feedback with us, we really appreciate it.
Am I correct in understanding that:
Your new FF plugin does not work with the old 1Password 1.0.* (Win).That is correct, the newer 1Password extension is radically different and can only work with the newer 1Password Helper in 1Password 4 for Windows.
Your old plugin does not work with new FF ver40+.
Mozilla has removed the widget component that we used in the previous extension, which disabled how 1Password would work in Firefox 40 or later. So, it isn’t possible for us to simply update it to fix it, we'd have to change a lot of code in a legacy version of the extension and the main program as well.
We’ve provided information how to handle this in our support article here: https://support.1password.com/v3-extension-firefox/
"Do not update to FF ver40+"
That was not what we said and if we did, we do apologize. We offer the suggestion to switch to the ESR build of Firefox, which has an extended support lifecycle from Mozilla and it is currently based on Firefox 38 that is actively updated by Mozilla until March 2016. After then, 1Password 1.x will not support Firefox.
"Change your browser" - why should we change the browser, if all that needs changing is a single simple plugin?
It’s not a simple plugin, the extension actually handles all encryption, decryption, filling, and storing your data that it syncs with your 1Password program’s database. In the newer version, we’ve improved this by moving a lot of the functions to 1Password Helper, keeping the extension more simplified. This is why you need 1Password 4.x to use the newer version, its Helper is designed to handle more than it did in the previous version of 1Password.
Not to mention, Mozilla removed the widget framework and it would require us to overhaul the widget parts of the extension. Since the 1Password 1.x is no longer updated while Mozilla continues to release newer versions every 6 week, the option is to upgrade to have 1Password support in new versions of Firefox.
"Upgrade to the latest 1Password version" - Right. Now I have a Family license allowing me to use it on 5 devices, and you want me to dish out $25 to upgrade it to a single license?
Just to be clear, the family license is for sharing the license with up to 5 human family members, each person on the license can use it on any number of PCs they want as long as they're the 1Password user. We do not have a limit on hardware, only users.
We’ve gotten rid of the family license, simplified it so that the single license includes the family sharing feature as well.
Upgrading it to 1Password 4 means you and up to 5 family members (6 total users, no PC limits) can use 1Password on any number of PCs you want for 25 dollars, not 1Password 4 on one single PC, that’s not the case.
If you're so hungry for money and don't care much for your paying users unless they keep paying, there's a better way that would be at least acceptable to those of us users who do not want to upgrade 1Password to RETAIN its usability as no real improvements warranting such an upgrade have materialized:
We do care and we try to help as much as we can by offering different options such as using the ESR build of Firefox, switching to a different browser and offer the upgrade at a discounted price.
Note that 1Password 4.x is free for all 1Password 1.x purchases made in 2013 and 2014, so we also offer a big grace period for the free upgrade. A lot of our users fit in this free upgrade. If your license was purchased any time in 2013 or later, your license key will work in 1Password 4 without any purchases needed.
However, it is not feasible for us to offer lifetime updates at no cost.
You can update the FF legacy plugin and sell it (if possible legally).
That’s not possible, the plugin doesn’t work on its own, it depends on the main 1Password program to handle many of the tasks.
In addition, that’s exactly what we did, by offering an upgrade to 1Password 4, which includes support for the current versions of the browsers.
We do not offer lifetime support for newer browser versions, we only offer support to current browser versions at the time of 1Password’s versioned releases.
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Thank you for the prompt response.
Upgrading it to 1Password 4 means you and up to 5 family members (6 total users, no PC limits) can use 1Password on any number of PCs you want for 25 dollars, not 1Password 4 on one single PC, that’s not the case.
OK, that changes things drastically. Note, it's not stated clearly anywhere. When I enter my license number in the query field on the upgrade page, it does not tell me that all my family members entitled to using 1Password I bought under family license will also get to use ver4, not just me. Words "single license" are also quite explicit.
Maybe you should mention it somewhere, e.g. when a family license number is entered the output should include this explanation, it certainly wouldn't hurt.
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@JohnSmith - I apologize if our family licensing is not clear, I will pass on this feedback. We simplified the licensing such that there is only now one type of license and this is good for yourself and up to 5 family members.
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Thanks for feedback, have a nice day!
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You're very welcome :)
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