If I leave 1Password unlocked on my physically secure iMac, are my passwords secure from hackers?

charlierh
charlierh
Community Member
in Mac

For convince, I leave 1Password unlocked all the time on my iMac. I am not worried about anyone physically using my computer and using 1Password to access websites/secure data/etc. Does this allow hackers via malware etc. to access and use 1Paswword to get to my bank accounts and other secure accounts?

1Password Version: 6.3 BETA-4 (630004)
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.11.4
Sync Type: Dropbox
Referrer: forum-search:If I leave 1Password unlocked on my physically secure iMac, are my passwords secure from hackers?

Comments

  • nathanvf
    nathanvf
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @charlierh,

    That is a good question.

    Essentially if 1Password is locked your password and the associated keys to decrypt your data will not be in memory on your computer. There should also be no decrypted copies of your items in memory and no decrypted copies of your attachments / documents on disk.

    If 1Password is unlocked, the keys, items, documents etc would be accessible on the computer in memory/disk.

    So the issue here is that if your computer is compromised the "hacker" could potentially take over your screen/keyboard/mouse etc and use the application itself without needing to know you 1Password Master Password. If 1Password were locked at that time they would have to guess your Master Password in order to get the information.

    Hope this explains things.

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