Folder Sync to Network drive not always available [Recommendation - try Dropbox, or local folder]
hey,
i'm syncing and sharing my secondary vault via a folder with my workmates. that folder is only available when i'm connected via vpn / smb to our server. the connection should ideally only be necessary to sync anyway ... correct?
when i fire up 1p, switch to secondary vault and there's no connection, it doesn't switch instantly. instead 1p waits for a few minutes (presumably tries to unsuccessfully connect to the server. then i get "There was a problem connection to the server from the finder ...". after a few times i get the sync "Problem detected" notification from the helper. if i click fix now, i have to setup the sync again (as soon as the connection is back up). if i click ignore either the app crashes, nothing happens or sometimes it actually switches to the secondary vault.
why not letting 1p switch instantly before trying to sync? why not pinging the folder? if none is available show the notification right away?
is there anything to prevent this?
cheers
Comments
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Hi @shortbus,
I'm sorry that you're having trouble here. 1Password will attempt to sync when you switch to a vault - to ensure that the database is fully updated with the most recent data. If the sync source is currently unavailable, an error message will appear alerting you that there has been a breakdown in sync. This is a security feature put in place to make sure that you don't make changes to your database with the assumption that all changes are being synced to your other devices.
Now, unfortunately, storing your keychain directly on a network drive is not fully supported at this time, so this might be why things are a bit tangled up for you. Folder Sync is meant to be used with a local folder and a secondary sync solution. In your situation, the best solution would be to sync to a local folder on your computer, then sync changes from local folder to the SMB server when it's available using a sync solution (like ChronoSync).
That being said, the app shouldn't be crashing when you ignore the sync error. Have you been sending in crash reports when these crashes occur? If you have, please send me a private message with the name and email address you have used to send these in so that we can take a closer look.
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Thanks Megan for your elaborate answer.
I totally understand that a sync attempt should be started, but why not AFTER switching the GUI to the second vault? So you can at least use the unsynced vault right away. At the moment i have to wait for the notification ... which means a few minutes.
Your mentioned solution sounds too good, but i'd like to share with my workmates and I don't think you can do that. What happens if two are syncing at the same time. Also merging of the passwords might be a bit tricky i guess.
I send an error report, but i don't remember when it was. If it happens again, i'll let you know and send you the report as a pm.
Thanks!
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Hi @shortbus,
Again, I'm sorry that I don't have a perfect answer for you on this. I'd be happy to mention to our developers that you'd like access to the vault before it checks for the availability of the sync source, but as I mentioned above, we think it's important that the availability of the sync source gets checked immediately so that a user doesn't start making changes to an unavailable database. Even if you aren't making changes to the database, but wanting to use a Login, if your workmate has updated the password for that Login, you won't be able to log in successfully until that change has been synced.
Unfortunately, I'm not quite familiar with how ChronoSync, or other secondary sync solutions work when syncing with multiple users. It might be worth investigating to see if there is a sync solution that would meet your needs to ensure that Folder Sync works more smoothly. Is Dropbox syncing an option for your team?
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Hi Megan, i understand you point of view. Well not really actually ;) . Of course changes won't be available without the folder. But after all you should be able to work properly => immediately with your own copy and the app should sync / merge as soon as the folder becomes available again shouldn't it? Why not implementing a simple GUI Element, like a traffic light to see right away if the database / folder is available instead of artificially blocking the app? Green => just synced, yellow => has been a while, red => has been a loong while for example. Dropbox syncing is an option for sure, i don't really like the idea of having my passwords in the cloud though, but i'm just trying it right now. Can you recommend it at all for shared usage in a small team? How does the combination of 1password and dropbox cope with simultaneous merges from different persons? Cheers Frank
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Hi Frank ( @shortbus ),
Thanks so much for the feedback on Folder Sync. As far as Dropbox goes, I am so glad you are thinking strongly about the security of your data - thats what we like to see!
We are very confident about storing 1Password data in the cloud, as your data file is encrypted with an exceedingly secure encryption algorithm called AES. Even if someone were to acquire a copy of your 1Password data file, it would be extremely difficult (approaching impossible in a human lifetime) for them to actually gain access to your passwords without your Master Password. In short, we believe it is just as secure as having the data on your laptop. To learn more about cloud data security, have a read through the following article.
http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/cloud_storage_security.html
And you can see the thoughts behind our data format's design here.
http://learn2.agilebits.com/1Password4/Security/keychain-design.html
Also, you can check out our blog for many more articles that go into the nitty gritty math behind what makes 1Password so secure.
http://blog.agilebits.com/tag/cryptography_/
Can you recommend it at all for shared usage in a small team?
I certainly can recommend it. It is what our support team here uses to share information - I have several vaults synced with various teammates and other groups via Dropbox and it works seamlessly.
How does the combination of 1password and dropbox cope with simultaneous merges from different persons?
Because 1Password is able to sync changes immediately to Dropbox, there is less of a chance of multiple users editing a singular item at once. However, if 1Password does detect a conflict and is unable to resolve which is the newer edit, it will create 'Conflict Fields' within the entry that hold the conflicting data. Then you can ensure that the correct data is updated to the correct fields.
I hope this helps, but we're here if you have any further questions. :)
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Thanks Megan! It seems to be working much better. No problems so far ... Cheers Frank
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Hi Frank ( @shortbus ),
Thanks so much for letting me know that you're all sorted out! I'm so glad to hear that things are working well for you.
Since this issue is nicely sorted out now, I'll close this thread, but if you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to open a new thread, or email us directly at support@ agilebits .com - we're here for you. :)
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