How do I access my 1Password info on any computer if my device is lost/stolen? I sync with dropbox.

heatherh
heatherh
Community Member

I have macbook pro and an iPhone. I travel for a living and want to make sure that I can access the information stored in my 1Password account from any computer in case my device/computer is lost or stolen. I specifically synced with dropbox rather than iCloud because I thought that I could then access stored information on dropbox from any computer, but I recently looked at the dropbox information and it is all in code. Is there any way that I can have my 1Password information accessible if I don't have my devices and the 1Password app is not necessarily loaded on a computer or device? Please advise.


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Referrer: forum-search:How do I access my 1Password info on any computer if my device is lost/stolen? I sync with dropbox.

Comments

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @heatherh,

    Thanks for contacting us about this! It sounds like you're referring to an older feature called 1PasswordAnywhere, which allowed you to view your 1Password vault from dropbox.com. Unfortunately that feature no longer works, and you can find more information about that here: Moving Beyond 1PasswordAnywhere

    If you use 1Password on a Mac as well as an iOS device, you'll likely have one or both of them with you when you need to access information in your vault (and in case it helps, we also make 1Password for Windows and Android). However, if you're worried about both devices being lost, stolen, or inaccessible at the same time, and you need to be able to access your 1Password data from a web browser on any computer, you might want to look into our new 1Password Teams or 1Password Families subscription service, as they include a fully featured web app (among many other features). They're free to try, so please feel free to sign up and see if it's the right fit for you.

    I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you about that. If you have more questions, please let us know. Cheers! :)

  • heatherh
    heatherh
    Community Member

    Drew, thank you for the comments. I did sleuth about and found that discussion about 1Password Anywhere, which I had no idea of, and the reference to 1Password Families. It sounds like the latter will serve my needs, as what I want is to be able to access my information in case my device(s) are lost or stolen in remote areas and countries where I travel for work on a regular basis.

    I tried to sign up for 1Password Familes but got stymied by requests for an account key and info. I want to sign up for Families (though I am solo, so this is a bit of a butchered use) but how do I sync my current account with a new Families account?

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @heatherh,

    Sorry for any confusion about how to sign up for a Families account! It should actually be pretty easy to do that, but if you're being asked to enter your account key, it sounds like you're trying to sign into an existing account. Before you can do that, you need to create an account. Once you do that, you'll have an account key.

    We explain how to sign up and how to migrate your existing data to a Families account here: How to migrate to a family or team

    Does that help? The steps in that knowledgebase article should help you get up & running with a Families account, but please let us know if you run into any problems or have questions.

  • heatherh
    heatherh
    Community Member

    Thank you, that article is very helpful, albeit complicated. I will try to figure it out. In the meantime, I originally decided to sync my devices with dropbox because I erroneously thought that would enable to access my info remotely. Is there an advantage to switching that sync to iCloud, as was otherwise recommended, and if that is better, can I switch the syncing mechanisms at this point. If so, how?

  • Pilar
    Pilar
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @heatherh,

    If you do set up 1Password Families, then you don't need to set up syncing at all! Your data will be stored on our servers and readily available anywhere you go!

    While you get 1Password Families up and running, I'll tell you a bit more about syncing :chuffed: One of the main advantages to syncing via iCloud is that it's very easy to set up and manage, while Dropbox offers more flexibility but both of them are good solutions. If you have already set up Dropbox sync and it works well for you, then you can just keep on using it. However, you always have control of your data, how it's stored and how it's synced. If you still want to change it you can find the steps to do it here: https://support.1password.com/sync-options/#sync-it-yourself-with-icloud-or-dropbox. You can go back and forth as many times as you want to find the best fit for you!

    Please let us know how this goes for you, and if you need any more help setting up Families! We're always happy to help :chuffed:

  • heatherh
    heatherh
    Community Member

    OK! I am getting closer. Thank you for your help! I read up on the families 1Password. Is it my understanding that I need an internet connection to access my information with Families? Or not? Is the information available offline like my current 1Password application? If only available online, this will work for me as my back up lost/stolen strategy, but it will not work for me for my day to day use as I live and work in areas with very limited internet, and I often need my information offline. What do you suggest?

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @heatherh,

    You don't need a constant internet connection to access your Families account data in the 1Password app on your Mac. You'll need an internet connection to initially set up your Families account, but after that it works much like it did before - in other words, a copy of your data will be stored locally on your Mac, so you'll be able to view/use/edit your data even if your Mac isn't connected to the internet. (Just keep in mind that changes to your data won't sync to/from our servers or other devices until you have an internet connection again).

    Hopefully that answers your questions, but we're here for you if you have more! :)

  • fourwheelcycle
    fourwheelcycle
    Community Member

    heatherh,

    I use the regular 1Password product, not Families. I used to be able to use 1PasswordAnywhere as a backup if my vacation laptop was lost or stolen, but now, of course, I can't. What I do now is to open my main 1Password program, select All Items at the top of the left hand column, then select File Print, type in my master password when requested, select Save as PDF from my local Print window, then go to Security Options when my Save As window opens and select "Require password to open document". I then put in a strong password and save the resulting AES 256-bit encrypted PDF document to my desktop. I carry that file with me on a thumb drive when I go on vacation.

    One note - if you have any attachments in your Secure Notes, like images of your credit cards or your Passport, you will have to save them separately as password-protected PDFs, since 1Password's All Items print-out will not include any attachments.

    Of course, you could also save these encrypted PDF files in Dropbox, but I don't like to put any of my personal data on the internet (that's just me; most people do trust Dropbox and AgileBit's new Families product).

  • Pilar
    Pilar
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @fourwheelcycle,

    Thank you for sharing with us the backup method you like to use for 1Password since 1PasswordAnywhere is not around anymore. It's quiet inventive and it seems to do the job just fine (even if it takes a few extra minutes of effort before you'll need it). Is there a specific reason why you don't trust 1Password Families? If you'd like to know more about the security features in it just let me know and I'll be happy to go into some details! :chuffed:

  • fourwheelcycle
    fourwheelcycle
    Community Member

    Hi @Pilar,

    I moved to 1Password from LastPass because I do not want to make my personal info, especially my passwords, accessible from the internet. I have 1Password on several Macs and PCs in our home and I sync them all via a local folder that resides in a network drive attached to our wifi router. It is a do it yourself solution, but it has worked perfectly for me and it keeps my passwords out of the cloud. I have a MacBook that I take to meetings and on vacation. The MacBook's Sync Preference is generally set to None. I sync it briefly to the local folder between meetings and vacations to keep its vault merged and up to date.

    I'm sure 1Password Families is a great product, providing access to passwords from any device at home, work, or on the go. However, it relies on the cloud so it is not for me.

  • Pilar
    Pilar
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @fourwheelcycle,

    Thank you very much for your answer, we always like to know what our users think and want from 1Password! We are well aware that keeping the passwords from ever being stored online is important for some of you, so we made sure to have an option that would work in those cases, the one that you're enjoying! We aim to help everyone be comfortable in how they are using 1Password. I'm glad that you've found just the right fit on how to use 1Password! :chuffed:

  • i90rr
    i90rr
    Community Member
    edited June 2017

    Hi all, I'm hope I'm not committing necro-bumping here ^_^

    @JasonDeFuria and all:
    'Cloud' services like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, MEGA, SpiderOak, etc. are surely a convenient way for sharing data between devices but only when used with care: that is you have to be aware that unless expressly denoted your data will likely be stored unencrypted on the provider's infrastructure letting anyone within the company with the proper rights access your stuff.

    A common solution to this security hole is to implement a key pair to locally encrypt the information before uploading it, this is usually done within your browser. Services like MEGA, SpiderOak and others provides this extra layer of security.

    However if for whatever reason you need or want to stick to a service that doesn't natively provide local encryption (like with iCloud, which I use a lot) there are several solutions that come into aid:

    From the list, the last two items are the only 'cloud' native solutions; they will take care of encrypting your data, cloak the metadata of the related files and directories (like the size of the files, number of elements inside a directory, etc.) and ensure consistency and integrity between every client accessing it.

    The compromise between usability vs. security is as old as when the first guy tried to keep his stuff secure while easily accessible.
    For most non-technical users Cryptomator will offer a simple to use solution with an easy 1-2-3 install and an uncluttered, self-explained graphical interface.
    CryFS looks super interesting too but at this time it's still under heavy development and might be best suited for the tech audience.
    In any case, both projects are F/LOSS what means they are publicly auditable which in turn (relatively) ensure they don't ship any backdoor or malware. This is of course of utmost importance when dealing with security software.

    Last but not least there isn't such thing as 'cloud', a misty place where things magically and marvelously happen (?)
    What there are are computers owned by companies and private people interconnected, storing your stuff and most probably, harvesting you.
    Think twice whenever you read someone advertising the 'joyfulness of the cloud and IoT'.

    Be safe!

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
    edited June 2017

    'Cloud' services like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, MEGA, SpiderOak, etc. are surely a convenient way for sharing data between devices but only when used with care: that is you have to be aware that unless expressly denoted your data will likely be stored unencrypted on the provider's infrastructure letting anyone within the company with the proper rights access your stuff.

    @i90rr: I like to think of cloud storage as "storing stuff on other people's computers", since that's essentially what it entails. :fearful:

    You're right that in many cases this can and should be a concern...however, 1Password data is end-to-end encrypted, so 1Password simply doesn't depend on the sync service to protect your data. Otherwise we wouldn't sync our data either! :tongue:

    The advice you gave is incredibly valuable for just about anything else though: documents, images, etc. — whatever you feel is sensitive, but not to the degree that you'd store it in 1Password (or that it must be shared with someone else). But you're right that a lot of these tools are not terribly user friendly. There's definitely some truth to the "security versus convenience" dichotomy, but 1Password can bring these much closer together. Cheers! ;)

This discussion has been closed.