Work computer safety

I’m sure this may have been covered, however, maybe there is more up to date information available.

I work in a university and I would like to install 1Password X on my work computer, installing just the vault I use for work related passwords. I have a Family account. Is it possible to enable just one vault to download to my work computer? And if that is possible, what about the safety of my passwords, will the IT department be able to gain access to the vault?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

Comments

  • Hi @zensummer

    Welcome to the forum. I'd be happy to help with that.

    There isn't a way to limit which vaults are downloaded to which devices, but you may be able to accomplish that by inviting yourself (using a different email address) to join your 1Password Families membership. You'd have two separate accounts that way: one for work, and one for home. You'd only share the vaults that you want to have accessible at work with the work account.

    That said I'd recommend using extreme caution in accessing any personal accounts on a device you don't own. It is not out of the realm of possibility that your employer is recording your screen and keystrokes. This is true for any device that you don't own, such as public computers. There is really no telling what 'malware' is on such a device, intentionally or unintentionally. The best policy would be to not access personal accounts other than from your own devices.

    I hope that helps. Should you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to ask.

    Ben

  • zensummer
    zensummer
    Community Member

    Hello Ben,

    Thank you for the friendly welcome!

    Invited myself to create a “work only” vault sounds like it would certainly accomplish what I had in mind.

    I am in complete agreement in your caution regarding having any personal accounts on my work computer, or any other that I don’t control. I would only be using a vault that contains work related passwords, however I am going to give this some more thought. Some of the accounts I have the passwords for do have 2FA to sign in, which makes me think they would be more secure, but some do not.

    Thank you very much for your quick and insightful reply.

  • Invited myself to create a “work only” vault sounds like it would certainly accomplish what I had in mind.

    Great; I hope it works out. :)

    I am in complete agreement in your caution regarding having any personal accounts on my work computer, or any other that I don’t control. I would only be using a vault that contains work related passwords, however I am going to give this some more thought. Some of the accounts I have the passwords for do have 2FA to sign in, which makes me think they would be more secure, but some do not.

    2FA has been marketed as a much stronger protection than it tends to actually be. Don't get me wrong — it is great, and I encourage everyone to use it for most services that offer it. In most cases having it is better than not. But it isn't a silver bullet, and I wouldn't recommend relying on it as one. It may help stop someone who is shoulder surfing your credentials or a casual would-be thief, and in that way it is another tool in the security toolbox.

    Ben

  • zensummer
    zensummer
    Community Member

    Thank you Ben,

    I completely agree. That’s why I always choose very long random passwords generated by 1Password for all my accounts.

    Which, of course, also makes it so that I don’t want to have to type them in manually!

  • You're very welcome. Sounds like you're on the right track. :+1: :)

    Ben

  • Zaka7
    Zaka7
    Community Member

    @zensummer I found myself in the same situation and I used the families account to create a guest account for my work. This for me worked better as there is no editing privileges, so if anything on my work pc was compromised, no information could be removed (etc) a guest account also doesn't come out of your 5 family member allowance :) you are allowed, I believe, 5 guests.

    The guest account works in exactly the same way as having another family member, however they have very limited editing privileges and can only share one vault, in this case a work vault :)

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @Zaka_7: inviting yourself as Guest would indeed work too, if you just want to access your passwords without adding new ones or editing the existing ones. Thank you for sharing this alternative solution :)

  • zensummer
    zensummer
    Community Member

    Both of those solutions sound like they would work very well, thank you!

    Can I ask one more question, regarding the behavior or 1Password X? I installed the extension in Chrome and when I click on the icon, it seems to start to open, then switches to opening the my.1password.com/signin webpage. Is that the correct behavior?

    Thank you

  • Is that the correct behavior?

    It is, yes. :) Signing in on the webpage that 1Password X opens will add that account to 1Password X.

    Ben

  • zensummer
    zensummer
    Community Member

    Thank you very much Ben. I’m going to give this a try. There are about 10 passwords in the vault I’ll be using. None are personal, all work related. I’m eager to see how 1 Password X works, I have not had much experience with it.

  • Great. :) Please let us know how it turns out. :+1:

    Ben

  • zensummer
    zensummer
    Community Member

    Hello Ben,
    Everything worked out great. I have to say I’m impressed with 1 Password X. It really does work very well!

    Thanks you very much again for your assistance.

    1 Password is such a great application and the support is top notch. I never pass up the opportunity to recommend 1 Password to friends and family.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    Likewise, thanks for the update, and for the kind words! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying 1Password X. :chuffed:

    Ultimately it's a very personal choice how each of us sets things up, but in case it helps anyone else in the future, a "guest" accounts can be really useful both for setting up a more restricted account with access to a single vault for work, as in the example above, but also as an option for adding kids to the membership before they're ready to have their own Private vault:

    Share with guests in 1Password Families

    A number of customers have mentioned using those strategies to great effect. Cheers! :)

  • zensummer
    zensummer
    Community Member

    Thanks very much Brenty. That answers a question I would have asked pretty soon. My daughter is at the point where I want to start keeping track of passwords. I think the guest account will work perfectly.

    Thanks again!

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    On behalf of brenty, you are welcome @zensummer!

    If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out anytime.

    Have a wonderful day :)

This discussion has been closed.