TidBITS released a new book in their Take Control series: Take Control of Passwords in Mac OS X, written by Mac veteran Joe Kissell.
I contacted Joe way back in the summer asking him for his feedback on 1Passwd 1.0, and asked if he would be interested in reviewing 1Passwd on TidBITS. I was ecstatic when he said he had already heard of 1Passwd and planned on including it in his upcoming book. Take Control of Passwords covers the entire spectrum of password management on Mac OS X. There is a chapter about third-party Mac password managers and includes a discount coupon for 1Passwd.
Take Control of Passwords is a very good read and it is great to see Joe take a 360 degree view of passwords from a personal perspective. I am tired of reading security books that say “you must do X to be safe”. Thankfully Joe never takes this approach; from the outset he makes it clear that You need to make security decisions based on Your needs. That is refreshing to see, and I hope I am successful in taking the same approach in the Mac Security Book.
Here’s a small excerpt from Take Control of Passwords:
1Passwd: My current favorite, 1Passwd extends (rather than replaces) Apple’s keychain mechanism – not just for user names and passwords but for any other information you might fill in on a Web form. By way of plug-ins that it includes for Safari, Firefox, Camino, and Flock, 1Passwd lets you use information from a single keychain in all your browsers; it also works with every Web form I’ve found, including high-security bank forms that Safari’s AutoFill feature won’t touch. You can store multiple sets of form data for each domain, which helps when you have multiple accounts for a given site or when different parts of a site require different information. 1Passwd can also generate highly secure passwords, fill them in on a form, and store them in a keychain – all with a single click. It even checks a Web site’s domain name or IP address to guard against phishing attempts, in which attackers use a fake (but real-looking) site to steal a password or other information.
Thanks Joe! I’m honoured that 1Passwd is now your favorite Password Manager.
For anyone interested in 1Passwd, I recommend you first buy Joe’s book to get a solid understanding of passwords on Mac OS X. You can then buy 1Passwd with the $5.00 off coupon from the book. Getting a high-quality TidBITS book for 5 bucks is a great deal!
