Switchers' Blog

How to Respond to Data Breaches

Recently, Monster.com had customer information stolen from its database including usernames, passwords, phone numbers, email addresses, birth dates, and certain demographic data, according to a report published by ZDNet.

Following a breach like this, it is important to change your password not only at the breached site, Monster.com in this case, but also for any other site for which you use the same password. Many computer users use the same password or handful of passwords for all their Internet accounts. Imagine if you used the same email address and password for Monster.com that you use for eBay or Paypal. It's not a huge leap for a bad guy to try the same password you use one place on another site that might have even more attractive information.

So, if you have an account at Monster.com or any other site that has its data (really *your* data) compromised, be sure to be vigilant about changing your passwords and considering how far the damage might spread if a bad guy were to go exploring.

Bonus: How 1Password Can Help

Of course, 1Password makes it orders of magnitude easier to minimize your exposure in situations like this. If you use 1Password to generate your passwords, you have very little cause to worry about duplicate passwords and your risk is mitigated.

If you have entries in 1Password that do use the same password, you can search for entries that have that password and then change them accordingly.

1. Launch 1Password
2. Enter your master password to unlock your keychain (if necessary).
3. Click the magnifying glass in the search field and choose "Search in Password."
4. Enter the password in the search field.

This will reveal all the entries with that password.

1Password Workflow for Changing Passwords

• Select a login and choose File > Go and Fill Login (cmd+return) from the menu to go to the site and login.
• Navigate to the change password page.
• Right click the password field and choose "Strong Password Generator" to generate a new password. 
• Click "Fill" and then submit your password change. 1Password will attempt to recognize that you are changing your password and offer to update the login's password for you. If it does not, you can find the generated password in the Password History section of 1Password and update the login manually. 
• Repeat this procedure for each login that you need to change.

Macworld 2009 Wrap Up

We packed up the booth Friday afternoon, shipped a couple of packages, went to dinner, and then everyone headed up to their rooms to pack for our Saturday departures. We were met with delayed and cancelled flights on Saturday but we all managed to make it home in a reasonable time frame. This brought closure to another successful Macworld Expo for Agile Web Solutions.

Left to Right - Chad, Carl, Dan, Dave, Roustem, Gita:

Once again our little presence on the exhibit floor was well received and we had crowds at the booth non-stop through Thursday and only sporatic breaks on Friday. Many current 1Password users stopped by to say hello or to ask a question and we also met quite a few people who were looking at 1Password for the very first time. It was a wonderful experience and getting live feedback is always great for us and 1Password. I particularly enjoyed meeting friscofrog's dog even though he seemed more interested in lounging as opposed to checking out 1Password. Such is a dog's life I guess. :)

We also got to meet some of our favorite developers and Mac personalities as well.

Dave and Roustem with Philip, Jean, and Greg from Smile on My Mac:

Don McAllister from Screencasts Online (with Jean and Roustem):

Ken Case from Omnigroup:

Thanks to everyone for the great time. Special thanks to kitmos for relieving us of our remaining brochures on Friday afternoon. Now it is time to get our nose back to the grindstone and make 1Password an even better product.

Macworld Day 3

The 1Password booth was in full swing today but I just had to take a break to accept the Macsimumnews / MacTech magazine Best of Show award.

We are all a bit worn out and called it an early night to get some rest for the final day of the show. See everyone tomorrow for the last day.

Macworld Day 2

As you can see from the photo below, booth 3526 in the North Hall was quite busy again.

I got a chance to get away from the booth and check out the rest of the show floor today and wouldn't you know it, we had the best booth at the entire show. :)


Here's a photo that is probably not going to make any of the other Macworld Expo photo streams.

Finally, if you're looking for all the new hot products at Macworld Expo this year, here they are:

Oddly, no one was ever at this exhibit though. Thanks again to all that stopped by the 1Password booth the last couple of days! We'll be here all week. Please stop by and say hello.

Macworld 2009 Opens

As Phil was doing the keynote address and talking about iLife09, iWork09, and new 17" notebooks we were busy attending to last minute preparations for another 1Password presence on the exhibit floor at Macworld Expo. The doors opened at 11 a.m. and we stayed busy talking to people all day long.

Thanks to all of you that stopped by to visit as well as those who were meeting us for the very first time. The kind words and praise for 1Password really had our spirits elevated today and we greatly appreciate all that made the special trip to tell us how much they love 1Password.

For those that haven't had a chance to stop by booth #3526 in the North Hall yet, please do :)

Macworld Expo Brochures

Our Macworld Expo brochures arrived to the hotel just in time!

We will be setting up the booth today and hope to see you all tomorrow or later this week at the Moscone North, booth #3526.

1Password at Macworld Expo Next Week

Once again we'll be exhibiting at Macworld Expo. This year we will be in the North Hall. You can find us in booth 3526-T which is in the Special Interest Pavilions section. We still have a few free exhibit hall passes available so click here to get yours while they last.

Please stop by and visit us if you make it to the show this year!