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Comment by Miyamoto | Hacker News Reader

I don't really see the point of having 1Password on anything but your phone (unless you don't have a smart phone).

It seems like the most secure way to use it, assuming you've enabled back ups in 1Password to iCloud or DropBox.

Whenever I need a password I just grab my phone and look it up, then type it in. Sure, I have to manually type passwords, and my randomized passwords all have a minimum 18 character length, so it takes a bit longer. It's a plus though, because over time I memorize my passwords through repetition. If you have the program on a desktop and it just copies/pastes your password, you'll never memorize it.

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Passwords are a terrible security tool - In many cases they are easier for computers to guess then they are for people to remember.

For me, not-memorizing it is the whole point of 1Password. 1Password lets me generate and store passwords which are MUCH longer/more random than normal people can memorize.

I store them on my PC, and lock/unlock them with a strong master password - They're synced via local network to my phone, and never travel outside my network. Where possible, accounts are additionally secured via 2-factor auth.

This seems like a much better solution than variations on song-lyrics, cat names, 'P4zzw0Rd', which is the 'standard' solution to passwords.

FWIW, passwords are something I'd consider a 'hair on fire' problem. The current solutions are very very broken.

Serious? All my passwords are randomized with their generator. There's an extension for every browser. So any time I need to login to a site I hit Cmd + \ and it auto fills and logs me in. Fuck typing and remembering passwords.

I guess I just don't want to install plug-ins on every browser/computer I use, since I have a lot. Plus work, library, friends' computers, etc. Memorization comes in handy at that point. As for typing, it's not like typing in even a 18+ character password is that slow.

With iCloud sync now, all you need to memorize is your Apple ID password (to install 1Password from the App Store and have it sync from iCloud) and your 1Password password and you can bootstrap your whole password database onto every computer you own. Typing 20-30 character randomized strings is something I try to avoid. What a pain in the ass.

In exchange for not memorizing my passwords, I get different, random passwords for every site I use. Given likely attack vectors, I have seriously upgraded the security of my data. Add to this the syncing and the ease in my workflow, and I'll never, ever go back.

Passwords are terrible. 1Password and related software make having to live with them significantly less terrible.

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