AgileBits in Toronto offers 1Password, a password manager available to both private individuals and businesses, touting a unique approach to multi-factor authentication to improve security.
$2.99
per month
Tools4ever UMRA
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
New York software company Tools4ever offers a suite of identity management and access (IAM/IdM) tools, for single sign-on (SSO), password management, access control and authorization, and more, with the User Management Resource Administrator, or UMRA.
I've described how I use it to manage confidential client logins for the websites I develop for them. Every site has a myriad of things that need logins - from setting up their domain name and hosting, to building the WordPress site, to getting them set up with email and maintaining their sites. When I need to provide IT support to our staff, I have my phone right there to log in to their computers to address the issues. When I want to order cookies from Amazon or check my home's security camera settings, it's there for personal needs as well. There are sharing features that I haven't explored enough to be comfortable with setting up for staff. They may be just great, but it is a place where I personally don't make use of the program.
It is very well suited for tying multiple systems and services together, allowing for exchanges of information and account management. I'm not sure of instances that it is not well suited since solution was recommended by folks in education. With that being the case it suited our needs quite well.
1Password's Watchtower service is a real value add - 1Password monitors the security news for evidence of security breaches containing your credentials and alerts you if you have been impacted. That is a huge value as it enables you to get out in front of a security breach and be proactive in protecting yourself.
1Password's core strength is that it makes it easy to practice good security hygiene by using strong, unique passwords for each site you interact with. This is something that all password managers do now, but offering an easy experience is key.
1Password's password sharing features makes it easy to share team credentials with other team members, and to decide who amongst the team gets access to the designated credentials.
Imports students and staff into our Active Directory and email system.
It manages those same accounts, disabling accounts for folks who have left, and creating "Windows" when accounts should be enabled.
It interacts with our Microsoft AD and our student management software seamlessly. Once accounts are in our AD environment, our student management and other systems create new email accounts automatically for us.
1Password is so secure, that it lacks a self-managed "forget your password" functionality which means that as a manager, I have to approve password resets which may slow down some users.
On Chrome, the extension sometimes stops working when the browser is updated.
We have been attempting to get single sign on for students, so they have the ability to change their passwords on their own. The documentation of this process is very dated, and often support isn't even aware that their site issues/ references those older documents.
During the initial buildup of our server Tools4ever UMRA support was a bit hit and miss, but I will say our ongoing support has been very good.
The 1Password app design is top notch, much better than a couple other password managers I've looked at. The app and service are very flexible, allowing for many different types of data storage. The browser extensions generally work very well, allowing for easy access to login information while using pretty much any modern web browser.
I have never had any issues with 1Password and they have always been able to answer my questions adequately resolve my issues. Furthermore, they have a robust peer forum that can be accessed. They have helpful "Get to know Apps", videos and many articles to assist in the process of using the product.
I don't know any of the software in the list, but normally, I used to save logins in Chrome - whether work or private, in separate accounts of course. Chrome stores information, even credit card info in plain text, that is easy to crack. 1Password is a step up, or even, several steps up from there. The Master key is stored in a Google service though, that 1Password gave me in a pdf format, but I consider that safe
1Password has empowered me to meet the stringent security demands of my organization without having to resort to complex, time-intensive encryption setups to store all of my various credentials. Instead of wasting time on building, configuring, and maintaining such infrastructure, 1Password manages it for me.
1Password's annual subscription pricing model is reasonable, given a great deal of value, it has provided me, both personally and in my business operations. I don't need to invest capital into secure storage infrastructure to ensure that I always have my credentials at my fingertips, and I prefer to have a dedicated, focused security company own the hardware behind this great service.
The fact that I control my 1Password account means that I can get double the use out of it: personal and professional account credentials sit side-by-side in my secure vault. Because I do not need to rely on my internal IT department to provide access, I am confident in storing whatever I need to store.
We save considerable work hours by a multitude of staff having the system manage and generate accounts for us on a daily basis.
We have some peace of mind knowing accounts for staff and students who leave our district can no longer gain access to our systems because it automatically disables those accounts.
Because of the way the system interacts with input that is put in, it automatically creates logical positions which dictate different levels, meaning it automatically sets up when staff gain access and lose access depending on the position they are filling.
