Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
• Store a broader range of information types, including software licenses,
passports, memberships, and reward programs
• Provide a friendlier interface for viewing and editing data than Apple's awful
Keychain Access utility
For all these reasons, although I use and appreciate iCloud Keychain, I rely more heavily on a
password manager called 1Password . It syncs all my data amongst my Macs and iOS devices,
as well as Windows and Android devices. It has lots of useful organizational features. And, it
gives me a greater feeling of control over my passwords than iCloud Keychain does. When I
get to a Web page that asks for my credentials, I simply press the default keyboard shortcut
Command-\, and 1Password fills them in and submits the form. Piece of cake.
In fact, I like 1Password so much I wrote a topic about it: Take Control of 1Password . If you
choose to use 1Password, you may find that topic helpful in getting up to speed.
However, 1Password is not by any means the only game in town. Other third-party password
managers that have most of the same features (and thus, the same advantages over iCloud
Keychain) include Dashlane , LastPass , and RoboForm . I've tried them all and would happily
recommend any of them.
Tip: To learn more about password security generally—including what crucial steps
you should take beyond simply using a password manager—see my topic Take Control
of Your Passwords .
Automate More Web Activities
If you want to automate a series of operations on Web pages, such as logging in,
filling in forms, and performing searches, you can use either Keyboard Maestro (see
Control Your Mac with Keyboard Maestro ) or a scriptable browser called Fake. I used
Fake for a while but switched to Keyboard Maestro when it added controls for Chrome
and Safari. As I write this, Fake hasn't been updated in over a year.
Automate Cloud Services
Hundredsofapps,sites,services,andotherproductsproclaimtheirconnectionstothecloud,
even though it's often unclear what “cloud” means or what its benefits are. A consequence
of this cloud craze is that you can end up with dozens of accounts with cloud services that
partially overlap in capabilities. Yet for the most part, these services don't communicate with
each other. The result is that you may end up spending a lot of time taking a file, photo, or
piece of information from one cloud service and moving or posting it to another service.
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