Where are my passwords actually kept?

Bronwen224466
Bronwen224466
Community Member

I recently set up a new external hard drive to be a Time Machine back up for my MacBook Pro. The full back up took place and it started encrypting, but long before it finished the encryption, the drive failed. Neither of my computers even "sees" the drive, so there is no way for me to reformat it. The manufacturer, Seagate, tells me to return it if I want replacement/refund, but I want to be sure my passwords are not on the hard drive. I use 1Password account on the MacBook. Thanks.


1Password Version: 7.2.5
Extension Version: 7.2.5
OS Version: 10.14.4
Sync Type: 1Password
Referrer: forum-search:are my passwords kept on my laptop

Comments

  • Lars
    Lars
    1Password Alumni

    @Bronwen224466 - I can't say what state the data is in on your crashed drive in general, since it crashed while you were backing up/encrypting. But what I can say is that your passwords would not be vulnerable in that scenario, just as they are not if someone sits down at your computer but does not know your Master Password for 1Password. All of your 1Password data is located in ~/Library/Group Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits/Library/Application Support/1Password/Data -- but it's fully encrypted at rest on the disk. Is it there? I don't know; depends on whether it had been copied before the crash. But even if it is, anyone in possession of that disk would have to know your Master Password to access the data. It's not the most ideal situation to have to send a disk full of your data to anyone - even a manufacturer - but I'd be more worried about NON-1Password data in such a case. Things like browsing history or whatever else that's private or sensitive but not encrypted by default could potentially be more problematic than 1Password data, which IS encrypted by default.

  • Bronwen224466
    Bronwen224466
    Community Member

    Thank you. Believe me, I AM worried about other data, but if I don't send the disk back, I'm out $132. But if the passwords were at risk, I'd eat the $132. The manufacturer is telling me that it would be very difficult for anyone to recover data from it.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Bronwen224466,

    As Lars mentioned, even if your 1Password data was already copied on the drive, it would still be encrypted.

    The manufacturer is telling me that it would be very difficult for anyone to recover data from it.

    If the drive is physically damaged this much, so much that even the manufacturer is telling you that the data might be unrecoverable, perhaps they won't be able to extract anything useful from it anyway. But at the end of the day, this is your personal decision as you are the only one who knows what type of data was backed up on this drive.

  • danco
    danco
    Volunteer Moderator

    Before you return the drive, try another cable. And if it's connected through a hub, connect it directly

    I've known times (with a Thunderbolt cable and a hub) where drives just disappear and only a restart of the computer will bring them back.

    I wouldn't trust the drive as you've had trouble as soon as you got it, but you might be able to see it for long enough to decide what to do.

  • Bronwen224466
    Bronwen224466
    Community Member

    Thank you both for your input. I have tried the drive on 2 computers with three different cables, and without a hub. The first tech-support person at the manufacturer said that no one would be able to extract data from it. The second one said that someone with the right equipment and a good amount of time might be able to get something. But he assured me that no one there would do that when they were supposed to be destroying the drive. Still, not a happy making situation.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @Bronwen224466 Thank you for the update. I agree that the situation is not amazing :(

This discussion has been closed.