Welcome to our App of the Week series where we highlight Smartphone and iPad applications for business.

How many different user ID's and passwords do you have?  Start with the basics like email or a Google account and then add in business specific passwords such as alarm codes, wireless routers and bank or purchasing account numbers.  It's not uncommon for a business user to have 20, 30 or more passwords, PIN numbers or secure phrases.  But how do you keep track of them all?

The most common solution is really not a solution at all: use the same password for everything.  Managing your website login for movie tickets with the same password as accessing your business banking records isn't a balanced approach.  Another solution is to write down all of the passwords in a notebook, attach sticky notes to your computer or use the virtual notes feature on a program such as Microsoft Outlook.  Not only do these options put your data at risk, they aren't the most mobile friendly (just imagine losing your notebook and a thief finding your password list – jackpot!). 

1Password Pro ($14.99 from the iTunes store) is an iPhone based solution that securely manages all of your passwords, logins and other important codes on the go.  When you think about it, managing passwords using a Smartphone app makes really good business sense – you always have the phone with you so management is convenient and in real-time.  The same goes for an iPad as more business users work on the go with a tablet style device (the Pro version works on both an iPad and iPhone).

When it comes to passwords, security is the number one concern.  1Password Pro uses 128 bit AES encryption to store passwords and control program access.  This level of security is similar to what financial organizations use to secure Internet banking data.  For those who are interested, a full description is available on the Agile Web Solutions website.

Using the App

Accessing the program is done through two layers of security – a 4 digit pin code to access most passwords and a master password (anything you choose it to be) to access restricted areas or to make program changes.  If you already use a password to secure your iPhone, it's a good idea to make these passwords different in order to take advantage of the second layer of security.

The app itself is very clean looking and friendly to use.  A new user can get up to speed and add their password data within seconds.

Once in the program, 1Password has four main category icons to sort existing data:

• Logins –  Simple website login/password combinations. This is where you would keep items like your Gmail, Aeroplan and TELUS Talks      Business logins. 
• Accounts – Stores more complex account information. For example, databases where a server, port, user ID, password, etc, are all required. 
• Wallet – Secure personal items including credit card numbers, memberships and licences.
• Passwords – Generates and stores a complex password.  Probably the most useful section as it helps you create unique and highly secure passwords that you would be unlikely to remember without assistance.
• Notes – Once you add your first note, Notes will replace Passwords as one of the main category icons. Consider this feature a      secure version of your sticky notes and add whatever text you desire.

When you want to add new passwords, you can go directly through the main category icons, however I have found it much better to select the last category – More – and then selecting Add.  From the Add screen, options are easily available to add everything from Software activation codes to generating a new password.  Very easy to use.

Backing up the items in 1Password Pro has both an automatic and a manual side.  First, like all iPhone/iPad applications, 1Password Pro is backed up during every iTunes sync.  Second, 1Password Pro offers the ability to both save an encrypted copy of the password database to a computer or wirelessly sync (over Wi-Fi) to a computer running the full desktop version of 1Password (which costs extra but does make all of your data easily sharable between business computers).

Conclusion

Passwords and security is often brushed to the side in favour of convenience.  1Password Pro provides an easy to use method of securing password data and managing its access all from the convenience of an iPhone.  Although its asking price may cause some to shy away, it's a small price in comparison to the value of your business data.