Password managers like 1Password are great at keeping sensitive data away from prying eyes, but don't help much when vulnerabilities like Heartbleed rear their ugly head — that is, until now.
AgileBits announced the release of 1Password 4.4 for Mac on Wednesday, which integrates the company's web-based Watchtower service right into the application, giving an "all clear" when its safe to update passwords affected by Heartbleed.
1Password Watchtower was launched in the wake of the Heartbleed OpenSSL vulnerability to check domain names prior to changing login credentials, but required users to manually enter the website into a web browser form.
With 1Password 4.4 for Mac, Watchtower is now baked into the software as a free service that can be enabled via Preferences or the Security Audit feature. When a saved website logins is found to be at risk, 1Password alerts users and even shows a list of sites to avoid that haven't yet been patched.
By default, the free Watchtower service is turned off, but once activated, 1Password "will check daily for new website vulnerability information" without transmitting saved website data to AgileBits.
1Password 4.4 for Mac is now available as a free update for both Mac App Store and website customers, and AgileBits plans to introduced Watchtower to the Windows version in the near future.
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