Opera wand. Does it work well? Enough to abandon lastpass?

[urlwolf]

Recently I moved to Opera.
The lastpass addon sucks, fails on 50% of the sites I use.
Noone at lastpass cares, no easy way to report bugs, etc.
So my options are quitting opera yet again, or use Opera wand.
Does it work well? Well enough to abandon lastpass?
This is only a contender since opera link syncs passwords across computers. But, tbh, opera link kind of sucks. Fantastically slow, hard to use.

Anyone sharing these experiences?

[Josh]

I wouldn't touch the wand with a 10 foot pole. I've tried, numerous times, but it is horribly outdated and lacking in features. I will stick to Opera + my Roboform Adapter. This combo works flawlessly.

[rjbull]

There's a RoboForm adapter now for Opera?

[cyberdiva]

I've had pretty good luck with LastPass on Opera.  The one time when I couldn't get it to work with a site, I wrote to tech support and they made a suggestion that worked.  I should add, however, that Opera is my secondary browser; my default is still Firefox, where I also use LastPass in spite of having a license for RoboForm 7.  (I couldn't resist a half-price offer, but I found that I really liked LastPass well enough so that I didn't bother to install RoboForm.)

[Josh]

http://www.roboform....forms/browsers/opera

Works very well! Only complaint is that when you open a new blank tab, the logins open another new tab rather than using the existing one.

[MilesAhead]

A good reason to stay away from Wand is that it stores the form fill info in operaprefs.ini in the "Personal" section in clear text. Previous Opera versions had the same  section only the file was opera6.ini. It's been that way for quite awhile. It's not like it's a secret known only by a few.

I'd go with a tool that at least does some encryption or obfuscation of the info.  With operaprefs.ini you just call ReadIniSection("Personal") and you've got it all in clear text!

[db90h]

When I used Opera on the PC (Opera Mini still in use for mobile devices), the wand was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen. Here's the deal: Every other browser on the planet will auto-fill your login information when you revisit a page (that you've saved). We're talking only username and password. With Opera, you have to go and press the Wand button, or use a keyboard shortcut, to have it fill the username and password with your saved info. No auto-fill without invoking the 'wand'. This was an unnecessary extra step. Sure, I suppose it could fill more stuff in than standard browsers, for those much more rare occasions when that's needed, but for the every-day chore of logging into your favorite web sites, you had to go hit that stupid wand. Did they ever change this?

[rjbull]

http://www.roboform....forms/browsers/opera

Works very well!

-Josh (August 08, 2011, 06:25 PM)

Thanks!  I'm still trying to avoid shelling out for an update to RoboForm, but if I ever upgrade Firefox...  it's nice to have Opera as well now.

[Josh]

I upgraded, but only after a conversation with their VP of marketing. I advise anyone who has issues with how RF handled their upgrades to contact Mr. Bill Carey, b2carey [@t] siber [daught] com. I explained to him my situation, my feelings about their upgrade policy, and he was willing to help.

[xtabber]

A good reason to stay away from Wand is that it stores the form fill info in operaprefs.ini in the "Personal" section in clear text. Previous Opera versions had the same  section only the file was opera6.ini. It's been that way for quite awhile. It's not like it's a secret known only by a few.

-MilesAhead (August 08, 2011, 08:15 PM)

That section contains only info like name, address and phone number, and they don't get entered automatically into forms, so they aren't visible unless someone has access to your system outside of Opera. If that's the case, you have worse problems than having your name and address listed in plain text in an .ini file.

Opera's logins and passwords are stored encrypted in a file called Wand.dat in the Opera\Profile folder.

I personally dislike software that tries to automate things like logins without my active participation and prefer the way Wand works.

[MilesAhead]

A good reason to stay away from Wand is that it stores the form fill info in operaprefs.ini in the "Personal" section in clear text. Previous Opera versions had the same  section only the file was opera6.ini. It's been that way for quite awhile. It's not like it's a secret known only by a few.

-MilesAhead (August 08, 2011, 08:15 PM)

That section contains only info like name, address and phone number, and they don't get entered automatically into forms, so they aren't visible unless someone has access to your system outside of Opera. If that's the case, you have worse problems than having your name and address listed in plain text in an .ini file.

Opera's logins and passwords are stored encrypted in a file called Wand.dat in the Opera\Profile folder.

I personally dislike software that tries to automate things like logins without my active participation and prefer the way Wand works.

-xtabber (August 09, 2011, 06:25 PM)

I still think it's weak to have info in the clear in a known location.  They've been told about it for years and done nothing. It's one thing to randomly search a HD for info. It's another to know if Opera.exe is there then check these 2 .ini files for "only" name address and phone number. I know I don't want mine in clear text in a known spot.

[rjbull]

I upgraded, [...] he was willing to help.

-Josh (August 09, 2011, 03:50 PM)

Thanks - I dimly remember this from another thread.  I presume you still had to pay?  At present I'm not too excercised, but I may have to think harder if ever I do upgrade Firefox, or use a recent version of Opera more often.

BTW, I see PC Magazine now offers Password Profiler 3: Automate Log-Ons and Fill Forms Faster.  Partial feature list:

• Logs into Web sites automatically
• Fills long registration and checkout forms quickly and easily
• Saves logins to your favorite sites
• Shares logins between IE and Firefox
• Maintains multiple profiles allowing you to fill forms based on your needs, like whether you want to use personal or business information
 Password Profiler 3 adds several enhancements. The new version features:
• Support for IE 6, 7, 8, and 9
• Support for FireFox 3.6, 4, and 5
• Additional fields for the User form for a profile
• A new form for information about your automobile
• An "Edit site data" menu item from Password Profiler's browser context menu allowing you to easily edit a site's data
• Portable – carry Password Profiler on a flash drive
• AutoSync between locally installed version and flash drive
• Roboform import

I haven't tried it, but it's only $7.97 or included in their $19.97 annual utilities subscription.

[Josh]

I will PM you the details of my encounter with him.

[MilesAhead]

Hmmmm, I've just installed LastPass in Opera 11 and it seems to work pretty well. Other than not being able to find the preferences dialog(pressing Control-F12 seems easiest) the other weirdy thing about Opera 11 is the out of the box setting to use zero disk cache!!  I was wondering why it was so slow!

[KynloStephen66515]

Am I the only person in the world who uses (and prefers to) Opera 'out-of-the-box'?

No addons, no plugins, no nothing.

Opera Wand has never let me down to date, and because I know exactly where the wand data is stored, I can easily back it up in-case of format or loss of HDD

Im not stupid enough to store paypal, banking, eBay or such usernames and passwords in ANY software so I never need to worry about that and I have no intention of storing username and password data on a 'stealable' USB data stick anytime in the next thousand years!  

When I used Opera on the PC (Opera Mini still in use for mobile devices), the wand was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen. Here's the deal: Every other browser on the planet will auto-fill your login information when you revisit a page (that you've saved). We're talking only username and password. With Opera, you have to go and press the Wand button, or use a keyboard shortcut, to have it fill the username and password with your saved info. No auto-fill without invoking the 'wand'. This was an unnecessary extra step. Sure, I suppose it could fill more stuff in than standard browsers, for those much more rare occasions when that's needed, but for the every-day chore of logging into your favorite web sites, you had to go hit that stupid wand. Did they ever change this?

-db90h (August 08, 2011, 08:18 PM)

Don't really understand your problem with hitting Ctrl-Enter to invoke the wand.  This step helps with "hiding" your login details until requested.

If logging into your favorite websites is a 'daily chore' then may I suggest finding better websites?  I love nothing more than logging into a website to see if I have any new messages or replies, or something good to read! (Although I rarely have to login to anything anymore unless a cookie expires cause my PC is on 24/7!)

[MilesAhead]

I'll say this for Opera 11. It's a lot more usable after I put the classic skin on.  Now the only unreadable text is on the caption bar.  Those ultra glass skins squashed the browser window down to about 75% of what it should be just to have some clear stuff at the top. Yuck!! I mean, I like glass but I want to see some page!

My point with wand is they could easily encrypt the stuff instead of leaving it in clear text in a known location.  I don't think you're going to forget you name address and phone number.  So what's the harm if it's encrypted? Only thing I can think of is the coders are afraid of breaking working code.  Like they might never be able to put Humpty Dumpty back together.  Maybe the Wand guy passed away or something.

edit: btw I'm using the latest 11.50 right now.  I stayed with 8.51 for a long time as it became extremely light and fast as other browsers bulked up.  But it's tough to compete with how Chromium snaps off the disk.  Loads even when the HD is busy.

[iphigenie]

I'm amazed how Opera like some of the other browsers are becoming, it must be bittersweet to Opera.

I used the wand for years and it is simple and works well, and now it can be sync'd. Because it couldnt be sync'd and I sometimes have to use other browsers, I started using lastpass. This allows me to use more random/secure passwords without losing my mind. The wand works on more sites than lastpass for smooth auto-fill (but not for capture or generation, and it deals with password change better). I dont mind doing an "open lastpass to check the password" then letting the wand take over on my own PCs.

[urlwolf]

I'm amazed how Opera like some of the other browsers are becoming, it must be bittersweet to Opera.

I used the wand for years and it is simple and works well, and now it can be sync'd. Because it couldnt be sync'd and I sometimes have to use other browsers, I started using lastpass. This allows me to use more random/secure passwords without losing my mind. The wand works on more sites than lastpass for smooth auto-fill (but not for capture or generation, and it deals with password change better). I dont mind doing an "open lastpass to check the password" then letting the wand take over on my own PCs.

-iphigenie (August 12, 2011, 01:28 AM)

This is exactly the point, since now it can be sync'ed (or even if it couldn't, wuala and dropbox to the rescue)... it's a real alternative to lastpass. If it worked well. But I don't know about this, and don't have the time to test it.

I filled two bugs with lastpass, let's see if the fix them. If they do, I'd stay with them.