IDVault 2008 Keeps Passwords Secure

It appears we live in an age of personal security. I have more logins and passwords than I really want, nor need. Even though most programs will remember my password, that makes my life easier, but not necessarily safer.

IDVault 2008 is a terrific product for security. It is as easy as plugging it into the nearest USB port and letting it to the work with your own PIN number. The key is a nifty little thing that retracts the end, so it can be used as a keychain.

Installing it is simple with the CD ROM, and then inserting the key. It takes a little while for the key to kick in, but it eventually will update your account. In fact, every time you look on to anything that needs a password, IDVault picks up on it. For example, it works on PayPal, and found it odd that it opened up another window for me to use.

I can think of several uses for this. For example, you can give it to a co-worker for passwords, and they can be so secret that you don’t even know about it. It’s a good way to leave some valuable information after you die, like in The Da Vinci Code.

IDVault 2008 is available at many retailers, or from the IDVault for ten dollars off at $39.99.

Via Product Page

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4 Comments on “IDVault 2008 Keeps Passwords Secure”

Another Little Image Summary » Coolest Gadgets Says:

[...] IDVault 2008 Keeps Passwords Secure [...]

IDVault 2008, todas tus contraseñas en un USB (y de forma segura) Says:

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Dave Says:

I have had nothing but trouble from this cheap little piece of plastic. Many supposedly supported sites function erratically or do not work at all. As for the software, I have only successfully installed the product on 1 of 4 machines. The rest simply activate the ‘Found New Hardware’ wizard. Yes, the FAQ addresses this but does not resolve the problem of the grayed out ‘Please Insert Your ID Vault’ system tray icon (even though the OS clearly knows when the device is inserted and when it is removed).

To make matters worse, since I installed the software on the only computer that has thus far been able to “see” the device, I have had to replace my Firefox bookmarks on at least 3 occasions. Seems whatever process adds the (unnecessary) links to your bookmarks occasionally decides to nuke many of your bookmarks and bookmark folders. Fortunately, Firefox copies your bookmarks periodically to a subfolder in your profile directory.

After the successful creation of my Thinkgeek.com account, I decided to change the password (and, not to be nitpicky, there is as yet no way to perform this from the “safety” of ID Vault). After I had done so, and changed the password from ID Vault, ID Vault still appeared to “think” I was supplying an incorrect password. I tried everything to correct this, finally deleting the account and *attempting* to recreate it. No matter how many times I tried to recreate it, it still told me that there “was a problem with” my “sign-on credentials” (this, despite the fact that I could see from the “preview” that ID Vault was successfully logging in; and could see my account information). I can proceed no further as the ‘Next’ button is grayed out. Technical support has been unable to help.

One thing they don’t make clear is that your financial sites require a specialized browser. So far, its basic functionality is decent but, of course, you will miss the more advanced features of your browser of choice.

The software interface is clunky and has that “slick” commercial feel that, for me, has always been the mark of software designed for the casual user and not the seasoned power user. If you are like me, you will quickly tire of the pop-ups asking you if you want to create an entry for nearly every shopping site you visit. It would be nice if you could take these opportunities to create an account via ID Vault but it does not yet have the capability. Instead, you must tell it ‘Not This Time’, create the account manually, then either manually create the new entry through ID Vault, or restart your web browser to get it to prompt you again.

One of my biggest gripes (aside from the fact that I cannot seem to actually install the software on any computers other than my own) is the fact that I have to install this clunky software (complete with ‘.NET Framework’, some weird software named ‘Updater’, and lord-knows what else) on any computer I wish to use this device on; and one of its main objectives is to allow you to access financial websites from computers that aren’t your own. I wouldn’t want to install this clunky/buggy software on a friend’s or a family member’s computer. Any other computers I might use is likely to be locked down and not allow me to install it in the first place.

Oh, and back to the “cheap”. For something I’m expected to put my confidence in, I would expect it would at least *look* like it isn’t the cheapest USB device I’ve ever plugged into a computer. It has a little yellow button that causes the connector to “retract” inside the housing; except that it doesn’t really retract all the way.

The idea is great. I just wish GuardID and it’s designers and developers weren’t the ones responsible for bringing this idea to fruition.

Avoid this like the plague if your picky about technology. If you’re not, you probably won’t benefit from it anyway.

David Taber Says:

Was given an IDvault, and found it to have too many bugs to be useful. More important, it’s a financial trojan horse: to use it is $40 PER YEAR.

Issues I found:
- got confused by multi-tab Firefox
- memory hog (over 1/2 GB total memory image after a day’s use)
- not compatible with about 1/3 of the sites I work with (particularly shopping ones)
- sluggish UI
- systray menu can’t be accessed by mouse
- software won’t let you undock a laptop from the docking station as long as the IDvault is plugged in
- support almost non-existent (just try to find out how to contact them!)
- website UI for suggesting sites that don’t work with IDvault is buggy, blows up if you have a “

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