ID VAULT PROTECTS YOUR ONLINE INFORMATION
You're
about to enter in your user name and password to access
your bank account information, perhaps to make a
transfer or check your balance. But how do you know that
website you're looking at in fact belongs to your bank?
You feel confident it is because you bookmarked it
before or you typed in the address yourself. But with
today's sophisticated malware that can redirect your
browser without you knowing it, for all you know that
website could be a phishing site that's waiting to steal
your password. And that's just one of the many hazards
out there waiting for you.
Thankfully there are things available that can protect
you. It used to be that malware such as computer viruses
and the like were there just to bog your system down or
even worse, erase all your data. But today's malware
doesn't want you to know that it's there. Because it's
no longer the geeky teenager playing a prank. It's
organized crime that's trying to steal your money and
now they can do it without having to wave a gun in your
face.
One of the ways you can protect yourself is by not
keeping your passwords on your computer. Yes I know that
your web browser can conveniently store all of your
names and passwords so that when you go to that website,
it's automatically entered in for you. Unfortunately
that can leave you vulnerable if your system in infected
with spyware that's designed to find that information
and send it to the bad guys. ID Vault is one such
product that uses some very clever and sophisticated
technology that keeps all your sensitive information off
your hard drive. The ID Vault works much like one of
those flash memory sticks that you plug into any USB
port. It looks like a little padlock. You just press on
the hasp and the USB plug pops out. After you plug it
in, the ID Vault uses its own memory to store all of
your name and password information inside of it and its
encrypted. When you're done, simply remove it. Now if
the bad guys go looking for your stuff on your hard
drive, it just isn't there.
Along with the ID Vault is the ID Vault subscription
service that provides complete access to the company's
Trusted Network of over 7,500 financial and shopping
websites. If your are diverted to a phishing website,
the ID Vault will know it's not legitimate and prevent
you from entering in your name and password information.
A phishing website may look perfect but it can't be
physically located at the same address the real website
resides. Those real website addresses are continually
being maintained and updated by the ID Vault Service so
that if a legitimate change occurs, you won't be left
out in the cold. And if you are diverted or you click on
a link within an email that claims to take you
somewhere, your ID Vault will be watching to insure that
you're where you are supposed to be. The ID Vault can
also be used with non-financial sites as well. In fact,
it works with any site that requires a name and
password.
The newest 2008 version of the ID Vault can now store
user names and passwords for up to 100 online accounts
and information for up to 25 credit cards. If you have
more than those limits you can use more than one ID
Vault. You can, for example, use one for only the
shopping sites you frequent and another for banking. You
can even use an ID Vault to back up another ID Vault in
case it's lost or destroyed.
The purchase price of $39.95 includes a 12 month
subscription to the ID Vault Service. ID Vault works
only with Windows XP and Windows Vista.
www.guardid.com
| Craig Crossman is
a McClatchy-Tribune newspaper columnist writing about computers and
technology. He also hosts the nation's longest running nationally syndicated radio talk show on
computers and technology, Computer America, heard on both the Business TalkRadio
Network® and the Lifestyle TalkRadio Network®, weeknights at 10PM Eastern
time. Visit his website at http://www.computeramerica.com |
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