Tag: password manager

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Tech Accessories

Mooltipass Mini portable protects pesky passwords

Selecting an online password and remembering it continues to be a major hassle. That’s especially true if selecting a separate password for each and every website one uses, as security experts recommend.

Mooltipass Mini is a small USB device that protects passwords with identification done via a smart card.  It integrates seamlessly with Google Chrome and Firefox support is in the testing phase, its makers say. The device uses the same security as its makers’ larger Mooltipass device that was crowdfunded in late 2014. A smart card is used to securely store an AES-256 encryption key for the user’s protected information.

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Connected Objects

Vaulteq remembers your passwords better than you do

Remembering passwords continues to be one of the most irritating requirements of modern technology. Several password management systems already address this issue, but they tend to be cloud-based, which at least some consumers don’t trust.

Vaulteq is a password managing device that functions as a digital vault that the user has total control over. It is stored in the home or office, but can be accessed from anywhere the user goes with a digital device. It is compatible with Android, iOS and Windows mobile devices, and uses two-factor authentication, a technology that provides identification of users via two different components. To log into Vaulteq, the user needs a password and a virtual token that is sent to the user’s mobile app when registering. An unlimited number of accounts can use one device.

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Tech Accessories Technology

Mooltipass builds on Arduino to store your passwords

Digital security is a double-edged sword. Making passwords and credentials more complicated and harder to crack means that it becomes more difficult to gain unauthorized access. On the other hand, it also makes those same credentials harder to remember. As a result, too many people use simple passwords or reuse the same passwords across multiple sites and programs.

The Mooltipass goes a step further, preventing the possibility of passwords and credentials being breached using a software-based solution. With three-step authentication, the Mooltipass protects passwords and logins like almost no other solution. First, the physical Mooltipass needs to be connected to the device being used. Second, a smart card with that user’s information needs to be inserted, and, finally, a PIN needs to be entered to authenticate access for that specific card.

The smart card method allows for multiple users to use the same Mooltipass without gaining access to each other’s accounts, and also keeps data and access secure even if the Mooltipass itself is taken. Additionally, the Mooltipass can be customized and used to create a number of different functions using the Arduino platform that can be easily accessed by more advanced users. Mooltipass has a very specific goal to reach of $109,112, mostly to fund production. A Mooltipass with two smartcards will be shipped in March to backers who pledge $140.

The Mooltipass may seem like a lot of extra technology to lug around just to login to email and social media, but those who insist on proper security measures will love the three-step secure hardware-based authentication. Businesses who require strict confidentiality and security will want to get on the ground floor of this product for its security and its flexibility.

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Tech Accessories

CosmoKey keeps your data safe with two-factor authentication

The Premise. Security is a massive concern with cyber-attacks on the rise and more and more logins and passwords required by every application and site out there.

The Product. The CosmoKey provides safe, secure two-factor authorization through the CosmoKey app which allows users to login to any of their favorite sites and then press the button on the palm-sized hardware token to authenticate their credentials in a way that keyloggers or other malware can not penetrate.

The Pitch. The introductory video for the CosmoKey doesn’t do the best job of explaining exactly how the hardware side of the CosmoKey works or how one sets up the device. The campaign page does a little better explaining the process with which one uses a CosmoKey and where it might come in handy, but still leaves some details cloudy. CosmoKey Ltd. has set £25,000 as their fundraising goal to complete testing of the hardware token and make the device even more secure. Stretch goals are in place to make the API completely open once funding is reached and another unlocking the CosmoKey Vault which will provide correct logins for any stored site at £100,000.

The Perks. A £50 pledge gives users access to the CosmoKey app for either iOS or Android with 2 years of paid service starting in September. The authenticator token hardware is available at the £150 level, and will be sent out to backers in November of this year. The Maker’s Edition comes out early (in August) with the most recently available version and grants access to the API to enhance the functionality of the device, with 1 year of service included. For those that want to make CosmoKey a part of their business server security, the VPN server with one hardware token is available with a year of remote service for £1,000.

The Potential. Two-factor authentication is a great way to be more safe, but a device like this just complicates matters further. Picture a situation in which the CosmoKey is lost or left at home: now the user is locked out from accessing any site they need to get into that they’ve set up through the device. With other forms of biometric scanners becoming more readily available, having a portable device that needs to be brought along with any computer, tablet, or phone just makes the whole process much more cumbersome than it needs to be, even in matters of protecting and securing data. It’s a good idea, just poorly executed.