Quote:
Originally Posted by tmass
I've been using Cryptmagic for about 2 years. I'm looking at ID Splash and Data Vault.....anyone have a preference and why?
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Hi Tmass,
I have been using Ascendo's DataVault password manager for a few weeks now and I have been very happy with it.
I have had experience with several of these products on different platfomrs (Windows Mobile, Palm, and now BlackBerry). So far, DataVault has been the best one of these that I have used. I have the most experience with SpalshID and DataVault.
SplashID was a decent product, but the user interface left a little to be desired IMHO. It basically only supports list views, which makes it difficult to quickly zero in on the specific password data you are trying to find. If you are ever looking at more than one type of entry on the same screen, the field names in the columns at the top end up taking on generic attributes like "Field 1", "Field 2" etc. which I did not think was very helpful. Also, SplashID uses "blowfish" encryption, which to my understanding is not the most secure available. Finally, I just felt like the PC desktop program for SplashID wasn't very "refined" looking. Yeah, it did the job, but sort of looked like a 1st-generation Windows application (like from 1993).
I switched to the BlackBerry platform (an 8800, which should be very similar to your pearl) in late February, so I was faced with the task of replacing my handheld password management software, as well as transferring the large number of entries I already had stored in SplashID on my Treo to whatever I picked. After doing a bunch of research, I decided that DataVault was the best way to go.
Now that I have been using DataVault for several weeks, I am still convinced this was the best choice.
DataVault, uses AES encryption, which is a very strong encryption algorithm, and superior to "blowfish".
Also, the interface in DataVault is really intuitive and easy to work with. DataVault offers a list view, but the "Tree" view is so good, and makes it so easy to find what you are looking for (on the handheld OR on the desktop) that you will probably only ever use the Tree view in DataVault. This view looks just like a standard directory tree that you would see in Windows Explorer, and it organizes your entries into major categories, then subcategories, then specific items. This is all 100% customizeable, so you can set it up any way you want. The default installation includes some preset folders, which you can add to, or just delete depending upon your personal preference.
DataVault also comes with a large number of pre-defined templates that cover most types of information that you would store in a program like this. These are also 100% customizable (by now you can probably tell that I LIKE the ability to configure software settings to my exact needs). You can add or remove data items from existing templates, create completely new templates specific to the type of info you want to store, and also delete templates that you don't need/want. One thing I really liked was the ability to be able to choose to mask/unmask (i.e. where it shows dots instead of actual characters on your screen) any of the information items in a given template. I think this is more flexible than SplashID which masks your password field by default, but not other fields. There is also a "copy to clipboard" button next to every field, which makes it easy to copy long/strong passwords out of DataVault and past them into login fields etc.
There are some other features that are really "minor details" but which show how much effort has been put into this software by its developer. Things like an onscreen keyboard for inputting your master password into the Desktop application. This allows you to type your password with your mouse, so you can prevent it from being captured by any keystroke logger software that may be present on your system. Also, DataVault requires you to enter your password when you first connect your BlackBerry to sync with the program, which ensures that your data stays secure, and unauthorized users can't sync your passwords into a different installation of the desktop software and get your passwords. Finally, you can store your password datafile in any directory that you choose. The default location is in "My Documents" but you can bury it into any directory you want, and then just change the setting in the "options" menu of the desktop program. Other programs I have used/seen require your password data to be located in "My Documents" or a folder within "My Documents with the name of the password program onit. These are obviously easy to find, and could be stolen to be hacked into later. It is much harder for someone to attempt to steal passwords out of your data file if they can't even find the file on your PC in the first place.
As for looks, the desktop and handheld interfaces look really nice. There is this sort of white and grey vault gear graphic that sits behind the folder tree view and, although it has absolutely no function, it looks nice and at least for me, makes using the software more enjoyable. I know this isn't really anything important, but I like it when a software developer cares enough about their product to make sure that it not only works well, but looks good too.
I had a large number of passwords sotred in SplashID that I had to move to DataVault. Exporting these out of SplashID and into DataVault was a fairly simple process. You export them out of SplashID into an MS Excel file, and then import them into DataVault. The import wizard in DataVault makes getting the data into the program accurate and simple. This whole process only took me about 10 minutes. BTW if you do this with any password manager data transfer, make sure that you have secure deletion software (like the free CCleaner application) to "shred" the Excel file that you use for the transfer.
Finally, although I did not encounter any major issues with the software, I did have to contact their support staff once for a minor issue about how it was displaying in a very specific circumstance on one of my monitors. Their support staff was very responsive, got back to me within hours to say they had been able to duplicate the issue and were working on it, and then provided a fix that completely resolved it about 2 days later (over a weekend I might add).
So my recommendation is DataVault. I hope this information is helpful.
Best Ewallet for Pearl?
(note: not tried yet on a BlackBerry, I stopped using ewallets awhile ago)
