Regardles of how hard we try, our integrated Help subsystem for the KeyRing product
can't cover everything; if it did it'd be so big no one would bother looking at it. We occasionally
get questions, and the following are those and the answers.
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If you have any
questions on our KeyRing product, then we'll get you the answers. If your
question is of interest to current or potential customers, then we'll add it and the
answer to this page.
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Why can't I drag and drop the KeyRing items? |
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Three reasons. The main reason is security: It's possible to drop an item onto, say, the desktop for everyone to see.
The KeyRing's copy and paste is completely under your control.
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Many people don't like to drag-and-drop things, and finally dropping something on a browser may or may not stick -
they all work differently.
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Is there a problem with having the websites' "remember me" through cookies? |
Yes, there are several:
- They cannot handle the random challenges and security questions
- The cookie data is lost when the cookie cache is cleared
- Some clever person in Eastern Europe or the Near East might crack them
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- Cookie information is not portable and cannot be copied into, say, a
U3 SmartDrive
- Ditto if the PC or laptop crashes, replaced or upgraded
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What are "keyloggers" |
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Keyloggers are stealth programs that record all keyboard activity, along with other things like web pages,
and periodically sends this information to a bad guy somewhere, often through byzantine paths.
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KeyRing doesn't use the keyboard to launch web pages, programs, or logon, without which the page visits,
and whatever else they may capture, cannot be correlated to extract information that KeyRing secures.
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What is the EntryGuard? |
Among the various stealth programs that can get into PCs, the ones usually known as keyloggers
capture keboard activity and periodically send this, along with other information (programs
running, web pages visited, etc.) somewhere. These kinds of programs are often one or more steps ahead
of the many virus-detection tools, and can run undetected for some time. This is particularly true in
public-access internet sites, such as schools, libraries, airport waiting lounges, hotel lobbies, internet cafes,
or basically anywhere where PCs are available to the public.
The people who plant these keyloggers are mining for logon IDs and Passwords, and you should assume that
Someone is watching (and recording) you whenever you use a PC that is not your own.
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One safeguard against keyloggers is to not use the keyboard when entering sensitive information, which is why
we included an EntryGuard on all of our logon screens: Entry is made by clicking the appropriate
key image in a randomly generated keyboard layout on the screen. It may be a bit slow, but it's certainly safe.
Our KeyRing doesn't use the keyboard buffer to enter logon information, and generating new IDs and passcodes
should be done with the
MakeARandomPasscode screen, which is opened when the
 button is clicked.
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Using KeyRing |
KeyRing is started by double-clicking the
icon in the system Tray area, in the screen's lower right-hand corner where the time is displayed. This starts a
three-phase sequence.
KeyRing will only be active for a short period of time, but this can be extended by clicking anywhere in the
bottom portion where the blinking prompt message appears.
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Selecting A Key
The Keys are listed alphabetically by their descriptions.
A Key can be selected by double-clicking on its description, or by entering the description's first letter on the keyboard,
or by any of the UP/DOWN arrow keys and then pressing the keyboard's [ENTER] key.
To add a new item to KeyRing, click the 
toolbar button, or press the ALT+N keyboard combination, which opens the AddNewKey screen.
KeyRing can be collapsed back to the Tray by clicking the
toolbar button, or by pressing the ALT+C keyboard combination
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Entering Logon Credentials
Enter the logon ID into the program or web page opened when the Key was selected.
Click anywhere in the KeyList's area to get the next credential to enter into the
program or web page.
If the next credential is a challenge, then click on the challenge question in
the KeyList (which momentarily displays the response) and then enter the response into
the program or web page. Repeat if more than one challenge is presented.
Click anywhere in the KeyList's area to get the passcode to enter into the
program or web page.
At any time the current sequence can be stopped and another Key selected by clicking the
toolbar button, or pressing the ALT+R keyboard combination.
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After Completing The Logon
One of three things can be done once a logon is completed, selected by click one
of the KeyList's toolbar buttons, or optionally pressing an ALT+ keyboard combination.
- Select another Key by clicking the
toolbar button, or by pressing the ALT+R keyboard combination
- Make some changes to the selected Key items's information by clicking the
toolbar button, or by pressing the ALT+A keyboard combination
- Collapse KeyRing back to the Tray by clicking the
toolbar button, or by pressing the ALT+C keyboard combination
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How do I get rid of the firewall warning every time KeyRing starts? |
KeyRing will launch your active browser if the selected Key item has a web page associated with it.
Set your firewall at allow KeyRing to launch a web browser, as well as any other local program or data
files that it may open.
The image to the right details one way of setting this for ZoneAlarm.
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How is a passcode changed? |
Passcodes should only be changed after completing a logon to a webpage or program, and usually requires the current
passcode be entered as well as the new passcode.
- Start by clicking the
KeyList screen's
toolbar button after the logon is completed, which opens the
KeyItemAdmin screen.
- Click the
KeyItemAdmin screen's
 toolbar button,
which opens the ChangePasscode screen.
- Click the
ChangePasscode screen's
 button,
which opens the MakeARandomPasscode screen.
- The new passcode's length, type and duplicate control will be the same as when the passcode
was originally generated. Click the
MakeARandomPasscode screen's
 toolbar button to
generate a new passcode.
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- If the current passcode is required then double-click the MakeARandomPasscode screen's
 label
and paste it before the label stops blinking.
- The new passcode may have to be entered twice, the second time for verification. Double-click the
MakeARandomPasscode screen's
 label and paste it
before the label stops blinking.
- If the new passcode is accepted then click the ChangePasscode screen's
 toolbar button,
which saves the new passcode, does a backup if AutoBackup is active, and closes the
ChangePasscode screen.
- To cancel the passcode change, click the ChangePasscode screen's
 toolbar button,
which closes the ChangePasscode screen without making any change to the current passcode.
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How Do I Add KeyRing To A U3 SmartDrive? |
1. Insert A U3 SmartDrive into a USB port, click on the U3 icon to open the LaunchPad, select the
{AddPrograms/InstallFromMyComputer} menu item, and go to Step 2
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2. Find the KeyRing U3 package using the LaunchPad's (Open) dialog.
When KeyRing's (Admin) screen is active and the
toolbar button is clicked, the path to the U3 package can be copied to the system's Clipboard.
Paste this into the Open dialog's [FileName] entry box, click the
[Open] button, and go to Step 3
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3. Click the AddProgramWizard's [Next] button to install
KeyRing on the U3 SmartDrive, and go to Step 4
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4. Start the KeyRing program from the U3 LaunchPad by clicking on the KeyRing icon,
and proceed with the update sequence using the KeyRing's (Admin) screen.
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Anti-Virus Program Considerations |
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We strongly recommend you disengage any anti-virus program that you may be using during the installation and registration
of all FutureWare products. There are known problems with anti-virus programs blocking database access and other file-based
processing. If you continue to have problems, then we suggest that you disable the virus scans on the FutureWare product's
installation folder. Once installed, all FutureWare products can detect when that have been tampered with.
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