Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does your software violate my privacy in any way?
2. What if I have a computer at home and a computer at work?
3. What kind of encryption is used and how is this related to the pass phrase?
4. What if I lose my Passward Device?
5. What if I have two accounts for the same website?
6. Why can't I just use Internet Explorer to keep track of my passwords?
7. Can I use my own USB Flash Drive?
8. What if I bought the software only and I now want the hardware too?
9. Can I run Passward on a computer without installing?
10. What about Mac or Linux?
11. What the heck is Blowfish?!?
12. How can you be sure I won't ever lose a password again?
13. What if I lose or forget my passphrase?
14. What if I use another browser besides Internet Explorer (Firefox)?

Does your software violate my privacy in any way?

No!

Our software does not monitor, record, or transfer your information in any way. We hate software that performs this type of activity more than you do, so we don't do that. If you would like to see our incredibly simple privacy policy, click here.

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What if I have a computer at home and a computer at work?

One of the nicest things about Passward is that it synchronizes the accounts stored on your computer with the accounts stored on your flash drive. If you use a computer at home and at work, then all you have to do is connect your properly configured flash drive with each computer and Passward will automatically synchronize all your accounts. This has two important advantages:

1. You are always up to date and never have to worry about manually keeping track of updates
2. You always have a backup: Every computer you use is a backup and your USB flash drive is a backup

For more information, check out the "How it works" page.

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What kind of encryption is used and how is this related to the pass phrase?

Blowfish encryption is used. The strength of the encryption depends on the length of your passphrase. An 8 character passphrase is 64 bit strength. 128 bit strength is achieved by using a passphrase that is 16 characters. 128 bits would take 100's of years to crack. Each additional bit doubles the strength of the encryption, and each character doubles the strength 8 times! Therefore, any passphrase over 16 characters is considered extremely secure.

Using a silly phrase that is easy to remember, but hard to guess is what you want. Mixing in odd characters like numbers or other characters also helps improve the strength. A good example is “1 Bad Duck bit me!”. It is 19 characters, is hard to guess and has a mixture of capital letters, lower case letters, numbers and other characters.

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What if I lose my Passward Device?

The Passward system optionally keeps a secure backup list on the computers where you have chosen to use "File and Passward" mode. This makes sure that even if you lose the Passward device, you can purchase another device. Plug the new device in, and you will automatically continue on as before. 

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What if I have two accounts for the same website?

All you have to do is create a slightly different name for the same web site address. When you insert the username and/or password to that web page or login box, Passward will show you both accounts and allow you to choose between them. It is very convenient if you have multiple accounts for the same website.

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Why can't I just use Internet Explorer to keep track of my passwords?

Using Internet Explorer to track your passwords is fine. Until...

• Your computer dies
• Or you clear your cookie files like some security experts suggest
• Or you use another computer
• Or you want to keep others from using your saved account information

Then saving passwords in the browser becomes useless.

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Can I use my own USB Flash Drive?

Yes you can! If you change the volume name of your USB Flash Drive to "Passward" the Passward software will synchronize with that drive. For more detailed instructions, look at the on-line help inside the software.

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What if I bought the software and wanted to add the hardware too?

Simple, purchase the hardware, and when it arrives, just plug it in.

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Can I run Passward on a computer without installing?

Yes. When you purchase the hardware, a version of Passward resides on the drive. So all you have to do is open the drive, then double-click on "Passward-Drive Version.exe" and you will be able to run the program from the drive. The only downside is that you don't get to use the Internet Explorer toolbar to automatically insert usernames, passwords, addresses and credit cards.

If you have your own Flash Drive, the first time that you synchronize with your drive, the drive software will be loaded onto the drive, so then you'll be able to run the software from the drive.

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What about Mac or Linux or Windows NT?

Let us know on our feedback page if you need support for these operating systems. As more requests come in, justifying support for these is easier. Please be specific about what operating system and the version you want us to support.

Windows NT does not support USB, so clearly, there is little we can do to remedy that.

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What the heck is Blowfish?!?!

Blowfish is an encryption algorithm that was designed in 1993 by Bruce Schneier. It encrypts things in 8 character blocks. This means that it takes every eight characters and mixes them up so that they appear random. It uses the pass phrase as a key to mix the characters up. Naturally, it takes the pass phrase to un-mix them. The longer the pass phrase is, the stronger the key, as explained in the topic on the pass phrase above. We're not sure why it was called blowfish.

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How can you be sure I won't ever lose a password again?

There is obviously no foolproof system, but, whenever you use the Passward in "File or Passward mode" (See instruction manual or the software) it saves a copy of the encrypted password list on the computer you are using. This does two things for you:

1. It makes life more convenient because you don't have to have the hardware connected to access your passwords
2. It makes that computer a backup device for your password list.

If you use this mode on one or more computers, you effectively reduce the risk of losing your list to zero. If you lose the Passward device, just replace it and plug the new one into one of these computers. The system will pick up where you left off. If your hard drive crashes, you have the backup on your Passward device. Now you can breathe a deep sigh of relief.

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What if I lose or forget my passphrase?

Well, the bottom line is that you are not going to have access to your account information any more. Remembering one silly phrase is quite easy though, just make sure that you think of something visual, perhaps funny, that is easy to visualize. Then type it 20 or 30 times in a row, this will help you remember visually and reinforce it because your fingers will remember too. Once you feel the convenience of having Passward manage your accounts for you, you will find that you remember your passphrase quite easily, because you will be typing it in once a day!

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What if I use another browser besides Internet Explorer?

Even if you don't use Internet Explorer, Passward still inserts your user name and passwords automatically to web pages or logon pages using convenient right click menus in the Passward Software. Try the software to find out!

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