ID Vault Review - ID Vault from GuardID Review

Protects You from Phishing and Pharming

Like many people, I find myself purchasing a number of items online. Not only for the convenience (I love having boxes arrive at my house in the mail), but also because I now have access to stores and merchandise I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to track down (Thinkgeek comes to mind).

Background

I also do a fair amount (if not all) of my banking online. Being in the security field, I keep apprised of the security risks that exist with online banking and consider myself aware so as not to be caught in a phishing scam. However, being aware is not enough. Being vigilant is not enough. Anyone can be caught. So is online banking safe? It can be. Recently with the advent of such products as Passmark and Symantec Confidence, banks are starting to take the security of their clients seriously. But what can the average consumer use to help protect them online? One such product I have evaluated lately has been ID Vault by GuardID.
ID Vault provides multi factor authentication in the form of a USB security token with an embedded smart card chip. This USB key stores a user’s sign on credentials which helps to prevent having users type in their credentials at risk of having them stolen in the process.

Setup (4.5/5 Stars)

The setup process is simple. Load the software (which is as simple as clicking Next five times), insert the key and you are ready to go. You will notice a new icon on your menu. Right clicking the menu brings up a menu bar with all of the immediate choices to get you started.
View ID Vault menu from the Windows tray
Inserting the key into the USB slot prompts the setup and personalization of the product. The user creates a PIN which is paramount to the security of the device (This is the something you know with regards to multi factor authentication). The next step is the generation of the serial number. The serial number allows you to reset the PIN in case you forget it. DO NOT LOSE the serial number. Write it down and put it in your safe (or Password Safe). Lastly, name the token. The token is updated and ready for use. When all is said and done you will receive a popup that states all is ready. You will also see a couple of popups to let you know that ID Vault has updated to the latest database.

Ease of Use (4.5/5 Stars)

Using ID Vault is very simple. In fact, I must commend Guard ID for taking the pain of security out of the product. All is very simple for the average user who has no need to understand the complexity of smart cards or secure tokens. To get started, simply open Internet Explorer and navigate to your favourites. You will notice a new Secure Favourites added to the menu. This is where all of the frequent places you visit will be stored.
Clicking Create a Secure Financial Favourite starts the vault process and you are prompted to choose a financial institution. Unfortunately the software is only geared towards American financial institutions with no mechanism to add a financial institution. However, in fairness you can add a secure website of your favourite bank under the Secure Favourites menu; it just doesn’t appear under the financial institutions menu which may confuse some users. It’s a minor point though and easily worked around.

Select the bank, and enter your credentials using the onscreen keyboard to thwart keyboard loggers!
If the site connects you simply select Next from the menu and the information is stored to your key. The key is updated and you now have an entry under secure favourites. You can have ID Vault automatically pass the credentials if you like each time you visit the site.

Cost (4.5/5 Stars)

Well worth the $49. Period.

Conclusion

ID Vault monitors the financial sites continuously and constantly updates their database to ensure users won’t become caught with a pharming or phishing attack. The use of smart cards is suggested by many financial institutions and the ease of use for the end-user is a welcome site. I would recommend this product to anyone who banks or shops online. This is a great product for non security people to help protect them from phishing and pharming attacks. Simple yet effective.

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