CryptoSafe Backup Helper 2.0

ABOUT CryptoSafe Backup Helper

CryptoSafe is a professionally developed password Android application that allows you to store your sensitive information (user ids, passwords, bank account, credit cards etc...) safely and securely into an encrypted database.

This app, the CryptoSafe Backup Helper, is a handy Backup Utility that can be used to upload the CryptoSafe encrypted backup files to FilesAnywhere, Google Docs and your e-mail account as an attachment.

This backup utility is only useful with the CryptoSafe products. Please look for CryptoSafe Lite or CryptoSafe Pro in the Android Market.

The backup helper was created as a separate application because many clients do not want to trust their most sensitive information to an application that has the INTERNET permission (The CryptoSafe Pro version does not have the Internet permission). The CryptoSafe Liteversion is ad-supported, and therefore does have the Internet permission, which is used only for the ads.

If you prefer, however, you can send the backups yourself, manually, as an e-mail attachment, or you can download the standard FilesAnywhere app (this is a free app provided by FilesAnywhere.com) from the Android Market.

The main advantage of using the CryptoSafe Backup Helper, other than the convenience, is that your backup accounts and passwords are kept in an encrypted database (exactly the same technique as in the CryptoSafe app itself) so that they will be able to resist an attack.

Please see the CryptoSafe documentation so that you understand the need for hardening password applications against attacks.

Backup options:

1) To your own e-mail account, as an attachment.2) To your free FilesAnywhere (best choice).3) To your Google Docs account (slower).

What is my best backup choice?

Very likely FilesAnywhere. You can get a free FilesAnywhere account (go to www.filesanywhere.com) with a 1GB of storage. IMPORTANT: This version of the CryptoSafe Backup Helper works only with a *free* FilesAnywhere account (the log in method for the paid accounts is somewhat different). Please set this app to auto-update, as I will be posting a patch to support the paid FilesAnywhere accounts soon. In the meanwhile, please use a free FilesAnywhere account for your backups.

Google Docs is also supported. However, the backup speed is slower, and FilesAnywhere offers a lot of functionality to their free account clients.

E-Mail Backups

You can use this utility to back-up your CryptoSafe data (in encrypted form) to your e-mail account as an attachment. Simply go to Maintain Backup Accounts in the main menu, click on the e-mail backup account entry, enter up your e-mail account, click the Menu button in your phone and and choose "Save". Then click on the E-mail Backup option of the main menu.

How do I create the backup files?

IMPORTANT: You have to create the backup files yourself prior to uploading them. Go to your CryptoSafe Lite or CyptoSafe Pro app and select Utilities:Backup to SD Card. This will create an encrypted backup file of your CryptoSafe database in the SD Card. Then go to the CryptoSafe Backup Helper (this app) and upload the backup. This utility cannot do the creation of the backup for you, because it does not have access to the CryptoSafe database itself (completely separate applications).

How secure are the backup files?

The CryptoSafe backup files are exactly as secure as the CryptoSafe database itself (and the CryptoSafe database is hardened).

How do I restore a backup?

To restore a backup you do this:

a) Get the backup file from wherever you uploaded it (i.e., FilesAnywhere, Google Docs or your e-mail). The file will be called CryptoSafeDataBackup.txt.

b) Copy this file to the CryptoSafe folder in your SD Card.

c) Open the CryptoSafe Lite or CryptoSafe Pro app, go to Utilities, Restore from SD Card. Important: Restoring a backup erases any existing entries!.